Pick one base currency
You can’t add dollars to pounds. Choose the currency you live and pay rent in, usually euros in Europe, and convert everything else into it. Keep the original amount next to the converted one: it tells you how exposed you are when rates move.
An example in dollars, pounds and euros
An invented freelancer living in Lisbon: Upwork work paid in US dollars, a retainer from a UK agency in pounds, and a small SaaS with subscribers paying in euros through Stripe. Amounts are what lands after platform fees. Example rates: 1 USD = 0.86 €, 1 GBP = 1.17 €.
| Income | Currency | Amount | In euros | Certainty | Counted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upwork projects | USD | 2,400 | 2,064 € | Half | 1,032 € |
| UK agency retainer | GBP | 1,500 | 1,755 € | Certain | 1,755 € |
| SaaS subscribers via Stripe | EUR | 950 | 950 € | Certain | 950 € |
| Expense | Currency | Amount | In euros |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | EUR | 1,150 | 1,150 € |
| Food and eating out | EUR | 520 | 520 € |
| Software and hosting | USD | 160 | 138 € |
| Travel and transport | GBP | 220 | 257 € |
| Health insurance | EUR | 140 | 140 € |
Income that counts: 3,737 € a month, against 2,205 € of expenses. On paper the month earns 4,769 €; the plan only relies on what is certain or half-certain, weighted.
Which exchange rate to use
For planning, a reference rate is enough: the European Central Bank publishes one every working day, and updating your sheet once a month is plenty. The rate you actually get is set by your bank or the platform when the money moves, and usually includes a margin. That difference is a cost, and it shows up in what lands.
That is why the plan uses what lands in your account: the fee and the conversion are already inside the number.
The free template
A spreadsheet with the example above, ready to overwrite: a sheet for rates, one for your monthly plan in any currency, and one for the next twelve months with the lowest point and what you can spend today. Yellow cells are yours; the rest are formulas.
Download the template (XLSX)Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers, LibreOffice · no sign-up
Download the template
The file opens in Excel, Numbers, LibreOffice and Google Sheets. In Google Sheets: File, Import, Upload, then pick the file.
Write your rates
In the Rates sheet, how many euros one dollar or one pound is worth. Update them once a month; in Google Sheets you can use
=GOOGLEFINANCE("CURRENCY:USDEUR").List your month
In the Plan sheet, one line per income or expense in its own currency, with its certainty for income.
Read the twelve months
In the 12 months sheet, write today’s balance, your emergency fund and tax share, and any one-off payments. The sheet shows the lowest point and what you can spend today.
In Freeboard, without the typing
- Safe to spend calculatorThe same twelve months, in your browser.
- Upwork, Fiverr and Stripe payoutsWhat fees and conversion take before the money lands.
- Budgeting on irregular incomeThe method, step by step.