This averaged out all of my expenses that occur at differing intervals, giving me some consistency in my planning. Once again, I copied and pasted this formula all the way down Column F. The next step was to break down all these annual numbers into monthly numbers. I like typing the formulas myself, but any of them can be found using the ∑ menu in Excel. I used the formula =MULTIPLY (C#, D#) and was able to copy and paste this formula all the way down my list to get my annual spend for each line item. In Column E, I multiplied the dollar amount of a given expense (Column C) by its frequency (Column D) to figure out how much I spend each year in that area. Then came my favorite part: formulas and calculations! I referred back to Column B, my “how often” table, and turned that interval into a number “per year.” For monthly expenses, I put a 12, for “12 times per year.” If a particular expense correlated with my biweekly paycheck, such as a payroll deduction, I put down 26, for “26 times per year” (based on 52 weeks per year divided by 2 = 26 payments). Here are my food and Roth IRA budgets as examples:Ĭolumn D was an easy one. Some of these numbers were guesses based on a quick scan of my Mint history. My rent payment, my monthly food budget, my payroll deductions, etc. In Column C, I typed in how much I pay per interval for these expenses. Since this is a monthly budget spreadsheet, most of my items are marked as “monthly.” However, I put money into my Roth IRA when I get paid every two weeks, so I mark that as “every two weeks.” In Column B, I noted the interval of those expenses - i.e. (I don’t currently have any debt, but if I did, that would go on this list, too.) This includes my investments, savings, and regular living expenses. In Column A of my spreadsheet, I made a list of everywhere my money goes in a given month. With this setup, you can plug in your own numbers and start experimenting with how you want your money to work for you. I spent a few hours fussing over rows and columns in a coffee shop before creating a self-calculating Excel system that lets me break down all my expenses and see, in real time, exactly how an adjustment in one category impacts my overall budget. Lady in the streets, freak in the spreadsheets, as the t-shirt says. And while I love simplicity as much as the next person, I also really like tinkering with data and formulas. TFD is all about making personal finance as simple and accessible as possible, and finding a system that works for you.
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