TL;DR Managing your personal finances doesn’t have to be complicated — and with Notion, it can actually become enjoyable. If you’ve ever tried budgeting using spreadsheets, you know how messy it can get. Notion offers a cleaner, visual, and automated way to stay on top of your income, expenses, and monthly savings goals. Whether you’re planning to reduce spending, save for travel, or track recurring bills, you can build a flexible Notion budgeting system that grows with your financial goals.
Key Takeaways:
• Use two connected databases in Notion — one for income and one for expenses — to get accurate monthly insights.
• Create rollups and formulas to calculate totals, differences, and spending categories automatically.
• Use charts, filters, and dashboards to visualize your spending habits.
• Integrate your Notion planner with your Google Sheets or finance apps for syncing data.
• Download the All-in-One Life Planner Template from PlanMyPersonalBrand.com to get a ready-made budgeting dashboard that saves hours of setup.
Why You Should Track Your Monthly Budget in Notion
Tracking your monthly budget in Notion gives you a complete financial overview — income, expenses, subscriptions, and savings — all in one place. Instead of switching between apps or spreadsheets, Notion helps you centralize everything. You can set financial goals, plan recurring payments, and even add receipts or bills as attachments. The benefit? You make smarter spending decisions with less effort.
Step 1: Create Two Databases — Income and Expenses
Start by creating two databases in Notion:
- Income Tracker: Include columns for date, source, amount, category, and payment method.
- Expense Tracker: Include columns for date, item, category (e.g., rent, groceries, utilities), amount, and payment type.
Having separate tables allows better clarity and makes your dashboard easy to manage.
Next, use a relation property to link both databases by month. This connection allows Notion to calculate your total income versus total expenses automatically.
Step 2: Add Formulas to Track Budget vs. Actual Spending
In your main budgeting dashboard, use formula properties to calculate key financial metrics:
- Total Income = Rollup from your Income Tracker
- Total Expenses = Rollup from your Expense Tracker
- Difference (Savings) =
prop("Total Income") - prop("Total Expenses")
This instantly shows whether you’re over or under budget.
Step 3: Categorize and Visualize Spending
To make your Notion dashboard more insightful:
- Add a Category property to your expense entries (like groceries, rent, entertainment).
- Use filtered views to break down expenses by category or payment method.
- Add charts or progress bars using Notion widgets or integrations like Indify or NotionCharts.
These visual tools make it easier to see where your money goes every month.
Step 4: Create Monthly Budget Pages
For each month, duplicate your main budget page and update your income and expense entries. You can use templates in Notion to automatically generate monthly pages with pre-set sections (income, expenses, savings goals).
The All-in-One Life Planner Template from PlanMyPersonalBrand.com already includes a fully automated monthly budgeting dashboard — just plug in your numbers and let Notion do the rest.
Step 5: Add Financial Goals and Automation
To make your system smarter, use properties like:
- Goal: The amount you want to save each month.
- Progress: A formula comparing savings vs. goals.
- Notifications: Use Notion’s reminders to alert you when due dates or bill payments are coming up.
You can also integrate Notion with Google Sheets or Zapier to import transactions automatically.
Step 6: Review Your Spending at Month-End
At the end of each month, filter your expenses to review which categories exceeded your budget. Create a Monthly Summary view with totals and charts to visualize spending patterns. Over time, you’ll start noticing trends — like overspending on food delivery or underbudgeting for transport — allowing you to make better financial choices.
Step 7: Sync Across Devices and Add Receipts
Since Notion syncs across desktop and mobile, you can log expenses on the go. You can even attach screenshots of receipts or invoices directly to entries. This makes your Notion setup double as an expense tracker and digital filing system.
Bonus Tip: Turn Your Budget Dashboard Into a Financial Command Center
Once you’re comfortable, you can expand your Notion setup into a full Financial Command Center. Include sections like:
- Investment tracking
- Subscription management
- Debt repayment goals
- Net worth tracking
If you prefer not to build this from scratch, the All-in-One Life Planner Template at PlanMyPersonalBrand.com already includes these pre-built sections — fully customizable and color-coded for clarity.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Tracking Finances in Notion
- Overcomplicating formulas: Keep your setup simple; focus on clarity over complexity.
- Forgetting to categorize expenses: Without categories, insights are limited.
- Not reviewing regularly: Schedule a 10-minute weekly review session to stay consistent.
- Ignoring automation: Integrations with Sheets or Zapier can save hours of manual entry.
FAQ: Tracking Monthly Budget in Notion
1. Can I connect Notion directly to my bank account?
Not directly, but you can use integrations like Zapier or Notion API connectors to pull data from your finance apps into Notion automatically.
2. What’s the best Notion template for budgeting?
The All-in-One Life Planner Template at PlanMyPersonalBrand.com includes income, expense, and savings dashboards already linked for seamless monthly tracking.
3. How do I visualize my spending trends in Notion?
Use Notion widgets or integrations like Indify or Apption to display bar charts, pie charts, or progress bars reflecting your spending data.
4. Can I share my budget with a partner or family member?
Yes! Notion allows page sharing and real-time collaboration. You can assign expenses or review finances together.
5. How often should I update my Notion budget?
For best results, update your budget daily or every 2–3 days. Set recurring reminders in Notion to log transactions consistently.
Building a Notion budgeting system doesn’t have to be intimidating. Start small with just income and expenses, then grow it as you master the basics. With consistent tracking and a clear visual layout, you’ll not only manage your finances better but also feel more in control of your financial goals.
Ready to save time and stay organized? Try the All-in-One Life Planner Template from PlanMyPersonalBrand.com — it includes a built-in budget tracker, expense log, and savings dashboard designed to help you simplify money management inside Notion.