Microsoft Excel and Finances

[Mr Nice Guy]

Wow I just recently got into Microsoft Excel and boy is it amazing! So many features! What I have been using so far is the Budget Template that comes with the software. After a couple minor adjustments it is personalized to my fancy. Will be using it to track spending and income (income should be pretty easy to track though, it aint much lol.)

Does anyone else use Excel and do you have any tips?

Oh yeah, im Mr Nice Guy, just joined a couple days ago. Howdy! This appears to be the most active financial forum I can find, anyone have any other good ones?

[marvholly]

I have been using excel for YEARS (nearly a decade now). Saw no reason to pay for some other program/system (frugal or dheap?).

Personally, I also like the fatwallet site too.

[littleroc02us]

I used Excel for my monthly budget and bi-weekly budget. I created the columns and fields myself. I do use a Networth Template that came with Microsoft.

[krantcents]

There are a number of budget programs, however understanding the dynamics of your personal circumstances is the most important. Excel is great for that. You may want to check out mint.com. Congratulations on trying to control your expenses! Most people just complain instead of doing something about it.

[Jeff78703]

I have used excel for simple budget spreadsheets, but have never used their template. I am wondering about using it for a small business I have started. I have read pretty mixed reviews about quickbooks...

[bjl584]

I've been using Excel for years to track my finances. I made a few simple spreadsheets to track my budget, assets, and debts. I update it monthly.

[GeorgeWest]

Originally Posted by Mr Nice Guy

Wow I just recently got into Microsoft Excel and boy is it amazing!

I love Excel too. If you are have any questions about it I try to help you.

[SnoopyCool]

I LOVE Excel, and have used it for about 12 to 15 years now. We use it to track not only our personal expenses, but also for the business.

I have software for our business (Peach Tree), but it would require inputting everything in (basically starting from scratch) and I'm just not ready to do that, yet. So we're sticking with Excel.

[buildmybudget]

Excel is the best way to track your finances once you become proficient with the program. Many programs like Mint and Quicken are excellent at showing you where you have been(tracking your expenses) but are pretty terrible at showing you exactly where you are headed. That is what is so great about Excel.

[cjscully]

I too have used Excel for years to manage budgets and spending both for my business and my personal finances. Never used their templates though. Always created my spreadsheets from scratch. Then again, I've been using it for so long it's possible there were no templates when I started.

Recently I've been phasing over to OpenOffice.org and their spreadsheet program. So far, I haven't found anything I was doing with Excel that I can't do with OpenOffice. The price is much better than Microsoft Office. OpenOffice is free!