Track Every Money: My Simple Zero-Based Budget for Real Life

For a long time, “budget” sounded like a strict diet to me.

No coffee. No snacks. No fun.
Just spreadsheets and guilt.

But when my money finally started to feel calmer, I realized something:

The budget that actually works is the one you can live with on a normal day.

Not a fantasy “perfect month”. Not a challenge week.
Just… real life.

In this post, I want to share the simple zero-based budget I use to track every bit of income. It’s not fancy. It fits rice–egg–veggie lunches, random online orders, and those tired days when we just buy food outside.

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What is a zero-based budget (in normal language)?

Zero-based budget basically means:

Every unit of money you expect to receive this month already has a job.

You’re not just thinking, “I’ll try to save whatever is left.”
Instead, you decide in advance:

• how much goes to needs,

• how much to wants,

• how much to future freedom,

• and how much to your reset fund.

When you add them up, they equal your income. That’s the “zero”.

It doesn’t mean you have zero money.
It means you have zero unplanned money.

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Step 1 – Know your real monthly income

First, be honest about what actually comes in.

• Salary after tax and deductions

• Average freelance / side income (use a safe lower number)

• Any regular support or stipend

Example:

• Salary: 3,000

• Side income: around 500 → I only count 300 to be safe

Budget income = 3,300 (in your currency)

If your income is irregular, you can:

• take the average of the last 3–6 months,

• and update the numbers each month as reality changes.
  
  

If you’re still in “reset mode” with your money, you can start with my 7-Day Money Reset Challenge first. It’s a small, gentle way to clean up habits before you set up a full monthly budget.

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Step 2 – Give each unit of money a “home”

Now we break that 3,300 into four big buckets.

You can adjust the percentages, but here’s a simple starting point:

1. Needs – 55–60%
   Rent, groceries, basic transport, bills, minimum debt payments.

2. Wants – 15–20%
   Eating out, small treats, games, cosmetics, “because I feel like it”.

3. Future Freedom – 10–15%
   Savings, investments, sinking funds (future laptop, travel, courses).

4. Reset Fund – 10–15%
   Emergency fund + money to fix mistakes: surprise bills, overspending, mini-reset when life happens.

Example with 60 / 15 / 15 / 10 on 3,300:

• Needs – 60% → 1,980

• Wants – 15% → 495

• Future Freedom – 15% → 495

• Reset Fund – 10% → 330

Total = 3,300.
Zero unassigned money. ✅

You can change these percentages, but keep the idea: everything is named.

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Step 3 – Turn the buckets into real numbers

Now write it somewhere visible:

• notebook,

• simple spreadsheet, or

• a note app on your phone.

Example layout:

Needs (1,980)

• Rent: 900

• Groceries at home: 500

• Transport: 250

• Phone + internet: 120

• Utilities: 150

• Minimum debt: 60

Wants (495)

• Eating out / drinks: 250

• Online shopping: 150

• Small fun / hobbies: 95

Future Freedom (495)

• Long-term savings: 200

• Future travel: 150

• Big items (laptop / phone / etc.): 145

Reset Fund (330)

• Emergency / surprise bills: 330

You don’t need perfect numbers.
You just need something clear enough that you know when you are crossing the line.

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Step 4 – Track in a lazy but honest way

This is where most budgets die: tracking.

If you love details, you can log every transaction.
If not, choose the laziest method that you will still do.

a) “Three lines per week” method

Once a week, open your notebook or sheet and write just three lines:

• Total spent on Needs this week

• Total spent on Wants

• How much you added to Future Freedom + Reset Fund

You don’t need to remember each rice plate.
Just use your bank / e-wallet history and estimate.

b) Envelope / e-wallet buckets

If you like something more physical:

• Cash: separate envelopes for Wants, Future Freedom, Reset Fund.

• Digital: different bank accounts or e-wallet “pockets” (if your app allows it).

When one envelope / pocket is empty, that category is done for the month.
You can still spend, but you’re deciding which bucket you’re stealing from.

c) A very simple spreadsheet

Columns:

• Date

• Category (Need / Want / Future Freedom / Reset)

• Description

• Amount

At the top of each category, show:

• Planned amount

• Minus what you’ve already spent

• Equals how much is left

This doesn’t need to be pretty. It just needs to be true.

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Step 5 – Let the budget talk back to you

After one or two months, sit down with a calm drink and ask:

• Which category always explodes first? (Usually Wants 🙃)

• Which category feels too tight?

• Am I underestimating groceries or transport?

• Am I over-promising on savings?

Adjust your numbers slowly.

A budget is not a punishment.
It’s just a mirror showing you how your current life actually costs.

When something doesn’t fit, it doesn’t mean you “failed”.
It just means the plan needs to be updated to match your real life.

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Step 6 – Connect it with your emergency fund and mindset

If you’ve read my other posts, you already know:

• I like small resets, not huge overnight changes.

• A tiny emergency fund already changed how I sleep and how I handle stress.

This zero-based budget is how I connect everything:

• My Needs keep the present running.

• My Wants remind me that life is allowed to feel nice.

• My Future Freedom bucket is how I slowly build the next version of my life.

• My Reset Fund is there when things break, plans fail, or I spend too much.

When I look at my numbers now, I don’t feel “rich”.
But I do feel less blind.

I know where my money is going.
I know which part is for survival, which part is for joy, and which part is quietly building a safer future.

If you want to see how even a tiny buffer can change your mood, I wrote about it here: How a Small Emergency Fund Changed the Way I Sleep.

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If you want to start today

You don’t have to wait for a “perfect month”.

You can:

1. Take a piece of paper.

2. Write your expected income for the next month (or the rest of this month).

3. Divide it into Needs / Wants / Future Freedom / Reset Fund in rough percentages.

4. Keep it somewhere you can see it.

5. Try the three-lines-per-week tracking for one month.

That’s it.

You don’t need a fancy app. You don’t need to be “good with numbers”.
You just need to care enough about your future self to look honestly at your money now.

Free budget sheet you can download

If you like using spreadsheets, I made a simple zero-based budget sheet you can download and use for yourself. It has four main buckets — Needs, Wants, Future Freedom, and Reset Fund — plus a detailed page for rent, groceries, transport, and more.

You only need to:

• change the monthly income at the top,

• adjust the percentages if you want,

• fill in your real spending as the month goes.

Download the Zero-Based Budget Sheet