Family Budgets
What a balanced budget looks like for your household.
Every family is different, but the math has patterns. Pick your household size below to see a realistic monthly budget — with every line item filled in — plus a free downloadable worksheet you can plug your own numbers into.
Free tool
Blank monthly budget worksheet
A pre-formatted Excel workbook with rows, columns, subtotals, and totals already wired up. Open in Excel, Google Sheets, or Numbers and start typing.
Family Budgets
Budget for 2 Adults — Double Income, No Kids
Two working adults and no kids — the fastest window in your life to build savings. Here's a realistic monthly breakdown and the moves that matter most.
See the sample budget →Family Budgets
Budget for a Family With 1 Child
One child changes the math — childcare, healthcare, and food step up. Here's a realistic monthly plan and where the highest-value savings hide.
See the sample budget →Family Budgets
Budget for a Family With 2 Kids
Two adults, two kids — the classic family-of-four budget. Where the money goes, where the biggest savings hide, and a full sample worksheet.
See the sample budget →Family Budgets
Budget for a Family With 3 Kids
Three kids stretches every category. A realistic monthly plan, the three moves that matter most, and a full sample worksheet to copy.
See the sample budget →Family Budgets
Budget for a Family With 4–6 Kids
Four to six kids means groceries look like a mortgage payment. How large-family budgets actually work, plus a real sample worksheet.
See the sample budget →Family Budgets
Budget for a Family With 7 or More Kids
Very large households have their own economics. Bulk pantry planning, shared resources, and long-view moves pay off the most.
See the sample budget →Family Budgets
Budget for a Single Parent
One income, one adult, one household — a real budget with real tradeoffs, plus the tax credits and programs most single parents don't know they qualify for.
See the sample budget →A note on the numbers: Every sample budget assumes an average-cost U.S. metro. Housing and childcare vary widely by region — use these as a starting shape, then adjust for your local costs. Our cost-of-living guide helps you scale to your city.