Values Driven Budgeting Template (Inspired by Carl Richards)

Google Sheets Show & Tell
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Overview

We built the values driven budgeting template with guidance from Carl Richards, New York Times columnist and best selling author. At Tiller, we’re big believers that every dollar spent is a vote, and his values-driven budgeting strategy fits well with our view on money.

Get started with this template

Add to existing spreadsheet

If you’re already using the Foundation Template and just want to copy this into your existing spreadsheet follow the steps below.

  1. In your Transactions sheet insert a column to the right of column E (the new column needs to be in position F)
  2. Click here to open the template
  3. In the Transactions sheet in the Template, copy the three cells in column F including row 1
  4. Paste the cells into column F (the new column) in your Transactions sheet
  5. Use the “Fill Handle” copy copy down the dropdown menu from row 3 into all the rows in your Transactions sheet
  6. In the template, copy the Values Dashboard from the template into your spreadsheet using the steps in this guide
  7. Dive into the “Aligning spending with values” section below

Start fresh in a new spreadsheet

If you just want to start fresh in a new spreadsheet you can follow the steps below.

  1. Click here to open the template preview
  2. Click the “Use template” button in the upper right to make a copy of the template
  3. Launch or Install the Tiller Money Feeds add-on and start feeding data into the sheet from your accounts. You can launch from the Extensions menu at the top of your Google Sheets. If the add-on is already installed it will appear near the bottom of the Extensions menu or you can install it here.

Aligning spending with values

First, read this article by Carl Richards about his values driven approach to spending for some context.

Next, write out your values. This is a quick exercise that comes from his New York Times bestselling book, The One Page Financial Plan. We recommend that you buy the book because it’s a great read; you can download the first chapter for free here. It will get you started on how to think about and outline your values.

A simple exercise

Now you can begin the simple exercise of marking each transaction in your new Tiller Sheet.

Is this expense aligned with your values? Yes or no.

For some expenses, deciding may be easy. The gift to a local charity might be a quick “yes.” The money you spent on an impulse purchase you never use might be a “no.” Other expenses, like a utility bill, may raise more questions. For these, we’d recommend giving yourself a pass and saying “yes” unless it’s a bill you think you could reduce or a bill with other options you might consider for meeting that need.

Your easy homework

Then each day (ideally) or several times a week, visit the dashboard. How much of your spending is aligned with your values? Can you reduce the spending that’s not aligned? And even for the spending that is aligned, is there a way to honor that value without having to spend? In his column, Carl gives a great example of a value-aligned expense that supports a friend; but he demonstrates that with some reflection, it’s possible to achieve the value and support the friend without spending money.

Have a question or feedback?

Reply to this thread and ask or share your thoughts.

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I love this. So simple and doesn’t just focus on cutting your expenses, but instead just being intentional. And that’s a great book as well!

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I “manage” our joint checking account and have a family of 4. I think identifying my values and aligning my spending is easier if I was single but not as easy when there are more people involved. Wondering how others do this. I’d love to have our family account be more aligned with values instead of decisions being about whether or not there is money in the budget for whatever someone is wanting to buy/get/do/etc.

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@marci I love this idea! I think that it’s a great topic for the Discussions category, and might get some more visibility and more responses there, but I will let you decide if you want to re-post there (and perhaps refer back to this show & tell topic).

I think the first step is getting your family aligned around the idea of spending in line with values, especially for things that are outside the “obligatory” bucket.