Budgeting can seem hard and overwhelming at first. Finance anxiety is a thing and sometimes just the thought of opening that banking app is enough to bring on nausea. Questions and doubts surrounding when to do it, what to focus on and how much is a ‘normal’ amount to spend on TV subscriptions, groceries and full set gel nail appointments flood to the mind. 

As a freelancer, this is often made more difficult by the ‘feast and famine’ lifestyle – we don’t always have a set amount coming in each month so dividing the differing amounts can feel stressful. 

When it comes to budgeting and easing the anxiety around it, the core phrase we’d suggest that you just have to start somewhere, and the sooner you begin, the sooner you can figure out how your budget works so it feels less overwhelming.

This is where budget planners come in and save the day. A budget planner book is a tool that you can use to store all of your financial information in one spot. It’s used to track your monthly bills, expenses, debt, savings, luxuries and more. The most important part of a budget planner is that it helps you track every penny that comes in and every penny that goes out. It’s what you need to control your finances!

Budget planner = financial control

Having a budget planner allows you to budget your money properly. It provides you with a guide to taking total control of your money.

Without a budgeting planner, you wouldn’t have the resources available to organise your finances accurately and you could be allowing hundreds of dollars to slip through your fingers unknowingly. Having a budget in place allows you to take total control of your money. 

At Wishu, we recommend that you sit down the first weekend of each month and redo your budget planner so you can sit with your fresh paychecks and figure out how they will be spent and saved over the next four weeks. Accounts like Monzo and Revolut are also very useful for sectioning your money. For example, your main account is used to pay for rent, bills, your phone and any luxury expenses. With Monzo, you can transfer your dedicated money for travel, groceries and eating out and the app also gives you a breakdown of your expenses and notify you each time you spend or owe money. 

There are a few essentials that a really good budget planner needs, such as a spot to keep track of your income and expenses. If you don’t know how much money is coming in and going out, your budget will not work. Make sure your budget book of choice has a spot for both.

A good budget planner will also have a spot for you to record your savings and debt. Other features of a good budget planner are a monthly calendar to mark the due dates of bills and upcoming events.

Everyone budgets differently and what one person likes doesn’t mean another will. Check out reviews before buying or downloading to gauge which will work best for you. 

Best Budgeting Notebook  

This budgeting planner focuses on helping users pay off large amounts of debt, from student loans to our camper, car loans, and more. It even helps build six-figure retirement funds as early as possible.

What’s included in this budgeting planner:

• 12-month calendar
• Paycheck tracker
• Monthly expense tracker
• Debt tracker
• Savings tracker
• Emergency fund tracker
• Vacation budget planner
• & more
• 90 pages
• 14 seperate printables
• Instant download
• 100% money back guarantee
• Really walks you through budgeting 

Clever Fox Budget Planner 

If you are looking for a hardcover monthly budget book, this is it!! This monthly budgeting book literally covers all of the bases and has everything you need to become a successful budgeter.

What’s included in this monthly budget book:

• Financial goals worksheets
• Savings trackers
• Monthly budget
• Debt trackers
• Holiday budget tracker
• Bill tracking
• Expense trackers
• Monthly review

Erin Condren Budget Planner

One of the reasons this makes the list for one of the best budget planners, besides the fact that it will help you with your finances, is its affordability. It’s also very compact which means it will fit into your bag very easily. 

This money organiser includes:

• 12 months of budgeting
• bill tracker
• expense tracker
• budgeting spreads
• debt tracker
• 106 designer stickers & more

The Home Budget Planner

This user-friendly budget workbook not only has great reviews but is also simple to use.

This home budget planner includes:

• 48 undated pages
• Daily expense tracker sheets
• Planning goals
• Tips for managing your money
• Creating a balance sheet
• Notes & more

Balanced Budget Organiser Features

Unlike the typical budget planner, this balanced budget organiser covers up to 2 years, all within 48 pages. If you’re looking for an easy-to-use, inexpensive planner, that can be stored at home.

This budget organiser includes:

• Income tracker
• Expense tracker
• Financial goal tracker
• Yearly goal tracker

Halifax Budget Planner 

A very easy, digital PDF format planner that is able to use and refresh at any time for free. Halifax’s planner really does cover everything in both essential and luxury spending so you won’t forget to factor in a single penny.