Financial security starts with knowing where your money goes. Use our free monthly budget planner to map your income, track your expenses, and find the breathing room you didn’t know you had.
Enter your numbers below, adjust the categories to fit your life, and download a clean Excel summary you can save, share, or build on. It takes less than five minutes — and what you find might surprise you.
Most budgets account for rent, groceries, and utilities. Few leave room for the thing that protects all of it. Life, health, disability, and critical illness insurance don’t have to break your budget — and with the right plan, they rarely do. At Nova Star Insurance, we help Canadians find coverage that fits their real lives and real numbers.
All amounts are monthly. Leave blank or enter 0 to skip a line.
Learning how to build a budget is one of the simplest ways to take control of your money. The planner above does the math for you. Still, it helps to know the steps.
Start with your take-home pay after tax. Then, add any other regular income, such as rental income or benefits.
Next, list your fixed costs, like rent, utilities, and loan payments. After that, add variable costs, such as groceries, transportation, and entertainment.
If expenses are higher than income, look for areas to trim. On the other hand, if you have a surplus, decide where it should go, such as savings or paying down debt.
Finally, remember that an illness, injury, or death could stop your income. Life, disability, and critical illness insurance protect the budget you’ve built. In fact, the right coverage often costs less than people expect.
For more tips, read the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s guide to making a budget.
