How to Create a Family Budget Using Microsoft Excel

1. Open Microsoft Excel.
2. Click cell 'A1,' then type 'Item.'
3. Click cell 'A2,' then type the first item in your budget. For example, 'Grocery.'
4. Click cell 'A3,' then type the second item in your budget. For example, 'Rent.' Continue entering your budget items in column A, moving down the column.
5. Click cell 'B1' and then type 'Amount.'
6. Click cell 'B2,' then type the amount that corresponds with the item in cell A2. In this example, cell A2 contained the item 'Grocery.' If you spend $600 per month on groceries, type 600.
7. Click cell 'B3,' then enter the amount that corresponds with the item in A2. Continue entering amounts for items, moving down column B, until you have entered an amount for each item in column A.
8. Highlight column B; click the 'B' at the top of the column.
9. Click the 'Home' tab and then click the '$' symbol in the Number group. This tells Excel that all the numbers you entered are in dollars.
10. Click on the first blank cell in column B, then click the 'Σ' button on the Home tab. This sums up the items in your budget column and gives you a total.