where should I begin with a spreadsheet?

[Mouse]

reading some of the other threads people have mentioned that they have only a few different accounts or just one and keep track with a spreadsheet.

what do some of the things that your spreadsheet has? like sections, how often do you update. things like that?

I currently use a notebook between my checking and my savings account (emergency fund)..

It is separated weekly and each source of income for that week.

the sections I have are EARNED (weekly income), ADDED (minimum of 10% but will be bumping to 15-20%), CURRENT (how much I currently have ), and the last section is SHOULD BE (meaning with all the minimum of 10% added up).. so for example, if for some reason I am forced to break into my EF account I will keep the SHOULD BE amount the same but lower the CURRENT amount. so for the next few weeks I try to add more than the minimum 10% to the current while the SHOULD BE still goes up each week only by 10%

so technically I am in debt to myself.

I do like this method, it keeps me involved, but Instead of opening up a whole bunch of different accounts for different savings groups, I would like to maybe keep track of all within one savings account so if someone could help guide me on ways to add to my current notebook method or had a sample spreadsheet idea that would be great

thank you!

[Nutria]

tl;dr

One spreadsheet mimics a paper check register which -- for budgetary purposes -- I "look forward" to the end of next month.

The other s/s tracks my savings (not investment) categories every day for a year in the future.

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I've got two "daily tracker" spreadsheets.

#1 A check register named Cash_Flow_2017 with tabs for Jan and Feb. Each tab "looks forward" to the end of the month.

If you're old enough to remember using the paper register in your checkbook, you'll feel right at home.

The columns are:

• Date
• Descrip
• Transaction amt
• Curr bal
• Unposted flag

IOW, even though today is 1st Jan, there are "register entries" (lines in the s/s) for every known future transaction (pay, utilities, mortgage, etc), and "lump sum" faux transactions for stuff like groceries, slush fund, restaurants and fuel that must be purchased but we don't know exactly when they'll happen. This is the magic sauce, and how I keep track of my budget.

Credit card payments obviously go here too.

It's sorted by date because... that's how check registers work!!

The balance at EOM rolls over to the next tab's BOM. Thus, Cash_Flow_2016 had 12 tabs.

The sheet also has a Template tab with "transaction placeholders" which I copy to make a new monthly tab. Real numbers and dates go in there.

It also has tabs for our two "daily driver" credit cards. It's in a check register format, too. Entries in these tabs are linked to the "check register" tabs to account for CC purchases of groceries, fuel, restaurant and slush fund.

It sounds very complicated, but is easier to do than explain.

#2 A savings/EF sheet with one tab per month, and 28-31 rows (plus BOM and EOM totals) per tab. It's named Savings_2018.

Each tab has a column for each "fund" category I'm tracking (18 at the moment), plus cells for our online CDs and savings accounts.

The sum of the individual funds on the current day must equal the sum of the online CDs and savings accounts.

Cells at EOM show our transfers from the checking account to savings, and cells during the month show withdrawals (and sometimes deposits into) these funds.

Currently this sheet has 14 tabs: the twelve months of 2017 plus Jan and Feb of 2018 (because Feb is when a big semi-annual auto ins payment is due).

[MonkeyMama]

I am including a blog post I did on the topic. I saw this spreadsheet organization on some other blog about a decade ago (can't find it any more). But... I really like the spreadsheet organization.

http://monkeymama.savingadvice.com/2013/01/20/how-to-track-savings-subaccounts-in-exce_100455/

I personally just track more by timeline. "Short-term" for money needed within the year. & "mid-term" for more than one year. (Of course, "long-term" is invested and not sitting in cash). I update at least once per month.

Of course, if you want to keep 10 categories, this would be an easy way to do it. & I just start a new spreadsheet every new year.

[GoodSteward]

I used to have a complicated spreadsheet workbook I made with formulas and budgeting mixed. It worked for a while, but I just got tired of dealing with it.

I changed to using Ynab. I prefer this over a spreadsheet.
I do recommend using a spreadsheet or program to separate money instead of multiple actual accounts. When I had two checking and two savings it was a pain to keep up with transfers between accounts, and making sure you used the right card at the register. I have one checking, one savings, and one primary rewards CC that I use along with YNAB. Much simpler for me.

[Nutria]

I used to have a complicated spreadsheet workbook I made with formulas and budgeting mixed. It worked for a while, but I just got tired of dealing with it.

I changed to using Ynab. I prefer this over a spreadsheet.
I do recommend using a spreadsheet or program to separate money instead of multiple actual accounts. When I had two checking and two savings it was a pain to keep up with transfers between accounts, and making sure you used the right card at the register. I have one checking, one savings, and one primary rewards CC that I use along with YNAB. Much simpler for me.

I got the distinguish categories from where the cash is actually stored idea from YNAB.

However, I discovered when I trying YNAB that I was too set in my way of managing our budget via a "forward looking check register" spreadsheet. It did stimulate me to make lots of savings categories and few bank accounts, instead of one bank account/category.)

[Mouse]

thank you everyone who contributed.. Looks a lot more in depth than I initially thought the spreadsheet would be.. I like that. I am going to have to read through all of these now and see what I can learn!

I have a long way to go from my EF notebook to a spreadsheet

[Nutria]

thank you everyone who contributed.. Looks a lot more in depth than I initially thought the spreadsheet would be.. I like that. I am going to have to read through all of these now and see what I can learn!

I have a long way to go from my EF notebook to a spreadsheet

It's taken 3+ years for me to evolve my current system!

You're ahead of the game, though, since you already have a system.

Thus, start small and simple with a s/s version of your notebook's existing categories.

Once you've got that working, then start subdividing existing categories and adding new ones.

[bjl584]

I have a simple Excel Spreadsheet that lists assets and liabilities. I update it once a month.