Term Budget with Weekly Allowance

Who this is for

A term's money turned into a weekly allowance. Fixed costs come off the top, what remains is divided by the weeks in term, and each week's spending is set against that allowance with a running balance for the rest of term.

Students living on a loan instalment or a lump sum for the term who want to know what they can spend each week without running out before the end.

What this helps you track

• The money you have for the term and what is committed to fixed costs
• A weekly allowance worked out from your own figures
• What you actually spent each week, over or under
• How many weeks went over the allowance
• What should be left at the end of term

How to use it

1. Write the term, its start date, the number of weeks and the money you have for it.
2. List fixed costs such as rent, phone, travel and course costs, then copy their total into the Fixed costs total box at the top.
3. The weekly allowance appears in each week's row in the browser and the workbook; on paper, take fixed costs from the money available and divide by the weeks.
4. At the end of each week, add up what you spent from your bank app or receipts and fill in the spent column.
5. Watch the money left column; if a week goes over, spend less in the weeks after so the balance lasts.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Why copy the fixed costs total into the header?

So each week's allowance can be worked out on the same row in the browser and the workbook. The Fixed costs total stat shows the table's sum, so you can check the two match after any change.

What counts as a fixed cost?

Anything you are committed to paying during the term regardless of what else you do: rent, bills, a phone contract, a travel pass, subscriptions and known course costs. Food, going out and one-off buys belong in the weekly spending.

What does the Over column show?

A 1 for any week where spending went past the allowance and 0 otherwise. The summary adds them up so you can see how many weeks ran over.

Does it tell me how much to spend on food or going out?

No. It supplies no amounts or percentages for any kind of spending. The only allowance it gives is the one worked out from the money and fixed costs you enter.