How to Create a Budget Using Excel

You can fight back against today's adverse economic conditions! You can run from your personal financial information or you can take control of it using an Excel budget on your computer. You may find this to be easy to use and maintain, unlike a financial software package.

Your new budget created by you in a Microsoft Excel worksheet could provide freedom, power and flexibility and does not have to be difficult or painful.

Design your budget as a road map of your future, a tool for planning that will allow you to afford items you never thought possible without going into debt.

The left hand side of the Excel worksheet is going to be subtracted and carried over to the right and then to the end of the month. It is simply income minus expenses.

When your budget is completed, eventually your money can be put towards paying down debt, creating a savings or investment account, a vacation or Christmas fund or buying a home.

With just a few clicks of the mouse while using your Excel budget worksheet, you can see exactly where your money is going for an easy budget. This includes areas you need to increase or decrease. You can add or delete categories. Excel will even show shortages in red for your budget and help you eliminate debt.

After a few months using Excel for a budget at home or at the office, you should notice better control and handling of your money. No more wondering, "I made all this money, now where did it go?"

An Excel budget is a simple and honest accounting system, with income on the left and outgoing expenses and obligations on the right. Start today simply and easily with the procedures listed below.

Things You'll Need

• Microsoft Office
• CDs
• USB flash drive
• Computer
• Money
• Financial data
• Fountain Pen
• Notebook

Instructions

1. Gather together all your materials and data for using Excel to budget money. Use DVDs, CDs and USB flash drive are for backup or easy portability. Then, go to your computer and bring up Microsoft Excel.

2. Record in a notebook a rough idea of figures such as income, obligations, savings and checking accounts, expenses, and debt you incur weekly or monthly. You will transfer this information into your Excel budget at a later time. Give everything a name and be honest about what you owe and what you bring in each month.

3. Start off simply and remember you can always edit, insert or delete rows, columns and categories when you design your budget. Excel is extremely flexible. The left side is ultimately subtracted from the right and carried over using the sum function on the toolbar at the top of your screen. It looks like a backwards E.

4. Develop your unique expense categories to be entered on the right hand of your Excel budget worksheet. This will be subtracted from left by entering a formula into the bar on the top of your screen. =a1-c1, etc. See your Excel worksheet for the exact column numbers. Formulas start with = and then subtract the figures. This is provided there is a blank column residing between your income and expenses.

   Some common entries can be cash, entertainment, food, donations, daycare, medical expenses like prescriptions and copays. Also, mortgage, phone, energy bills, car payments, insurance of all types, clothing, hobbies, savings contributions, retirement, college, books, fees, and recreation. Do not underestimate expenses. Instead, create a cushion even if you come up with a shortage.

5. Create the left hand column of your worksheet. This is where your income is entered. Continue to enter financial information for your budget into Excel weekly. Change, tweak or create balances and categories as needed. In the case of erratic income or a career where you do not receive a steady paycheck, average your income from the last year or do not enter any income until you receive it.

6. Cut and paste financial information into Excel from the prior month to create additional Excel spreadsheets you will be using to budget. Your formulas will copy as well.

7. Create a separate tab that appears as a file folder inside the Excel document for each month by cutting, then copying and then pasting into a new worksheet. In some versions of Microsoft Excel you can even color code and make notes inside each tab. Doing this also gives you the option to plan out what your money and debt will do for the entire year if you choose.

8. Add or delete your budget categories, rows, or figures as you see fit when using Excel. Each month will appear different. The budget should not be complicated.

Tips & Warnings

• You may want to set up your budget 6 months to 1 year in advance so you know what to expect.

• Give yourself time to get used to the new format. A helpful feature is that the carryover amounts and sums (totals) will change just by deleting numbers and replacing them with new figures.

• You can print and examine it closer if you have trouble seeing the screen.

• You can delete the weeks as they expire as long as you have copied an entire month over to the next tab in the worksheet (a new month).

• If any of this does not work, try again. Do not give up.

• Press F1 for help inside Excel any time you need it. There is much to learn.

• Do not underestimate your spending in entertainment, gasoline or daily extras such as dining out, coffee or treats.

• Keep your budget information secure, as this will contain private financial data. You can also store it in a flash drive or on a CD if you work on other computers