Dave Ramsey Budget Forms that are a Lifeline When You're Struggling to Stay Afloat (2024)

By Jaime Published in Budgeting Last Updated on

Dave Ramsey budget forms – When you’re overwhelmed with debt, it’s hard to know where to turn or how to find resources that will help you the most.

Maybe you’ve heard Dave Ramsey talk about money on the radio, listened to his podcast, or even read one of his books. But how can you find all the right Dave Ramsey budget forms for getting started? There are so many great forms to choose from!

Dave Ramsey Budget Forms that are a Lifeline When You're Struggling to Stay Afloat (1)

Below you’ll find a short list of free Dave Ramsey budget forms that will be the most helpful to you as you’re getting started. I tried to keep this list simple, with the basic budget forms you might need to get started. If you want more options, click here for my longer list with tons of pretty Dave Ramsey printables.

Be sure to read our debt free story: We’re Debt Free! Our Story Of How We Paid Off Our House

Now, without further ado… here are some of the most important forms to get you started.

UPDATE MAY 2019: I have a new post up with 21 more “inspired by” Dave Ramsey budgeting printables.

Dave Ramsey Budget Forms

Monthly Cash Flow Budget Form

Use this Monthly Cash Flow form to organize everything you need to pay and your debt minimum payments. Next to everything write the due date.

Spending Plan Budget Form

Then, use this Spending Plan form to create your budget. You need a column PER PAYDAY which will change every month. If you’re paid weekly or bi-weekly, some months will have more than four pay columns.

Like Dave says, you’ve got to tell your money what to do or it will leave. Be diligent about using these budgeting forms, and know where your money is going — every penny of it!

Variable Income Budget Form

If you get paid a variable income rather than a set amount each payday, it can be somewhat confusing to get started. Dave has this Irregular Incomeform to help you plan for each income source.

As you’re setting up your budget, you may findthat you need to call certain utilities, creditors, or other billing companies and request tochange billing cycles. Usually there’s no problem when you try to tweak your “due by” dates, within reason. Don’t be intimidated! Many companies are happy to help if they feel it will help them receive your payments in a timely manner.

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List of Useful Dave Ramsey Forms

Dave also has an area on his site that lists many of his available budget forms (on the Useful Forms page). It includes the monthly cash flow sheet, consumer equity sheet, lump sum payment planning, and more. They are all printable budget forms. Bookmark the page — it’s nice to keep it handy!

But What If You Can’t Pay Your Bills?

If you’re pretty far behind with your bills and can’t seemto get current, here are helpful tips from Dave about what to do when you can’t pay your bills.

Our Budget Toolkit Printables

I also designed a beautiful Budget Binder Toolkit that has really helpful budgeting forms, plus all the printables are easy to use. It’s easy to print them, fill them out, and put them in a three pronged binder. Everything you need is there in one easy PDF file. There’s even a “spending journal” printable! You can learn more about the Budget Binder Toolkit here.

You can do this! One step at a time, my friend. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, and you’ll get there. It’s worth it!

Before you go, take a minute and tell us about some Dave Ramsey Budget Forms that have been helpful to you. We’d love to know.

You might also like:

  • The Best Dave Ramsey YouTube Videos
  • 13 Things Dave Ramsey Fans Wish You Knew
  • Our Dave Ramsey Meal Plan For A Beans + Rice Budget
  • The 7 Dave Ramsey Baby Steps To Financial Freedom

Go in grace today,

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P.S. New to my web site? I like to write about ways to optimize your life, save money, and cook cheap meals at home! Here are a few moreways you can save money:

  • Cook at home more often.We used to waste so much money going out to eat! This is a constant struggle for us as a busy family. Try a program likeemeals (the link takes to you a free 14-day trial) to help you create simple, inexpensive meals at home if you struggle in this area like I do. You’ll save MORE money on your groceries each month than the small amount you pay for their service.
  • Earn Amazon gift cards.A simple way to earn a little extra money from home by using the Swagbucks site instead of Google for searching. You can also do surveys and a few other things to earn points, which you redeem to purchase gift cards from them.Swagbucksis what we used toearn Amazon gift cardsand pay for Christmas gifts one year. (Click here to read about how we did it.)
  • Create a budget.Mvelopes is the online budgeting program we personally use and LOVE. In fact, we purchased a lifetime membership several years ago when they offered it to us. It’s like a virtual cash envelope system, and it syncs with your bank accounts.Here’s my full Mvelopes review,or you canclick here for a free 30 day trial of Mvelopes.

