In 2021 when I completed a personal finance course with Centonomy we were given a number of Excel tools. A budget and personal balance sheet, loan amortization schedule and a budget tracker.
Over time, I have adapted the Centonomy budget sheet and tracker to fit my needs. And let me tell you, these simple tools are game changers when it comes to money management.
Here’s how my Excel sheets help me:
- Budgeting
A budget is simply a plan that helps you see how much money you have, how much you spend and how much you can save. Budgeting helps you sort your expenses into needs and wants.
It helps you plan for upcoming expenses. Mapping out expenses in advance can help reduce the risk of overspending. It also enables you to save: A good budget encourages you to set aside money for emergencies, travel, for buying assets like land, building a house and retirement.
- Tracking expenses
Tracking your expenses on a regular basis can give you an accurate picture of where your money is going. From there, you can identify where to make adjustments, if needed. I track my expenses on a monthly basis but I record the expenditures as they occur. I take pictures of physical receipts, save e-receipts and note down all other spending, then enter these into my Excel sheet at the end of the week. I usually highlight areas where I’m over budget in red, to flag that I need to take action…like stop spending!
Expense tracking is such a game changer but the first time you do it, it will likely shock the hell out of you. The first time I saw how much I REALLY spend I was gob smacked. I really had no idea how much it costs to live! But don’t let that stop you; the purpose of tracking is not to shock you into inaction or to shame you. Tracking your expenses gives you a realistic picture; shows you where you may be overspending and that gives you a basis to make certain decisions. Do you need to cut back on how much you eat out? Order in? Buy clothes?? Or maybe you are living below your means and you have extra money that you can allocate to saving and investment? Track your expenses and you will find out.
- Tracking savings
If you have more than one savings goal you will likely have more than one savings account. But there is also a limit to how many separate accounts you can set up for every saving goal.
For instance, I have one sinking fund (savings account) for things like travel, holidays, giving (“black tax)”and other social obligations. But in order to keep track of how much I have for each of these categories I use my old faithful Excel so I’m able to know if, for instance, my “giving” money is exhausted, or I have used up the travel budget.
The way this works is that you create columns to capture key information like “savings goal,” “target amount,” “opening balance,” “contributions,” and “current savings”.
- Include a column for “notes” to track specific details about each transaction.
- In the “contributions” column, enter any money added to a specific savings goal for that month.
- Update the “current savings” column by adding the “opening balance” and “contributions”.
- Tracking investments
Similar to the savings tracker, include columns for the different investments you have e.g a unit trust account, treasury bills and bonds and the stock market. Include all contributions as you make them. Record dates and amounts for dividends and interest paid, so you can plan ahead for where and how to re-invest them.
Other money tools I use:
Excel may form the bulk of my money tools but there are a few others I swear by:
- Notes app on my phone
I use this on almost a daily basis to create shopping lists, and record expenditures for which there are no receipts, like food bought from the market.
- Reminder app
As the name suggests, this one is for setting up reminders; reminders for when bills are due, for when we need to pay school fees and other school -related expenses like trips. I also use it to set up reminders to invest!
Starting a habit of tracking expenses, keeping a budget and tracking investments can be overwhelming at first. The aim is to understand that you are building habits that over time will really transform how you approach money. The tools help keep you organized; that is critical to managing your finances.
It helps to personalise these tools and make them your own; include as much or as little information as is useful for you. Above all, keep it simple.
That way you can really plan and not just be haphazard about your money decisions.
What tools do you use to manage your money???