Aspire Budgeting

Begin on Configuration by naming your accounts and categories, then enter a starting-balance transaction for each budget account. On Category Transfers, move money from Available to budget into categories such as groceries, transport or an annual insurance bill. These transfers allocate money within the plan rather than spending it.

Record a purchase on the next empty Transactions row: date, Outflow, memo, account and category. Mark it Pending until it clears, then change it to Settled. Income goes in Inflow and can be assigned through Category Transfers. The Dashboard updates the category balances, while the free reporting add-on compares monthly targets with actual spending and lets you open the transactions behind a category.

A couple can use the same workbook: click Share and add the partner's Google account as an Editor. Keep custom views on separate tabs so the budget's existing layout stays intact.

The spreadsheet and reporting add-on remain free. Turbo costs $5 a month and adds CSV import, categorization, quick category funding, forecasts, recurring-expense tools, split transactions and Aspire Mobile. Its 30-day trial requires a payment method and automatically becomes paid unless canceled; taxes may apply. The free spreadsheet also works through the Google Sheets mobile app.