So you've decided to remodel your home—maybe that kitchen or bathroom that is outdated or just too small—and you're wondering where to begin. A good place to start is with the basics: what is this project going to cost you? With Microsoft Excel and a little help from Templates on Microsoft Office Online, you can develop a preliminary budget, track your remodeling costs, and compare them.

An Excel worksheet is a great tool to use for tracking expenses. And to save yourself time and energy, you can use the following templates to plan, budget, and track your remodeling costs:

• Bathroom Remodel Cost Calculator
• Kitchen Remodel Cost Calculator

 Note   To download these templates, use the links under See Also, on this page.

The worksheets in the cost calculator templates have editable lists of items you will be spending money on, columns for your estimated costs, and columns for your actual costs (so that you can compare and see how close your estimates were). There's even a row for adding unexpected costs.

Even if you are remodeling a room in your house other than the kitchen or bathroom, you can still use the formatting and formulas in these templates as a starting point to make your estimates and track your expenses.