VB Tutorial: Weekly Budget Tracker

Hello VillaFolx. It's Gabe from @plan_with_gabe. One of my goals for the remainder of the year is to handle my finances better. I am going to do this with a weekly budget tracker. I can use this as an insert, laminate it to be a dashboard, or even use it in a digital planner.

The materials you will need are:

* Computer
* VBKit Digital Files
* Slideshow program (I use Keynote)
* Printer
* Choice of paper or cardstock
* Scissors or Paper Trimmer
* (Optional) Laminator & Lamination Sheets
* (Optional) Word Processing program (I use Pages)

What you need to know: The dimensions of the page size you want to create. (My page size is 5.5 inches by 8.5 inches)

Step One: Download the VBKit digital files and open up your Slideshow program.

Step Two: Change the slide size to the dimensions of your page. In Keynote, you can do this by selecting Document and Slide Size.

My program uses pts (points) instead of inches. A quick search helped me do this conversion. 396 pts by 612 pts.

Step Three: Change the background of your slide to your preferred color or favorite VBKit digital pattern. I am using the houndstooth pattern.

Step Four: Add a rectangle shape on top of the background. Adjust the size, color, and position so that the shape is centered on the background. The shape will be the space we "write" in.

Step Five: Add in the text "Weekly Budget". Adjust the font, size, color, and position to your liking.

Step Six: Add in a table with 4 columns and as many rows as you need. Label the columns "Category", "Budgeted Amount", "Actual Amount", and "Amount Over/Under". Adjust font, size, color, and position to fit your page.

Step Seven: Insert VBKit digital clipart for decoration. I used the abstract animal print clipart and the books with shoe clipart.

Step Eight: Add in text and lines for "Budget" and "Actual". Place these at the top of the page under the Weekly Budget header.

Step Nine: Save the slide as an image. You can do this by selecting File, Export to, Images. If you're not using Keynote, most slideshow softwares have an option to export slides as images.

Step Ten: Print, cut, punch, and put it in your planner!

Alternate printing option: open up a word processing program and insert the image that you saved. Check the image size and make adjustments as needed. Then print, cut, punch, and put it in your planner!

I wanted to create a project using programs most people have access to on their computers, tablets, or phones. Once you get the hang of it, the possibilities are endless!

Thanks for taking some time to read my first blog post!