How to Track Spending With A Spreadsheet

Every Penny Counts

Knowing where your money goes each month is a step toward controlling your spending. To help you track spending, we have created a spreadsheet where you only have to enter what you spend and it automatically totals for you. It's private because it will only be on your computer. This spreadsheet provides visual confirmation of your spending habits to help you in determining where to make cuts if needed; or affirm that you are on track for saving for the future.

Things You'll Need

• Microsoft Excel
• Receipts or Bills

Instructions

1. To begin, click the "Print Article" link located above so you can print these instructions to follow the steps with the spreadsheet open.

2. Now, click on the Monthly Spending Worksheet link under Resources at the bottom of this article. When prompted, save the Excel spreadsheet to your computer. (If you click Open instead of Save, you can view the spreadsheet in your web browser where you can subsequently click File/Save As to save the file if desired.) You can now follow the directions from the article print-out or from this screen.

3. Open Excel and the Monthly Spending file you just saved (or you can do this from the browser screen). Review the items listed in the left column of the worksheet. If you have a regular spending category not listed, replace "Other" on row 36 with the category of your choice. You may also find listed categories that you do not need. Those too can be overridden with a category of your choice.

4. Start inputting what you have spent by category, month, and year into the appropriate cell. For items like a month's purchase of clothes or groceries, you can add up your receipts right in the cell by first typing in an equal sign ( = ) then enter each dollar amount separated by a plus sign and no dollar signs. Example: =125.35+79.08+82.66. When you press the Enter key after inputting that series of numbers, the total will display, rounded to the nearest dollar. All figures in the total cells are rounded to the nearest dollar.

5. Continue that process monthly for each category that you are using (you do not have to use all the categories). If you don't have records for prior months, that's okay. Leave those cells empty. This record of your spending is a proactive approach to managing your own finances. You are to be congratulated for taking action to control your spending. Make it your objective to save money each month.

6. Over time, as the numbers fill into the grid, look at areas where your spending is high and consider cutting back where possible. For instance, you have to have heat, but is it possible for you to reduce the thermostat a few degrees to save money?

7. The primary purpose of this article and the exercise of inputting data into an Excel spreadsheet is to make you aware of your spending patterns and to provide you a means through which to track your spending. Continue to be proactive in your spending and savings. Your efforts to keep your spending under control will pay off in the long run with improved credit and a bright future!

Resources

• MONTHLY SPENDING WORKSHEET
• How to Save an eHow Article on Your Computer Desktop
• Basics of Microsoft Excel