Budgeting at home
Build a monthly budget in Canadian dollars
Start with what lands in your account. Set aside enough for the bills, then see what you have left for the rest of the month. We’ll work through a $4,200 example you can adapt with a free worksheet.
By Ledgr Financial Inc. · Revised
Part one · Plan the month
- Home and bills$1,950
- Everyday$1,000
- Debt payments$250
- Set aside$1,000
The household behind the numbers
Let’s say you rent and take home CAD 4,200 a month. That’s the amount that lands in your account after payroll deductions. We’ll use it for this fictional plan, and you can swap in your own pay, bills and payments when you try it.
Where the $4,200 goes
An allocation gives money a job. It might cover spending, a debt payment, savings or a buffer. The money stays in your account until you use it.
| Allocation | Planned CAD |
|---|---|
| Rent | $1,600 |
| Utilities and internet | $180 |
| Groceries | $450 |
| Transport | $200 |
| Phone | $60 |
| Insurance | $110 |
| Debt payments | $250 |
| Dining and entertainment | $200 |
| Personal and household | $150 |
| Irregular expense reserve | $250 |
| Savings allocation | $500 |
| Unallocated buffer | $250 |
| Total allocated | $4,200 |
| Income minus allocations | $0 |
Two CAD 250 lines sit near the bottom. The irregular expense reserve is for costs you can plan for, like an annual renewal or a repair. The buffer has no job yet. The CAD 500 savings line is what this household plans to set aside.
Make the plan yours
- Start with take-home pay. Use the money you expect to land in your account. If your income varies, plan around an amount you can reasonably expect and revise it as deposits arrive.
- Enter what is already promised. Put housing, bills and required debt payments first. Use your own amounts and due dates.
- Spread out the uneven costs. CAD 50 a month covers a CAD 600 annual bill over twelve months. If the bill is due in four months, that pace leaves you CAD 400 short.
- Check what is left. Subtract every allocation from income. If the result is negative, revisit the plan. If it is positive, you have money left to assign.
Try it with your own numbers
monthly-budget-cad.csvDownload the monthly CAD budget CSV
Open the free worksheet in your spreadsheet app. No account needed. Replace the sample numbers with your own, then fill in what you actually spent as the month goes on. There are no formulas or automatic calculations, so add up the totals yourself.
At month-end, put planned and actual amounts side by side. Note what changed and adjust next month.
Part two · Check September
Count the card purchase once
A grocery shop adds CAD 180 to the card balance and CAD 180 to spending. Later, a CAD 250 payment moves from chequing to the card. It reduces what you owe, and the grocery total stays CAD 180. The payment can cover several purchases or part of an older balance.
$250.00 payment, seen from each account
Spending from these rows $180.00
A transfer to savings moves money you already own and leaves income and spending unchanged. The CAD 30 grocery return lowers grocery spending by CAD 30.
September is a separate fictional exercise. Two pay deposits of CAD 2,100 arrive in chequing. Chequing and savings start at CAD 0, and the card starts with CAD 300 owing. The answer key shows every posted row for the month.
Money leaving an account is negative and money arriving is positive. On the card, a negative amount adds to what you owe. A payment or refund reduces it. Your bank may use different signs.
cad-transaction-review-example.csvDownload the fictional transaction review CSV
Compare your answers with the key below. No account is needed. This teaching file follows the signs above. Use your bank’s own transaction export if you need to import activity into LEDGR.
| Activity | Amount | Spending |
|---|---|---|
| Take-home pay oneSep 1 · ChequingCount as take-home income | $2,100.00 | $0.00 |
| Monthly rentSep 2 · ChequingCount as rent spending | -$1,500.00 | $1,500.00 |
| Grocery shop oneSep 4 · Credit cardCount as grocery spending | -$180.00 | $180.00 |
| Monthly utilitiesSep 6 · ChequingCount as utility spending | -$120.00 | $120.00 |
| Monthly phoneSep 8 · ChequingCount as phone spending | -$60.00 | $60.00 |
| Monthly subscriptionSep 10 · Credit cardCount as subscription spending | -$20.00 | $20.00 |
| Take-home pay twoSep 15 · ChequingCount as take-home income | $2,100.00 | $0.00 |
| Move to savingsSep 16 · ChequingPair with savings arrival; exclude from income and spending | -$300.00 | $0.00 |
| Move from chequingSep 16 · SavingsPair with chequing departure; exclude from income and spending | $300.00 | $0.00 |
| Grocery shop twoSep 18 · Credit cardCount as grocery spending | -$80.00 | $80.00 |
| Grocery returnSep 20 · Credit cardReduce grocery spending; do not count as income | $30.00 | -$30.00 |
| Pay credit cardSep 22 · ChequingPair with card payment received; exclude from spending | -$250.00 | $0.00 |
| Card payment receivedSep 22 · Credit cardReduce card debt; do not count as income | $250.00 | $0.00 |
| Household suppliesSep 25 · Credit cardCount as household spending | -$90.00 | $90.00 |
| Card interestSep 30 · Credit cardCount interest as spending once | -$15.00 | $15.00 |
| Net spending after the refund | $2,035.00 | |
- Net spending$2,035.00
- Refund to subtract$30.00
- Savings transfer to exclude$300.00
- Card payment to exclude$250.00
Add every negative row and September looks like CAD 2,615 of spending. That includes CAD 300 moved to savings and the CAD 250 card payment. It also misses the CAD 30 refund. Remove the two movements and apply the refund to get $2,035.00 in net spending.
The payment still comes out of chequing, so include required payments and older balances in your cash-flow plan. Card interest is a cost of borrowing, so the example includes CAD 15 of interest in spending. The CAD 250 payment is fictional. Check your own statement for what you owe.
Check spending against the balances
- $4,200.00 income − $2,035.00 spending
- $2,165.00
- $2,270.00 more cash − $105.00 more card debt
- $2,165.00
Sep 22 · $300.00 after paymentSep 30 · $405.00 owing
Card balance by date
| Date | Owing (CAD) |
|---|---|
| Sep 4 | $480.00 |
| Sep 10 | $500.00 |
| Sep 18 | $580.00 |
| Sep 20 | $550.00 |
| Sep 22 | $300.00 |
| Sep 25 | $390.00 |
| Sep 30 | $405.00 |
Chequing closes at $1,970.00 after CAD 4,200 of pay, rent of CAD 1,500, utilities of CAD 120, a CAD 60 phone bill, a CAD 300 savings transfer and the CAD 250 card payment. Savings holds the CAD 300.
Card purchases and interest add CAD 385. The refund reduces debt by CAD 30 and the payment reduces it by CAD 250. Card debt closes at $405.00, up $105.00.
Cash grew by $2,270.00, including the CAD 300 in savings. Subtract the increase in debt and you reach $2,165.00, the same result as income minus spending.
- Chequing
- $1,970.00
- Savings
- $300.00
- Card owing
- $405.00
Use your own statements to check opening balances, missing activity and closing balances before you plan the next month.
Where to read more
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s guide to making a budget walks through listing income and expenses and checking the plan against actual spending. Its guide to paying off a credit card covers repayment. Your issuer’s current agreement and statement set what you owe.