The best way to improve your finances is to arm yourself with knowledge and tools to understand your spending. Learning how to make a budget spreadsheet is a smart financial practice regardless of ...

Shelby Brown (she/her/hers) is an editor for CNET's services team. She covers tips and tricks for apps, operating systems and devices, as well as mobile gaming and Apple Arcade news. Shelby also ...

Build a free 2026 Excel budget file with bank import and XLOOKUP categories, so you track spending and savings without manual typing.

Microsoft Excel is a full-featured spreadsheet application with plenty of features for managing data. With its robust functions and commonly used calculations, it’s also a solid money-management tool.