Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to common questions about using your budget spreadsheet, tracking spending, and getting the most out of its features.

Frequently asked questions

They’re built by someone who actually budgets — not a giant software company. I focus on clarity, automation, and real-life usability, not bells and whistles you’ll never use.

It's a simple process! Once you make a purchase, you'll immediately receive access to your templates. Simply check your email for a download link sent by Etsy. Alternatively, you can download the templates from your Account > Purchases and Reviews section.

Please note that all materials included in this purchase are for personal use only. No part of the content can be distributed, sold, duplicated, reproduced, or used in any form without the author's written consent.

Reselling without permission is violating copyright law.

Google Sheets does have a built-in way to handle this. Simply go to File > Settings, then change the Locale to your country. You might also want to update the Time Zone to your countries timezone so everything matches your region.

Check out Googles help center for more information

I currently provide spreadsheets primarily for Google Sheets. However, please don't hesitate to reach out, as I would be delighted to explore the possibility of expanding my product offerings.

Absolutely! To get started, you'll need to create the initial copy of the sheet on a desktop or laptop computer. Afterward, you can access and utilize your sheet on both your tablet and phone. For optimal performance, we recommend using the Google Sheets app.

Definitely. If you need help using your spreadsheet or have a question, just reach out. I’m here to make budgeting feel less overwhelming.

Use the Master (Dashboard) tab! Don’t edit this tab directly—instead, right-click the Master tab and choose Duplicate. That will give you a fresh, working version of your budget each month without any formula errors.

All digital and instant download purchases are final and non-refundable, as we cannot verify if the product has been downloaded. If you have any questions or concerns about your order, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Please note that all materials included in this purchase are for personal use only. No part of the content can be distributed, sold, duplicated, reproduced, or used in any form without the author's written consent.

The actual color of the spreadsheet may vary due to differences in screen displays. Phones, tablets, and computers may show colors differently, much like how individuals perceive colors differently. Please consider this when purchasing the template.

We will work quickly to ship your order as soon as possible. Once your order has shipped, you will receive an email with further information. Delivery times vary depending on your location.

This is a digital product and is ready to download immediately after purchase. No waiting, no shipping fees. Buy once, and it's yours forever! No physical product will be shipped

Troubleshooting

If certain features or calculations aren’t working, it may be due to deleted or altered formulas. Colored cells in the spreadsheet contain important formulas — changing or removing them can cause errors.

To help prevent this, all formula cells have a background color and are protected from editing. Editable areas are marked with a white background. If you see a warning pop-up while editing, just click “Cancel” to avoid accidentally changing protected cells.

If something’s not working, try downloading a fresh copy of the spreadsheet to restore the original setup.

This usually happens when the transaction date falls outside of your set budget date range (you’ll find the date range in the top-left corner of the sheet). Double-check that the date of the transaction is within that range.

Another common cause is if the formulas in the budget have accidentally been edited or deleted—especially if you’ve copied or replaced template sections.

That error usually appears when a formula that powers the dropdown has been changed or removed. This can happen if you accidentally overwrite or delete a formula cell. Avoid editing any colored or locked cells—stick to the white ones! If you're unsure, reach out or restore a clean copy of the spreadsheet to start fresh.

Breaks typically occur when cells are pasted using standard keyboard shortcuts like CTRL+V, which can override formatting and formulas. Instead, right-click and select Paste Special > Values Only when entering data. This keeps the formulas and layout intact.

Some parts of the sheet are protected to avoid accidental deletion of formulas. If you see a warning when trying to edit a protected cell, just click "Cancel" and enter your data into a white (editable) cell instead. The colored cells are formula-driven and should be left as-is.

Totally understandable—things happen! You can:

Redownload a fresh copy of the spreadsheet
Use Paste Special > Values Only when copying

Great question! When you duplicate a tab in Google Sheets, any cell protections from the original sheet don’t carry over automatically. This means that formulas and other locked areas in the duplicated version are now unprotected — and easier to accidentally change or delete.

What to do:

To keep your formulas safe, you can either:

Use the original Master tab only as a template, and always make your edits in the white (editable) cells only — even in duplicated versions.
Re-apply protections manually if you need to lock cells again. (Go to: Data > Protect sheets and ranges, and set protection rules.)

Subscriptions & Bills

Great question — this actually means everything’s working as it should!

The subscription and bill trackers are designed to only show dropdown options for payments due within your selected budget period (set in the top left of your dashboard).

If nothing appears, it simply means you don’t have any bills or subscriptions scheduled for that timeframe. Nothing to worry about!

To get them working automatically, be sure to add a First Payment Date, Billing Period and Prive in the Subscriptions or Bills Tracker tabs. Without that, the spreadsheet won’t know when those payments are due, so they won’t appear in your dropdowns.

The dashboard is designed to pull subscription and bill details automatically from the Subscriptions Tracker and Bills Tracker tabs.

To add a subscription, head to the Subscriptions Tracker and enter the details there. Once it’s saved, it will appear on your dashboard whenever it’s due—no need to re-enter it each month! Just update your budget’s start and end dates, and everything adjusts for you.

This setup keeps things simple and repeatable 😊

Debt payoff calculator & tracker

Yes! The debt tracker is designed to be flexible. While you’ll enter a regular monthly payment to keep track of your plan, you can absolutely make extra payments (or smaller ones) whenever needed. Just adjust the amount in the relevant month, and the spreadsheet will update your balance and progress automatically.

Definitely. You’re free to allocate extra money toward any specific debt, in any month. The spreadsheet doesn’t lock you into a fixed repayment structure — it’s designed so you can adapt based on what’s realistic for your situation each month.

Yes! You’ll find a detailed walkthrough of the debt section near the end of the tutorial video linked in the product description. It’s a great way to see how flexible the tracker is and how to use it effectively. You can also preview the spreadsheet live before purchasing.