Google Sheets: Making a Budget

Lesson 2 of 9 in Productivity Tools for Daily Life · 25 minutes

Learn how to use Google Sheets to create a simple monthly budget. Understand rows, columns, cells, and basic formulas for adding up expenses.

What you'll learn

Open Google Sheets and create a new spreadsheet
Understand rows, columns, and cells
Create a simple monthly budget with a SUM formula

From the lesson

Google Sheets: Making a Budget

What Is Google Sheets?

Google Sheets is a free tool from Google for working with numbers. It looks like a grid with boxes. Each box is called a cell. You can use Google Sheets to make a budget, track expenses, or make lists. It is similar to Microsoft Excel, but it is free.

Understanding the Grid

The grid has rows and columns. Rows go across (left to right) and are numbered 1, 2, 3. Columns go up and down and use letters A, B, C. Each cell has a name. The first cell is A1. The cell next to it is B1. The cell below A1 is A2.

Making a Simple Budget

Let's make a monthly budget. Here is an example:

In column A, type your expense names: A1: Expense A2: Rent A3: Food A4:…