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7 Free Teen Budget Worksheets & Tools (Start Your Teenager Budgeting)

Teen budget worksheets are a great way to help teach kids how to budget and how to track expenses. I round up the best (free) budget planners for teenagers.

A weird thing happens when a teen starts to put numbers down on a piece of paper (i.e., a teen budget worksheet):

teen girl putting money into jar, smiling, text overlay "7 free teen budget worksheets and tools"

They get hit on the head with reality. 

I’ve seen it time and time again (it happens to kids and adults, too).

To be honest? I’ve even experienced the “aha” moment myself.

You see, the numbers don’t lie.

When you see how much income you have coming in and how much spending and expenses you have going out, in black and white, you can no longer ignore the truth.

Well, you can still ignore it…but it does become harder to do.

Not only that, but if you have your teen sit down and write out a budget and spending plan, then the next time they are out of money or suffering through a money blunder – like anyone learning how to budget and manage money is going to experience – then you can calmly sit down with them and their budget worksheet and point out where their spending was a problem.

They'll be able to see it clearly, with their own eyes, and you become less of the “bad guy”. 

So, let’s get started with these budgeting worksheets for high school students. 

Hint: there actually aren't that many teen budget worksheets out there, for free. SO, I'm choosing simple, colorful, and helpful free budget worksheets that will work well for teenagers (even if they were originally made for adults). Except for my own, of course, because I made it precisely for teenagers!

Best Teen Budget Worksheets

A teen needs to learn how to budget.

It's a critical part of teenage money management.

And what I like to call “mind budgeting”— trying to keep track of spending and when your next payday is in your head – is simply not going to work.

For starters, teens don’t have enough experience with budgeting to do mind budgeting. Some adults can get away with it because they’ve been at this for decades.

Not only that, but when you write down what you plan to spend, you’re much more successful at actually sticking to it.

Having said all this, I wanted to dive into some example teen budget worksheets to get your own teenager working on a budget. It’s one of the best and easiest tools to help them learn how to manage and budget their money.

Psst: you'll also definitely want to check out 58 common teenager expenses, to get your teen started with how to fill out the expense part of their budget worksheet. Also, here's 3 sample budgets for 18-year-olds to help, and 11 teenage budgeting tips.

1. Money Prodigy's Teen Budget Worksheet

You're on Money Prodigy…so let's start off with my very own teen budget worksheet!

teen budget worksheet with blues, greens, orange, and pink, spot for income and expenses and savings - planned, actuals, and leak or leftovers

Your teen can use these budget sheets to fill in:

  • Budget Cycle: pick a budget duration (I think teens should use a one-week budget cycle to begin with), and put in the dates in the “Budget for the Week(s) of _____” area.
  • Income sources: this includes things like allowance money, chore commissions, paychecks from a part-time or summer job, gift cards, birthday money, etc.
  • Expenses: have your teen fill in things like bills (such as a cell phone data plan), planned spending (such as vending machine snacks), etc.
  • Savings: have your teen use this area to plan for savings, plus catch any leftover money they didn't end up spending to put into savings. Notice how there's a row for “actual money put into savings?” I want your teen to get into the habit of what I call “banking it”, meaning actually moving money out of their checking account to their savings at the end of a budget cycle so that the money doesn't “accidentally” get spent. It's a money habit that makes a big difference!
  • Money calendar: on page two of this free printable, you'll find a blank money calendar where your teen can do some planning ahead as far as paychecks/earnings/allowances, bill due dates, occasions where they'll need to spend money, etc.

At the end of the budgeting cycle (one week, two weeks, etc.), have them come back to the sheet and fill out the “actual” columns — what they actually spent and what they actually earned, and then subtract from the planned amounts to get the leak or leftover from their initial budget plan.

Very important step in the process, especially if you want them to get better and better at this budgeting thing!

Psst: once you figure out how to budget as a teenager? Pair it with these free money envelopes for kids so that they can track their spending throughout the week.

large pink, blue, and tan button with images of teen budget binder, text overlay "get the teen budget binder - weekly budget sheet and how-to, spending tracker, budgeting reflection process, videos, more"

2. Quick Monthly Expense Tracker

I love how…blank this balance sheet is!

I think it certainly looks like something a teenager would like to work with (as far as colors and layout are concerned), and can be a great way to give your teenager some awareness of their balance, spending, earnings, etc.

Pink, blue, green, and black, blank budget teens can use to fill in their own savings goals, fixed expenses, spending, etc.

