In order to keep my finances on the up and up, and to make sure I can save what I need to save, I set a monthly budget and I adhere to it by tracking every penny I spend. To do this, I developed an excel spreadsheet with multiple worksheets. I have 7 tabs in my spreadsheet: Checking, Cash, Savings, Fidelity, TIAA-Cref, Budget, and Income.
At the start of the month, I outline my anticipated spending in the budget, and my anticipated income in the income tab. Whenever possible I get very specific in my budget. For instance, I don't know how much I will spend on groceries, so I estimate, but I do know that I spend $4.95 every Monday at the bakery for my loaf of bread. So Bread has it's own budget line ($4.95 X # of Mondays in the month).
Then, I open this document every day to record every purchase made with my checking account, or with cash. ATM transactions are debits in the "Checking" tab that align with credits in the "Cash" tab. The tally in the cash tab should always be exactly what's in my wallet; the tally in the Checking tab should always be exactly what's in my account.
Savings refers to the emergency fund that I am building up in an ING account. I make monthly deposits, so these show up as debits in my checking account and credits in my savings account (interest being the other credit). TIAA-cref and Fidelity refer to my 403B accounts. The deposits to these happen pre-tax and include employer contributions, so the credits in these accounts do not refer to debits from checking. For these accounts, there is just one monthly update, but having the tabs reminds me to keep track of my short-term and long-term savings.
I created the different sheets using the accounts and budgets ledgers in the excel gallery (trying to create my own from scratch didn't go well). For each item (checking, cash, etc.) just look for a ledger that has the details you want to record. I use fairly simple sheets for savings and retirement, but detailed sheets for checking and cash.
Also, choose your categories in the budget carefully and make sure the categories you use in checking and cash align with the appropriate budget items. Each budget item should have a different category so your spending gets aligned correctly. Bread is 'bread' and groceries are 'groceries', so that my purchases from Metropolitan bakery are categorized as 'bread' and my purchases from Farm Fresh Express are categorized as 'Groceries.' This allows you to then filter your spending by category to see how much you've spent in that particular category (don't forget to examine checking and cash).
You can email me at drdustinkidd@gmail.com if you'd like a blank template version of this workbook. It is a pain in the ass, but it makes a big difference with getting a handle on your spending.
At the start of the month, I outline my anticipated spending in the budget, and my anticipated income in the income tab. Whenever possible I get very specific in my budget. For instance, I don't know how much I will spend on groceries, so I estimate, but I do know that I spend $4.95 every Monday at the bakery for my loaf of bread. So Bread has it's own budget line ($4.95 X # of Mondays in the month).
Then, I open this document every day to record every purchase made with my checking account, or with cash. ATM transactions are debits in the "Checking" tab that align with credits in the "Cash" tab. The tally in the cash tab should always be exactly what's in my wallet; the tally in the Checking tab should always be exactly what's in my account.
Savings refers to the emergency fund that I am building up in an ING account. I make monthly deposits, so these show up as debits in my checking account and credits in my savings account (interest being the other credit). TIAA-cref and Fidelity refer to my 403B accounts. The deposits to these happen pre-tax and include employer contributions, so the credits in these accounts do not refer to debits from checking. For these accounts, there is just one monthly update, but having the tabs reminds me to keep track of my short-term and long-term savings.
I created the different sheets using the accounts and budgets ledgers in the excel gallery (trying to create my own from scratch didn't go well). For each item (checking, cash, etc.) just look for a ledger that has the details you want to record. I use fairly simple sheets for savings and retirement, but detailed sheets for checking and cash.
Also, choose your categories in the budget carefully and make sure the categories you use in checking and cash align with the appropriate budget items. Each budget item should have a different category so your spending gets aligned correctly. Bread is 'bread' and groceries are 'groceries', so that my purchases from Metropolitan bakery are categorized as 'bread' and my purchases from Farm Fresh Express are categorized as 'Groceries.' This allows you to then filter your spending by category to see how much you've spent in that particular category (don't forget to examine checking and cash).
You can email me at drdustinkidd@gmail.com if you'd like a blank template version of this workbook. It is a pain in the ass, but it makes a big difference with getting a handle on your spending.
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