The Ninja Budget blog
I publish one article a week, built around five themes: the basics of budgeting, household spending, ways to save, management tools, and spending habits.
Everything you read here comes from my day-to-day work. So nothing I have not checked, tried or been through myself!
All articles
Managing Your Budget: How to (Finally) Get Started
You can manage your budget even without financial training. This four-step method starts with your actual expenses—not your ideal ones—to create a tracking system that stands the test of time.
Mastering Your Budget: The Method to (Finally) Get Started
Mastering your budget doesn’t require financial training. This four-step method starts from your real spending, not an ideal version of it, to build a tracking system that actually lasts.
Budget app or spreadsheet: Which one will really help you stick to your budget?
Budgeting Apps vs. Spreadsheets: An Honest Comparison of What Each Tool Does Well, Its Real Limitations, and How to Choose Based on Your Needs.
Why You’re Sabotaging Your Budget (and How to Stop Doing It!)
Why You’re Sabotaging Your Budget Without Even Knowing It: Present Bias, Normalization, Cognitive Dissonance, and Practical Ways to Overcome Them.
Browse our 5 main themes
Budget & Personal Finance
Building a budget that holds up, reading it, adapting it to situations that do not fit the usual pattern.
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Everyday Budget
Groceries, energy, subscriptions, transport, and managing money as a couple or as a family.
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Savings & Life Goals
Putting money aside for something specific, and knowing how much and for how long.
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Budgeting Tools & Methods
Apps, spreadsheets, methods. What works, for whom, and what does not.
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Psychology & Money Mindset
Why we overspend, why we put things off, and how to work on it.
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Frequently asked questions about budgeting
How do you make a budget if you have never tracked your spending?
Start by recording your actual spending over a full month, without trying to correct anything. It is the only way to get accurate figures rather than an estimate. You then build your budget for the months ahead on that basis.
Is a Google Sheets budget spreadsheet better than an app?
It depends on what you are looking for. An app categorises for you and asks for access to your bank accounts. A spreadsheet takes fifteen minutes a week, but your data stays with you and you remain in control. The detailed comparison is in the Budgeting Tools & Methods category.
Why choose a paid Google Sheets budget template?
A free template almost always starts from the same assumption: one salary, one account, a year beginning in January. A paid template earns its place when your situation does not fit that mould, with several accounts, irregular income or a period starting mid-year.
How do you budget as a freelancer with irregular income?
By working from a reference income rather than the current month. You set money aside for charges as soon as it comes in, you smooth out the rest, and you accept that some months fund the ones that follow. Several articles in the Savings & Life Goals category set out the method.
Is there a budgeting app without a subscription?
Few, and they are rarely fully featured. That is the main argument for the spreadsheet: you pay once, or not at all, and the tool does not change its price six months later. The Ninja Budget follows that model, a one-off purchase of €15.
Ready to take control of your budget?
See where you stand, plan ahead, reach your savings goals. A complete tool for only €15, delivered by email in 2 minutes. No subscription, no commitment, no risk.
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