The Definitive Step-by-Step Guide on How to Build Your 15-Second Spending Plan in Google Sheets

Here is the definitive step-by-step guide on how to build your 15-second Spending Plan using my Google Sheet Template. If you don’t use Google Sheets you can access the eBook edition here. My 15-second Spending Plan template helps individuals and couples overcome a variety of financial challenges. These challenges include living paycheck to paycheck, having no savings, excessive credit card debt, balancing unequal incomes, dealing with different spending habits, and overcoming a lack of communication. Build your 15-second Spending Plan today by following the steps below!

Table of contents

• A step-by-step guide to build your As-is 15-second Spending Plan
  • Step #1 – Enter your monthly income
  • Step #2 – Enter their monthly income
  • Step #3 – Enter recurring expenses
    • Step #3a – Enter fixed recurring expenses
    • Step #3b – Enter variable recurring expenses
    • Step #3c – Enter periodic expenses
    • Step #3d – Enter monthly debt payments
    • Step #3e – Enter sinking fund items
    • Step #3f – Enter debt snowball payments
  • Step #4 – Do not enter any “Wants”
  • Step #5 – Review your As-is 15-second Spending Plan
• A step-by-step guide to build your What-if 15-second Spending Plan
  • Step #1 – Enter the income from the As-is tab to the What-if tab
  • Step #2 – Copy the recurring expenses on the As-is tab
  • Step #3 – Paste the recurring expenses onto the What-if tab
  • Step #4 – Match the data on the As-is and What-if dashboards
  • Step #5 – Adjust the What-if spending plan tab for changes
  • Step #6 – Review the results on the What-if dashboard tab
• Share your 15-second Spending Plan Google Sheet with your partner
• Agree on the 15-second Spending Plan to be followed
• Memorize the 15-second Spending Plan to be followed
• Set it and forget it for a few months
• Conclusion

Step #1 – Enter your monthly income

As shown above, enter your net paycheck in the top cell and how often you are paid in the second cell.
Options for payment frequency are as follows:

• Weekly – 52 paychecks a year
• Bi-weekly – every two weeks – 26 paychecks a year
• Twice a month – the 15th and the last day of the month – 24 paychecks a year
• Monthly – once a month – for the self-employed monthly draw from business account

Step #2 – Enter their monthly income

As shown above, enter the amount of their net paycheck in the top cell and how often they are paid in the second cell.
Options for payment frequency are as follows:

• Weekly – 52 paychecks a year
• Bi-weekly – every two weeks – 26 paychecks a year
• Twice a month – the 15th and the last day of the month – 24 paychecks a year
• Monthly – once a month – for the self-employed monthly draw from business account

Step # 3 – Enter recurring expenses

Recurring expenses are also referred to as fixed expenses. I prefer recurring expenses vs. fixed expenses, or non-negotiable, as you have some control over the ‘fixed’ amount you pay each month.

Note: I am going to outline how to enter your recurring expenses by recurring expense type.
But, you can enter recurring expenses in the Google Sheet in any order you choose.

Don’t forget to assign the share others contribute to each line item.

Don’t worry about figuring out the recurring expense type, I do that for you automatically!

Step #3a – Enter fixed recurring expenses

Fixed recurring expenses are paid monthly in the same amount. These are recurring expenses like mortgage/rent payments, daycare, cell phone bills, and subscriptions. I automatically calculate each person’s monthly share of fixed expenses based on the share percentage entered.

Step #3b – Enter variable recurring expenses

Variable recurring expenses are paid monthly in varying amounts. Electricity, heat, and other seasonal expenses usually fall into this category. I recommend using an average monthly amount for variable recurring expenses. Add up the amount you paid over the past calendar year for each utility bill and enter that amount. The table above shows that the annual cost of electricity and heat is $3,000 each. I automatically calculate the monthly blended amount for electricity and heat of $250 and $125 each based on a 50% shared percentage entered.

Step #3c – Enter periodic recurring expenses

Periodic recurring expenses are not paid monthly. These are bills like car insurance, renters/homeowners insurance, life insurance, and real estate taxes. Based on the payment frequency and total payment amount, I automatically calculate the monthly amount needed and each person’s share based on the shared percentage entered.

Step #3d – Enter monthly debt payments

Monthly debt payments are recurring expenses too. These payments are car loans/leases, student loans, home equity loans, and credit card payments. Note: exclude your mortgage payment as I prefer you include it above as a monthly fixed expense.
If you carry credit card debt only enter the minimum payments due here.
If you pay your credit card in full each month do not enter any amounts here as you are not carrying any debt for that card.
Do not include any debt snowball payments or extra credit card payments you intend to make! We will address debt snowball payments and extra debt payment amounts in Step #3f.

Step #3e – Enter sinking fund items

Sinking fund items are used to help you prepare for expenses that you know are going to come up at some point. YNAB refers to these expenses as True Expenses. This is an area where you have to be honest with yourself to avoid going into debt. Think of all that can and will go wrong and add these sinking fund items to your plan. Also, plan for some fun expenses like that well-deserved vacation you need each year. Next, think long-term and build your savings for long-term sinking fund items like home remodeling or a new car.

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Step #3f – Enter debt snowball payments

If you carry credit card debt or other loans and are making extra payments to reduce that debt enter the amount below and select “Debt snowball” as the payment frequency. Also, make sure to assign the percentage each of you is paying towards the debt snowball payment. The dashboard will help you assess if the debt snowball payment amounts are right for your current 15-second Spending Plan.

