HisaabPlan

Household budgeting guide

How to budget as a family

A family budget does not need to be complicated. These six steps work with a notebook, a spreadsheet or HisaabPlan, and take about an hour to set up.

  1. Start with what comes in

    Write down the money that reliably arrives each month: salaries, pensions, rent you receive. Leave out money that might come. Everything else is planned from this number.

  2. List the bills that cannot move

    Rent, utilities, school fees, loan instalments and committee (BC) instalments come first. Note the due dates so nothing is a surprise; in HisaabPlan a repeating entry can remind you.

  3. Use only a few categories

    Four to six categories you will really use beat thirty you will not: food, transport, home, children, health and everything else. You can split them later.

  4. Set a monthly limit and watch what is left

    Choose a total for the month, then look at what is left rather than only at what is spent. A limit for food and one for extras is often enough.

  5. Share it, so everyone sees the same picture

    A family budget works when the people who spend can see it. In HisaabPlan you can share one by file or through your own Google Drive. The people you invite see every entry, limit and goal in it, and never your personal budget.

  6. Meet for ten minutes every week

    Pick one fixed time and open the budget together. Ask three questions: what came in, what went out, and what is coming next week? Small and regular beats long and rare.

Try it with your own household

HisaabPlan keeps your budget on your device and works without an account. If your family also saves in a committee (BC or kameti), the committee manager tracks instalments, turns and late fees.

Open HisaabPlan Run a committee (BC)

This guide is general information, not financial advice. Your budget in HisaabPlan stays on your device unless you choose to back it up or share it.