Breakdown of Quiero hacer un presupuesto mensual para equilibrar estudio, ocio y trabajo.
Questions & Answers about Quiero hacer un presupuesto mensual para equilibrar estudio, ocio y trabajo.
In Spanish, querer followed by another verb uses the infinitive directly, without a:
- Correct: Quiero hacer un presupuesto…
- Incorrect: Quiero a hacer un presupuesto…
This pattern is the same with other verbs of desire or intention:
- Quiero viajar a España. – I want to travel to Spain.
- Quiero estudiar más. – I want to study more.
You only use a after querer when it’s followed by a noun/pronoun that’s a person:
- Quiero a mi familia. – I love my family.
- Quiero a Juan. – I love Juan.
So: querer + infinitive (no a), but querer a + person.
Yes, you can say that, but there is a difference in tone:
Quiero hacer un presupuesto mensual…
→ More direct, like “I want to make a monthly budget…”Me gustaría hacer un presupuesto mensual…
→ More polite/softer, like “I would like to make a monthly budget…”
In many contexts, me gustaría sounds less strong, more like a wish or idea, whereas quiero sounds like a clear decision or firm intention. Both are grammatically correct.
Using un here means “a budget” in general, not a specific one that has already been defined.
- Un presupuesto mensual = a monthly budget (some budget you want to create).
- El presupuesto mensual = the monthly budget (the one we already know about or have mentioned).
Since you’re introducing the idea for the first time—“I want to make a monthly budget”—Spanish naturally uses the indefinite article un.
In everyday Spanish, especially in Spain, presupuesto is primarily:
- a financial budget/estimate (for personal finances, companies, projects, etc.),
- or a price quote from a professional (un presupuesto del mecánico = an estimate from the mechanic).
Using presupuesto for time or life balance is less typical. For organizing study, leisure, and work, a Spaniard would more often say:
- Quiero *organizar mi tiempo mensual para equilibrar estudio, ocio y trabajo.*
- Quiero hacer un *plan mensual…*
- Quiero hacer un *horario mensual…*
Your sentence is grammatically fine, but sounds financial; many natives would first understand it as a money budget related to those areas.
In Spanish, most adjectives come after the noun:
- un presupuesto mensual – a monthly budget
- una casa grande – a big house
- un libro interesante – an interesting book
Adjectives before the noun either:
Are part of set expressions or have special meaning:
- un *gran problema* (great/serious problem)
- la *pura verdad* (the whole truth)
Are used for poetic/literary emphasis.
So mensual presupuesto would sound unnatural in normal speech. The standard order is presupuesto mensual.
Mensual is an adjective: it describes the noun.
- un presupuesto mensual – a monthly budget
Mensualmente is an adverb: it describes how/often something is done.
- Hago un presupuesto mensualmente. – I make a budget monthly.
In your sentence, you’re describing what kind of budget it is (monthly), so you need the adjective mensual, not the adverb mensualmente.
Para + infinitive usually expresses purpose / goal:
- Quiero hacer un presupuesto mensual *para equilibrar…
→ “I want to make a monthly budget *in order to balance…”
Por + infinitive is rare and sounds very formal or old-fashioned; instead, por usually introduces a reason or cause, not the goal:
- Lo hizo *por ayudar a su amigo. – He did it *because he wanted to help his friend.
Here you’re expressing purpose (the reason you make the budget is to achieve balance), so para equilibrar is the natural and correct choice.
Spanish often uses para + infinitive to express a purpose:
- Estudio mucho *para aprobar el examen.* – to pass
- Trabajo para vivir. – to live
- Quiero hacer un presupuesto mensual *para equilibrar…* – to balance
You could rephrase with a noun:
- …para conseguir un buen *equilibrio entre estudio, ocio y trabajo.*
That version is also correct, but it slightly shifts the structure. Para + infinitive is more direct and common for “in order to + verb” ideas, which is exactly what you have here (“in order to balance…”).
Both are possible, but they’re not equally natural:
Most natural:
…para equilibrar estudio, ocio y trabajo.
→ balance these three things.Also possible:
…para *equilibrar entre estudio, ocio y trabajo.
This is understandable, but many natives would simply drop *entre because equilibrar already implies balancing things between each other.
If you use a noun instead of the verb, entre is more typical:
- …para lograr un equilibrio *entre estudio, ocio y trabajo.*
In Spanish, you can use either form, but there’s a nuance:
Without articles:
…para equilibrar estudio, ocio y trabajo.
→ You’re talking about these activities in a general/abstract sense: “study, leisure and work” as areas of life.With articles:
…para equilibrar *el estudio, el ocio y el trabajo.*
→ Slightly more concrete/formal, like specific parts of your life: “the studying, the leisure and the work (in my life).”
Both are grammatically correct. In everyday speech, the article-less version sounds a bit more neutral and concise.
Yes. Spanish allows you to reorder lists like this without changing the basic meaning:
- …equilibrar estudio, ocio y trabajo.
- …equilibrar ocio, estudio y trabajo.
- …equilibrar trabajo, ocio y estudio.
Any order is grammatically fine. The only possible difference is emphasis: items mentioned earlier can feel slightly more prominent in the listener’s mind, but it’s very subtle.
Your sentence is grammatically correct and understandable in Spain.
However, because presupuesto is strongly associated with money, many Spaniards might prefer something like:
- Quiero *organizar mi tiempo cada mes para equilibrar estudio, ocio y trabajo.*
- Quiero hacer un *plan mensual para equilibrar estudio, ocio y trabajo.*
- Quiero hacer un *horario mensual para equilibrar estudio, ocio y trabajo.*
If you really mean a money budget, you might clarify:
- Quiero hacer un presupuesto mensual para equilibrar los gastos de estudio, ocio y trabajo.
Yes, but the meaning changes slightly:
Quiero hacer un presupuesto mensual…
→ Focus on desire/intention: “I want to make…”Voy a hacer un presupuesto mensual…
→ Focus on near future/plan: “I’m going to make…”
Both are common. Use quiero when you’re talking about what you want; use voy a when you’re talking about what you have decided to do / will do.
Yes, and in some contexts they sound even more natural:
Hacer un presupuesto
→ Neutral “make a budget.” Very common with money.Planificar un presupuesto / Planificar mi mes
→ Emphasizes planning; a bit more formal or structured.Organizar mi tiempo / mi mes
→ Very natural if you mean arranging your schedule/life, not necessarily money.
For balancing study, leisure and work, a very natural version in Spain would be:
- Quiero *organizar mi tiempo para equilibrar estudio, ocio y trabajo.*
- Quiero *planificar mi mes para equilibrar estudio, ocio y trabajo.*