Step #4 – Do not enter any “Wants”!

For this step, you should not enter anything!
Most budgeting systems insist you must budget all your “Wants”. Wants are expenses like dining out, food, gasoline, Uber/Lyft, movies, fun activities, haircuts, pet supplies, and small gifts.
I have found that budgeting and tracking Wants is a total waste of time. Resist tracking every dollar you spend on Wants, and spend that time enjoying life! The 15-Second Spending Plan has accounted for all the money you need to live day to day covered above. So, what remains is money that you can spend freely without worry!

Step #5 – Review Your As-is 15-Second Spending Plan

After entering all your data click on the As-is Dashboard tab to view your results.
The upper left corner of the dashboard lists the monthly totals, by individual, of monthly income, recurring expenses by category, debt payments, short-term and long-term sinking funds, debt snowball payments, and lastly the remaining amount to spend freely.

The lower left side of the dashboard provides a graphical analysis of your Needs. Your needs include your recurring expenses, debt payments, and your short-term sinking fund items. Your total percentage should be below 60%, with 50% going towards your needs, and 10% towards short-term sinking fund items. Those over 60% typically have credit card debt and are struggling financially as there is too little left over for long-term sinking fund items and money to spend freely.

The right side of the dashboard shows your 15-Second Spending plan, by individual and combined, in both dollars and the 50/30/20 rule percentages.

You now have created your baseline As-is plan! How do things look? Is each of you paying your fair share? Does one of you have a small amount to spend freely and the other a lot to spend freely?

A step-by-step guide to build your What-if 15-Second Spending Plan

Perhaps you want to adjust how you share expenses. Maybe you are thinking of purchasing a home and want to see how this will impact your spending.

The ability to create a “what-if” plan will allow you to easily track the impact of your changes to your As-is plan. You can toggle back and forth from the As-is plan to the What-if plan and make adjustments, as needed.

Step #1 – Enter the income from the As-is tab to the What-if tab

Re-enter or copy the income and paycheck frequency from the As-is spending plan tab to the What-if spending plan tab

Step #2 – Copy the recurring expenses on the As-is tab

On the As-is spending plan tab highlight cells A14 to H70 and select Edit->Copy or Control C

Step #3 – Paste the recurring expense onto the What-if tab

On the What-if spending plan tab select cell A14 and from the menu select Edit-Paste or Control V

The recurring expense data from the As-is spending plan tab should now appear on the What-if spending plan tab as shown below;

Step #4 – Match the data on As-is and What-if dashboards

Compare the summaries on the As-is to the What-if tab to make sure they are identical.

Step #5 – UpdateThe What-if spending plan Tab for changes

Start making changes on the What-if tab for changes to your As-is 15-Second Spending Plan.

• The changes I made to the What-if plan above are explained as follows:
  • Life Insurance – switched it from a monthly bill to a semi-annual bill
  • Medical Bills – Mine – switched to a Monthly-Varies amount from a fixed amount
  • Water & Sewer Bill – omitted in the As-is plan and had to add it
  • Life Insurance Spouse – omitted in the As-is plan and had to add it
  • Auto Insurance – omitted in the As-is plan and had to add it
  • Homeowner’s insurance – omitted in the As-is plan and had to add it
  • Umbrella insurance policy – omitted in the As-is plan and had to add it
  • I broke out the As-is sinking fund single item of $1,165 a month into multiple line items

Step #6 – Review the results on the What-if Dashboard tab

It is now time to view the results on the What-if dashboard. The What-if version now has only $1,997 a month to spend freely, down from the as-is plan amount of $2,502. This is over $600 a month in missed recurring expenses. As you can see, failure to be honest with what you spend can put you in financial peril in the future by not truly taking into account all your potential spending.

Share Your 15-Second Spending Plan Sheet with your partner

The 15-Second Spending Plan is easy to share with your partner.

Open the 15-Second Spending Plan version you own or have edit access to.

1. Click Share.
2. Enter the email address of the person you want to share the 15-Second Spending Plan with.
3. Choose what kind of access you want to give them: Editor, Commenter, or Viewer.
4. Click Send.

Agree on the 15-Second Spending Plan to be followed

It is time to decide on a 15-Second Spending Plan that will be followed. Meet with your partner and agree on each other’s share of expenses and the amount to spend freely. After agreeing make sure to hold each other accountable to the plan.

Memorize your 15-Second Spending Plan to be followed

Memorizing your 15-Second Spending Plan is important! It should only take a few minutes to memorize and easily repeat your 15-Second Spending Plan. After memorizing it, you now have complete control of your finances. You will know immediately if you are spending more for a specific expense. The impact of a major purchase, like a car, can be calculated quickly in your head without having to open a budget app.

Set it and forget it for a few months.

Try to avoid adjusting your 15-Second Spending Plan every month. See how things are going over several months. Look for recurring expenses that you incur and are not captured in your spending plan. Make significant changes every 3 months. If you were honest with all your expenses and sinking fund items your spending issues you had in the past will now be gone. You will see your sinking funds grow, your money stress levels decrease, and disagreements with your partner disappear.

Conclusion

There you have it, the complete step-by-step guide to building your 15-Second Spending Plan. It is now time for you and your partner to memorize and begin to gain control of your finances.

Please try it out and let me know how it worked for you in the comments below.