A5 zero based budget inserts that give every dollar a clear job

This A5 zero based budget fills your binder with 24 undated pages, laid out as two-page spreads, where income minus everything you assign comes out at exactly zero. The inserts fit A5 ring binders, half letter binders and discbound planners, and print-and-cut A4 and Letter versions are included. Both page sizes and both cut sheets are an instant download, and nothing arrives by mail.

There is no currency printed anywhere, so it works wherever you live.

How the A5 zero based budget brings order to your money

A short guide and a worked example show you the method first. You then set up your categories one time and plan every month on a spread: income and the zero check sit on the left, and a 21-row table on the right assigns each dollar a purpose.

A paycheck spread breaks each payday into jobs and lists the bills that fall before the next one, while 12 category boxes show what remains after each purchase. If a category runs low, the money moves log keeps the plan balanced at zero, and a mid-month check-in and an end-of-month review help you adjust without guilt. Undated and free of any currency, it lets you begin in any month and reprint spreads whenever you need them.

Who these budget inserts are made for

• Anyone with an A5 6-ring, half letter or junior discbound planner who wants the budget living in the same planner
• First-time zero-based budgeters who would like a guide and an example before diving in
• Anyone paid weekly or every two weeks who plans each paycheck the day it lands
• Couples and families who enjoy going over the month together on paper

Design, sizes and printing

• Minimal and elegant: white pages with soft blush pink accents that need very little ink
• Generous margins all round, so a home printer will not crop anything
• Portrait pages in two sizes, A5 at 148 x 210 mm and Half Letter at 5.5 x 8.5 in, plus cut sheets for A4 or US Letter paper
• No dates and no currency symbols, so you can start in any month of any year with any currency
• Binding margins switch sides: 14 mm on the left side of odd pages and the right side of even pages, with 8 mm along the outer edge
• Lines spaced 6.5 mm apart or more and type of 8.5 pt or larger, so the small page stays easy to write on
• Cut sheets carry a dashed line down the middle and cut ticks, so a single cut makes two pages
• Keep them in a binder or on a clipboard, or have a print shop spiral bind them

Inside the A5 zero based budget: 24 pages

1. 1Cover listing each spread, with room for your name and the date you begin
2. 2How zero-based budgeting works, a brief introduction, the income less assigned equals zero check and five easy steps
3. 3Example and first try, a worked example built on a monthly income of 3,000 (11 rows), seven helpful tips and a 6-line practice budget for your first month
4. 4Category planner (left) covering Giving, Saving, Home and bills, and Food and household, each with suggested categories and 8 rows for planned amounts
5. 5Category planner (right) covering Transport, Debt, Personal and fun, and Sinking funds, with 9 rows each
6. 6Monthly budget (left) with an income table of 5 rows (source, expected, received), total income, the zero check, a priority order in six steps and notes
7. 7Monthly budget (right) with a 21-row table that gives each dollar a job, with columns for category, assigned, spent and left
8. 8Paycheck allocation (left) with the pay date, amount, next payday and a 16-row jobs table (job, category, amount, done), plus the total assigned
9. 9Paycheck allocation (right) with a checklist for things to handle before the next payday, an 8-row table of bills due and a check that the paycheck less assigned equals zero
10. 10 and 11Spending tracker by category with six boxes on each page (12 altogether), each showing the category, the assigned amount and 8 rows for date, spent and left
11. 12 and 13Weekly spending log with 22 and 18 rows for date, item, category, amount and planned, plus total spent, unplanned spending and your top category
12. 14Money moves log (left) with a quick guide and a 16-row table for the date, the category money leaves, the category it goes to, the amount and the reason
13. 15Money moves log (right) with 9 further rows, the categories you top up most often and changes to make in next month's plan
14. 16Mid-month check-in (left) with income received so far, spending so far, money not yet assigned and a 15-row category check
15. 17Mid-month check-in (right) for what is working, what needs changing, surprises, money moves still to make, a 1 to 5 scale for how you feel about money and a focus for the rest of the month
16. 18End-of-month review (left) with totals for income, assigned, spent and left over, a 9-row table of categories that ran over or under, and jobs for any money that remains
17. 19End-of-month review (right) for money wins, lessons, changes for next month, a note to yourself for next month and totals saved and paid off
18. 20Sinking funds (left) with a short guide and two fund trackers, each showing the fund, target, amount per month, date needed, 12 month circles and a 10-row log
19. 21Sinking funds (right) with four further fund trackers, each with a 5-row log
20. 22Annual overview (left) with income, assigned, spent and a zero tick for each of the 12 months, totals, and five money goals for the year
21. 23Annual overview (right) with savings and debt paid per month, your biggest wins, total saved, debt cleared and the number of months that balanced to zero
22. 24Lined notes page with a line for the date

What you download

• A5 file: Zero Based Budget A5 & Half Letter Inserts, 24 pages at 148 x 210 mm
• Half Letter file: Zero Based Budget A5 & Half Letter Inserts, 24 pages at 5.5 x 8.5 in
• A4 print-and-cut PDF with two A5 pages on each landscape A4 sheet, 12 sheets
• US Letter print-and-cut PDF with two half letter pages on each landscape Letter sheet, 12 sheets
• Read Me First (PDF), a guide to printing, cutting and hole punching, with a page finder

How to download and print

• Check out with PayPal, a debit or credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Your download page opens as soon as the payment goes through.
• We email the same private download links to you, so you can download your files again later.
• Open the PDF in a free reader such as Adobe Acrobat Reader and print at 100% or Actual size.
• Print the A5 or Half Letter file on small paper, or print a print-and-cut file on A4 or US Letter paper and cut each sheet in half.
• Print only the pages you need, as often as you like, for your own personal use.

Good to know before you buy

• These inserts are PDFs designed to be printed, not a hyperlinked digital planner. You can still import a PDF into most note taking apps and write on it there.
• You receive digital files only. No physical product is shipped.
• Printed colors may differ slightly from what you see on screen.
• Made for your personal use only. Please do not share, resell or pass on the files.
• Digital files cannot be returned. If a file will not open or print properly, email us and we will help quickly.
• Binder ring spacing varies between brands, so no punch marks are printed. Punch the wide inner margin with your own A5 6-hole punch, junior punch or disc punch.
• These pages are a personal budgeting tool and are not financial advice.

How this was made

Designed and written by PetiteDiary. AI tools helped draft parts of the text, and some background scenes in the preview images were created with AI. Every page was designed, reviewed and checked before release.

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