3. Paycheck Budgeting Worksheet

If your teenager is working and earning a weekly or bi-weekly paycheck, then introducing them to paycheck budgeting could be helpful.

This means each budget cycle is synced with their paycheck cycle, helping them to understand how to not overspending on their next payday.

Here's a free paycheck budgeting worksheet to get them started.

colorful budget ledger budget worksheet with an area at the top for net pay, and blank everywhere else

Let's move onto some teen budget apps.

horizontal, teal, gold, and pink teen budget binder with images of the budget binder, text "go beyond just a budget worksheet and help your teen learn to manage their money!"

Best Teen Budget Apps

Our world, and our banking world, is quickly turning to an app-based experience. Because of this, I think it's important that your teenager gets their toes wet using money apps. 

Here are some of the best teen budget apps and teen money apps available: 

Teen Budget App #1: Entrepreneur Toolbox App

Is your teen budgeting for a certain savings goal?

Don't let the name of this free app fool you — it's also an impressive goal setting and budgeting app for teens.

It’s got the ability for your teen (and anyone, for that matter) to set and budget for a savings goal, and then track it. 

You can start a new savings goal by inputting how much it will cost to get, how much you have now, and then the date that you want to meet your goal by. You then add in transactions towards your goal, and it automatically tracks your progress. 

Pssst: you can access all the Teen Entrepreneur App features without buying the Teen Entrepreneur Toolbox kit – it’s a free app!

screenshot of entrepreneur toolbox teen budget app
screenshot of budget app for teens

Available On: iOS

Teen Budget App #2: Toshl App

This isn't an app made solely for teens, but I'm including it as a teen budgeting app because of it's simplicity and fun-looking interface.

The Toshl App connects with your teen's financial accounts (from over 13,000 banking institutions worldwide). This allows for automatic updates. 

But if your teen doesn't currently bank, or uses mainly cash from allowances? Then there's an option to manually update their spending (I think if they have to input each of their transactions, it would add better awareness for them as to how much they spend each day/week/month).  

Your teen can then tally up their spending by category, or by date. 

screenshot of teenage budget app

Available On: iOS and Google Play

Teen Budget App #3: Plan It Prom

Prom is a perfect opportunity for your teen to learn how to budget. You can either use it to teach the how to budget for an occasion, OR, you can use it to teach them how to budget in general. 

One way to help with that is Visa's app, Plan'it Prom. Your teen can use the budget calculator, put in the prom date and get a prom countdown (that sounds fun for a teenager!) and much more. 

Available On: iOS and Google Play

Example Expenses for Teenagers

Now that your teen is working on their first budget (or attempting budgeting for the second time), they might need an idea of what example expenses teenagers have. 

After all, filling in expenses is a huge part of budgeting, and of filling in a budget worksheet for young adults! 

Let me share some examples of teen expenses (both monthly teen expenses and expenses stretched throughout the year, such as buying Christmas gifts for siblings). 

  1. Gas
  2. Car insurance
  3. Speeding ticket costs
  4. Smartphone data plan
  5. Pet accessories
  6. Christmas/birthday presents for siblings
  7. Facial wash/Personal Toiletries
  8. Movies/Bowling/Entertainment with Friends
  9. Teen date night expenses
  10. In-app purchases

Here's 48 more common teen expenses to keep in mind.

Next up? Let's talk about teen budget calculators. Or, rather…the lack of them

Teenage Budget Calculator

I hate to burst your bubble, but there aren’t many (if any) teenage budget calculators out there.

I know, I know. After searching for an hour or so, I was quite bummed, too! (If you happen to find any? Please let me know in the comments below). 

I'm going to keep my eyes out for the best teenage budget calculators, and even adult ones that can be adapted for teens to use. As I find them, I'll update here. 

I hope you can use these teen budget resources and free printable budget worksheets for students to help your teenager with the budgeting process. Let me know what other resources you're looking for below, and I'll see what I can do! Also, check out this article on how a teenager can improve their budget.

teen girl on couch working on teen budget, text overlay
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Amanda L. Grossman is a writer and Certified Financial Education Instructor, a 2017 Plutus Foundation Grant Recipient, and founder of Money Prodigy. Her money work has been featured on Experian, GoBankingRates, PT Money, CA.gov, Rockstar Finance, the Houston Chronicle, and Colonial Life. Amanda is the founder and CEO of Frugal Confessions, LLC. Read more here or on LinkedIn.