Holidays & planning

Christmas Budget Tracker

Split your Christmas budget between gifts, dinners, decorations, travel and more, log every expense, and the summary shows spent, left, % used and a status for each category, with an alert before you overspend.

File in EnglishNo macrosExcel · Google Sheets4 linked sheets

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Price, checkout and download happen on Etsy.

Summary: countdown, total budget, spent, still available and the chart (Example data) — Summary: countdown, total budget, spent, still available and the chart · Example data · Enlarge image

Real screenshots of the file

Images of the file with example data. Tap an image to enlarge it.

Budget and spending by category, with within budget, close to limit and over budget statuses (Example data) — Budget and spending by category, with within budget, close to limit and over budget statuses

Holiday expenses: date, category, description, amount and how you paid (Example data) — Holiday expenses: date, category, description, amount and how you paid

What's inside

Linked sheets, with instructions on the first sheet.

InstructionsHow to fill in the file, step by step.

SummaryCountdown, totals, budget and spending by category with status, chart and rows to check.

SettingsYear, total budget, optional holiday bonus and the budget split between 8 categories.

Holiday expensesUp to 300 expenses with date, category, description, amount and payment method.

Demo data

A worked example

In the example the holiday budget is 1,000, half of it for gifts, and seven expenses are logged.

Example data in the file, there to overwrite. Amounts have no currency symbol: use $, £, € or any currency.

Christmas Budget Tracker
Total budget	1,000.00
Spent so far	470.00
Still available	530.00
Budget used	47.0%
Christmas Day dinner	135.00 of 120.00: over budget
Decorations & home	65.00 of 70.00: close to limit

Getting started

Settings: year, total budget and the % for each category.
Holiday expenses: one row per expense.
Summary: updates by itself.

Compatibility and limits

Compatibility

Plain .xlsx file, no macros, standard functions only.
Tested by full recalculation in Excel for Microsoft 365.
Calculations also checked in Google Sheets (upload the file to Google Drive).
Not tested in Apple Numbers or Excel for Mac.

Good to know

Entries are typed in; there is no bank connection.
Reusable every year: change the year in Settings.
This template helps you organise your money; it is not financial advice.

Questions

When does a category show Over budget?

When spent is above its budget; Close to limit appears from 90% used.

Can I rename the categories?

Yes, in Settings, except the first one (Gifts). Rows with the old name turn red and are counted in Rows to check.

Will anything be posted to me?

No. It's a digital file you download from Etsy straight after purchase.