8 October 2026
Printable budget planner in Australia: a simple guide for households
If you want a budget you can hold in your hand, a printable budget planner is a good place to start. This guide covers what a free government tool already does well, what a printed or digital planner adds, and how to set one up for an Australian household without overthinking it.
Start with the free Moneysmart budget planner
Before you buy anything, it's worth knowing the free option. The government's Moneysmart budget planner (run by ASIC) helps you work out where your money is going and whether your income covers your expenses. You can set each item to weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly or annual, add your own custom items, and print the result or save it as a PDF from your browser. There's also an Excel version if you'd rather keep it in a spreadsheet.
What it doesn't do is just as useful to know. In its own FAQ, Moneysmart says the planner can't set a monthly budget and compare it with your actual income and spending. It gives you a snapshot. Its data is also saved on the device you used, so it can be lost if you clear your browser or change phones.
That's the gap a planner fills: a place to plan the month, log what you actually spent, and look back.
What a printable budget planner adds
A planner turns a one-off snapshot into a routine. A good one gives you, each month:
- A plan for where your money should go before the month starts.
- A spending log so you can see what really happened, not what you hoped would happen.
- A short review so next month's plan is a little more honest than this one.
Moneysmart's own five steps for a budget follow the same shape: add your income, list your expenses, compare the two, set a savings goal, then review and adjust as things change. A planner just gives those steps a page to live on.
What is the 50/30/20 rule?
The 50/30/20 rule is a simple starting split for your after-tax income:
- 50% for needs: rent or mortgage, groceries, power, phone, insurance and transport.
- 30% for wants: eating out, streaming, hobbies and treats.
- 20% for savings and goals: an emergency fund, extra debt repayments or investing.
That's how Canstar and the Victorian Government's YouthNav describe it. Canstar also points out its main weakness: it doesn't fit everyone. If your rent or mortgage is high, needs may take 60%. If you're saving for a first home, you might push savings well past 20%. Treat the split as a first draft and change the numbers after a month or two of real spending.
Australian costs to plan for
Generic templates are often written for the US. When you set up a planner here, make sure it has room for the costs Moneysmart lists for Australian households:
- Rent or mortgage, groceries, electricity, gas, rates and phone bills
- Car registration, petrol or public transport
- Medical costs and insurance premiums
- Debt repayments, like credit cards or a personal loan
- Irregular costs, like car repairs, annual bills and pet costs
Moneysmart suggests checking your bank statements so nothing gets missed. The irregular costs are the ones that usually break a budget, so give them their own line and put a little aside each pay.
Printable, digital, or both?
There's no single best format. It depends on how you like to plan.
- Print it if you like writing by hand and keeping the page on the fridge or the kitchen bench. A4 paper is the standard size in Australia, so make sure the file comes in A4, not just US Letter.
- Use it digitally if you plan on an iPad or Android tablet. A hyperlinked PDF works in note apps like GoodNotes and Notability, and you can tap between months.
- Use both if one person likes paper and another likes a screen. This is where most household budgets come unstuck: two people, two versions, and neither is up to date.
Where Fay & Form fits
The Fay & Form Budget Planner (A$14.90) is built around that monthly shape. Each month has three linked pages: Budget, Spending and Review. It includes a filled example with realistic numbers, a paycheck budget and bill calendar, debt payoff and sinking-fund pages, and a no-spend tracker. Every download comes in A4, US Letter, a handwriting edition and a phone layout.
Fay & Form also makes household planner apps, where private pages stay with one person and shared pages are shared with the household. You can try the demos to see how they work.
A simple way to start this week
- Open the free Moneysmart budget planner and get your first snapshot of income and expenses.
- Pick a starting split, like 50/30/20, and adjust it to your rent or mortgage.
- Write next month's plan in your planner, including a line for irregular costs.
- Log spending as you go. A few minutes a day is enough.
- At the end of the month, review what worked and change one thing.
A budget doesn't need to be perfect to be useful. It needs to be one you'll open again next month.
This is general information, not financial advice. For help with your own situation, Moneysmart lists free and low-cost financial counselling options.