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Dave Ramsey Budget Forms that are a Lifeline When You're Struggling to Stay Afloat (2024)

FAQs

What is the 50 30 20 rule for investment? ›

According to this rule, you must categorise your after-tax income into three broad categories: 50% for your needs, 30% for your wants and 20% for your savings. This way, you set aside a fixed amount from your income for each of the categories.

What is the 50 30 20 rule for 401k? ›

Key Takeaways

The 50/30/20 budget rule states that you should spend up to 50% of your after-tax income on needs and obligations that you must have or must do. The remaining half should be split between savings and debt repayment (20%) and everything else that you might want (30%).

What is a zero balance budget Dave Ramsey? ›

You've probably heard of the 50/30/20 rule or the 60% solution, but we use the zero-based budgeting method. This is when your income minus your expenses equals zero—aka you're giving every dollar you make a job to do so none of it gets accidentally spent! It's simple math that works no matter your household income.

How effective is the 50/30/20 budget rule? ›

The 50/30/20 rule can be a good budgeting method for some, but it may not work for your unique monthly expenses. Depending on your income and where you live, earmarking 50% of your income for your needs may not be enough.

What is the 70% rule investing? ›

Basically, the rule says real estate investors should pay no more than 70% of a property's after-repair value (ARV) minus the cost of the repairs necessary to renovate the home. The ARV of a property is the amount a home could sell for after flippers renovate it.

What is a 30 70 investment strategy? ›

A 70/30 portfolio allocates 70% of your investment dollars to stocks and 30% to fixed income. So an investor who uses this strategy might have 70% of their money invested in individual stocks, equity-focused actively or passively managed mutual funds and equity-focused index or exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

What is the average 401k balance for a 50 year old? ›

The average 401(k) balance by age
AgeAverage 401(k)Median 401(k)
30s$160,517$69,718
40s$344,182$151,274
50s$558,740$247,338
60s$555,621$209,382
3 more rows

What is the 50 30 20 rule for sinking funds? ›

The personal finance rule states that 50% of our money goes to needs, 30% to wants, and 20% to saving goals. The rule helps us balance our financial obligations while giving us the freedom to enjoy living in a way that doesnt overcomplicate finances.

What is the 25x rule for retirement? ›

The 25x rule entails saving 25 times an investor's planned annual expenses for retirement. Originating from the 4% rule, the 25x rule simplifies retirement planning by focusing on portfolio size.

What is the envelope system in Dave Ramsey? ›

What Is Dave Ramsey's Envelope System? The envelope system is a way to force yourself to accurately budget discretionary expenses every month. It demands honesty, discipline and commitment, but the reward is that you gain control of your finances.

What does Dave Ramsey say about paying off smallest debt first? ›

The debt snowball method is a debt-reduction strategy where you pay off debt in order of smallest balance to largest balance, gaining momentum as you knock out each balance. When the smallest debt is paid in full, you roll the minimum payment you were making on that debt into the next-smallest debt payment.

Is $1000 a month enough to live on after bills? ›

But it is possible to live well even on a small amount of money. Surviving on $1,000 a month requires careful budgeting, prioritizing essential expenses, and finding ways to save money. Cutting down on housing costs by sharing living spaces or finding affordable options is crucial.

What is the 75 15 10 rule? ›

In his free webinar last week, Market Briefs CEO Jaspreet Singh alerted me to a variation: the popular 75-15-10 rule. Singh called it leading your money. This iteration calls for you to put 75% of after-tax income to daily expenses, 15% to investing and 10% to savings.

Is the 30 rule outdated? ›

The 30% Rule Is Outdated

To start, averages, by definition, do not take into account the huge variations in what individuals do. Second, the financial obligations of today are vastly different than they were when the 30% rule was created.

What is the 80 20 20 rule investing? ›

Investing. When it comes to investing, the 80/20 rule asserts that 80% of your investment returns — or losses — come from only 20% of your assets.

What is the 40 40 20 budget rule? ›

The 40/40/20 rule comes in during the saving phase of his wealth creation formula. Cardone says that from your gross income, 40% should be set aside for taxes, 40% should be saved, and you should live off of the remaining 20%.

What is one negative thing about the 50 30 20 rule of budgeting? ›

Some Experts Say the 50/30/20 Is Not a Good Rule at All. “This budget is restrictive and does not take into consideration your values, lifestyle and money goals. For example, 50% for needs is not enough for those in high-cost-of-living areas.

What is Rule 25 in investing? ›

If you want to be sure you're saving enough for retirement, the 25x rule can help. This rule of thumb says investors should have saved 25 times their planned annual expenses by the time they retire, according to brokerage Charles Schwab.

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