I've always wanted to make a database recording the flow of my money with important details such as date, description, to who, etc. I once imagined it to be an application but since it requires a database, it's gonna need complicated installation just to use it. What about a website? Maybe, but I want to access my records offline from anywhere without an internet connection. So I decided to just use Excel. Woohoo!
It can be opened anywhere as long as there's MS Excel and you can work on it without the internet and without installing anything else. And you can put a password on it, too. Cool.
That also means that, to effectively use it, you need to be a little versed with MS Excel.
So what's in this cute little XLS file? There are 8 sheets in the Excel workbook:
- help - just a few instructions on the usage of the file.
- recurring costs - a sheet that tries to automatically calculate your monthly expenses based on daily, weekly and monthly inputs. I put this in because I want to know how much I can spare from my income for the month.
- to buy - there are times that you thought of something really awesome want to buy but don't have the money to buy it yet. So you wait for income to flow but then you forget about it later. Bummer. So here, you can list it down with it's price because the total will be used later in the outline tab.
- to pay - oh, yes. I have debts, too. You may also record stuff you are sure you are going to buy so you can add it to the expenses ahead. Why? When you check your money, you see you have alot. You buy something that costs alot but you forgot you alloted that money for something more important that also costs alot. I just want to avoid that.
- to collect - payments you are expecting to receive, like borrowed money or a fee that hasn't been paid yet.
- ledger - the most important sheet. you can record all your transactions here, debit or credit, and it automatically totals them and shows your current money after all the transactions. When I started making this XLS file, this was the only sheet inside. The other tabs are just enhancements.
- outline - the summary of all the sheets. It tells if you can still pay your debts with the money you have or if you're still able to meet your monthly expenses. I hope we all do.
You can download the file. It's free, it's fully editable and you can check all the formulas if you bother to. Enjoy being worrisome of your money. ;) Leave a comment for suggestions, etc.
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