How to complete the budget
Enter all the amounts you know. For expenses that aren't due monthly (e.g. taxes, insurance premiums, annual subscriptions) a monthly amount must be calculated. For example, divide annual amounts by 12 and quarterly amounts by 3. This will help you compare your average monthly income with your average monthly expenses.

Step 1: Enter current amounts
In the first step, all current costs are entered into the template. All expected costs (e.g. dentist, vacation) are then also entered. Amounts for rent, taxes or insurance are to be determined based on current agreements, invoices and policies and transferred to the monthly budget. Household and clothing expenses should be estimated based on the previous month's or year's amounts. The approximate values calculated by "Budgetberatung Schweiz" for various levels of income and households may be helpful.

Step 2: Make corrections
If the budget is balanced or if you even have a positive difference then you have reason to be pleased. If you have a minus after the first step, then go through each budget item again, line by line, and consider where you could cut back. If there is only a small problem, then immediate changes in the categories household/personal expenses/leisure are usually enough. However, if there is a larger imbalance, it may be necessary to take stronger measures, such as changing your place of residence or selling your car or scooter. Most of the time these changes cannot be made on short notice and must be considered carefully.

^{Source: budgetberatung.ch}