How to Set up a Budget in Excel
Excel is a program many of us use on a daily basis and it can be used to create a personal budget to help you live a greater life.
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Instructions
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Create a new excel document with columns labeled: expenses, spent, balance, projection, and net income.
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Under expenses create a row for each of the following categories: Housing, transportation, food, insurance, investment, entertainment, clothing, health care, personal care, charity, miscellaneous and debt.
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In the projections column insert a formula in each row to allocate a portion of your net income. The formula should multiply the net income amount by the following percentages: Housing 35%, transportation 18%, food 14%, entertainment 5%, clothing 5%, health care 5%, charity 5%, miscellaneous 4%, personal care 3%, insurance 1%, investment 1% and debt 4%.
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Now you can track your spending by inserting formulas to subtract your total entered in the "spent" column from your net income total. Once you see where you vary from the projected budget you can make changes and over time this will not only help you track your spending but realize how each purchase you make affects your overall budget.
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Tips & Warnings
Obviously the projections listed above are a simple guideline and should be tweaked for your specific situation.
I recommend keeping a backup copy on a portable hard drive or re-writable disk.
This excel file can include tabs for all of your sensitive information, such as passwords, net worth calculations, etc.
Keep your file password protected.
