So, in this video we're going to create a basic spend tracking tool to help you keep track of
how much money is in your checking account at all times. And, for me,
a file like this also helps me know when my bills are coming due. So, let's get started. Now, we're going to
format this,um, around when our pay period happens. So,
we're going to label the first column "Pay Date" and I'm going to start with a date of a Friday because I - I get paid on Fridays and I think
most people do. If you don't get on Fridays, then by all means, choose the day of your next pay date and just plug that in. So, 11/4/2016
and, for ease, let's assume we get paid every week. So, we're going to do the date we plugged in plus 7. And we're just going to copy
this down. You can do this for as many weeks
as you want to just by copying down the rows. I'm only going to do a few here - just to illustrate it.
So, then, the next thing we want to do is "Amount Paid"
and
we're just going to use an arbitrary number, let's say you get paid $2,000 a week.
That's your take-home. And so you're going to put that in for the first week. If you're salaried, you can put that all the way down. If it changes,
then you would just do an estimate amount paid. I don't know - next week you're expecting $1,800
and then $2,100...
you can do whatever you need. So, that's how much we expect to get paid for the coming weeks. Then we also want to do a column
that'll be the more important one where we'll see how much money we have on hand.
So we'll type "Amount in Checking Account"
And let's format these because they're all going to be headers.
So that they're a little bit easier, um, to read our file.
And, you know what, we're going to put in here "Amount at beginning"
And you'll only need this once. This is just going to be the amount that you had, um, when you started to create this file.
And, for argument's sake, let's say there's $3,000 in your checking account.
So on this first week, we're going to say we have $3,000 that was already there, plus $2,000 that we got paid.
So, on 11/4 we have $5,000 dollars. Now, we need to pay our bills. um. So let's
freeze these panes so we can separate everything. And then these are going to be where we list
any additional, um, payments going out of the account and deposits coming into the account.
So, let's say you have to pay your credit card bill,
mortgage or rent,
um,
I don't know - phone bill,
and miscellaneous deposits. And, obviously, you can take this out to as many as you want to, do your own column titles with things that
are easier for you to remember.
But, what I like to do, and this makes it easier for me also to know what's coming due -
so, we're going get paid on 11/4, and the next pay period happens 11/11.
For me, I like to note the expense when it's going to happen. So, let's say my credit card is due on 11/9. Well that's after the 4th, before the
11th, I'm going to have to pay it on this cycle. So, let's say that's $1,000.
Excuse me, we want to make this negative, so -$1,000 because we're paying it out. And these guys should be dollars.
Format those.
And then my rent is due at the end of the month. So let's say that's another $2,000 and will put that on the 11/25 date.
The phone bill, um, is due mid-month, so that'll be between 11/11 and 11/18. So that'll be $150. And let's say you make deposits. We all have
deposits that we make. Someone gives you cash for something outside of when you got paid. You need to log that in.
And so, we...our miscellaneous deposit section is where we would do that. So let's say that - lucky me! - on the week after 11/18
and between, ugh, and before 11/25 someone gave me $100.
So, this will be positive. Oh, and actually, the phone bill will be negative. Minus $150.
So then, what we want to do is just
sum everything. So we have this first week,
we have the $3,000 that we started,
plus the $2,000 that we got paid, plus the sum of this row.
After we pay our credit card bill, we have $4,000.
Now the next week,
is almost the same except we need to take out cell B2 - or that's going to screw us up later.
So we'll delete that. We don't need it. That was only just for the first one.
So this week we had...
Oh and what we need to do is say the $4,000 from before, so we have
$4,000, plus what we got paid, minus what we took out. So here we had, we paid our credit card bill, there was $4,000 left.
We added another $1,800, but we paid $150 for our phone bill. The end balance is $5,650.
And now you can really just paste that down and you'll see how it adjusts.
And let's say this is recurring. So this was November 25th and we need to pay our mortgage again around 12/30 so
you can just plug that in again and you can see here how every time you make a change it alters that amount. So same thing, we know
between 11/4 and 11/11 our credit card is due.
So let's say it's going to be due again after 12/2. So let's say, oh, this is around Thanksgiving so we
spent more money. There was travel so now we spent $2,000.
And
your formula will keep adjusting. And if you want, just to make it easier to see also, I would make this yellow
so you know what's going on at any given time.
And that is how you can keep track of your spend every week. If you enjoyed this video, please make sure to subscribe to this channel
so you're the first to know, um, on future videos. Thanks!