The income statement shows the profit and loss profile of the company, taking into consideration revenue made and expenses incurred due to the producing, marketing, administration and ultimately the selling of the products for the past 1 year of reporting. To those that do not wish to put in ample efforts, perhaps they could just prepare a cash flow statement based on what they think are their recurring cash inflows and outflows. Just customize it to your own personal situation. Budgets can be made for a variety of individual or business needs or just about anything else that makes and spends money. Because not everyone is so academic well endowed. Since the start of , I have been using this free online tool called Financier.