looking for an excel spreadsheet to track spending

[lunamama]

I have been looking all over and cannot find one that will add my spending and categorize. Seems simple enough. I would create one myself if I knew how.

[PlayaMama]

i think there are much better budget systems than excel.

if you want to add up a series of numbers use this formula =SUM(letternumber:letternumber) this is for a bunch of numbers in a column, so like A1:A12 would add up all the numbers from A1 to A12.

i think you'd have to categorize it yourself, but that wouldn't be too hard if you just each item into a different row. there might be some way to do it, but i'd look for something that is designed for budget stuff.

[Shakti77]

I have been using MS Money and recent convert to Quicken and loving it! Before all of this, I did create an xl sheet that group income and expenses into categories and showed me how I have more to spend ;) (alright, save.) And it was VERY helpful.

For free xl sheets that track expenses, I found these. http://www.mdmproofing.com/iym/excel.html - They have a few spreadsheets. maybe one it might suit your needs.

[rcr]

We have been using mint.com. It is free and does everything for you. I have guardianship for my mom with Alzheimer's, so I have to report yearly to the probate court on what I spend on her behalf. mint.com does all the work for me. I highly recommend it, if you don't mind sharing your personal information with a third party.

[SundayCrepes]

I use Quicken 2007. I enter each expenditure with appropriate category. I can tell you how much I spend on chicken feed, how much I spent on straw for the chickens, how much on haircuts for each member of the family, etc. I can get a report or graph. The graph was really helpful when I wanted to see how much I'd been spending on groceries each month. Doing taxes is really easy because the H&R software will download all my tax-related expenditures right into the program so I hardly have any information I have to enter.

Intuit makes you buy a new version every 3 years if you use the automatic update feature.  I've read reviews of the 2010 version and I think people found the older versions easier (though I don't remember the details since it's been a year since I read the reviews.) To update my accounts, I go into my bank's account website and download from there. I cannot update my investment accounts. You can still get copies of 2007 at amazon for a reduced price.

I also carry a pda with me and use this software: http://www.inesoft.com/eng/index.php?in=premium.html I enter my transactions into the pda while I'm at the store then transfer them to my computer at home. Supposedly they are going to make a version for android then I can put it on my phone.

Edited by SundayCrepes - 3/20/11 at 10:58pm

[heatherdeg]

I have an Excel sheet.  I've used the rest and sorry, I'm just an Excel person.  I like the COMPLETE control I have over what gets put where.  Quicken & Money were more work for me--trying to make sure that they sorted this or that correctly.  I just got used to Excel.  It's really just one of those things that when you're comfortable with one thing, it's hard to find something else that's as comfortable.  I also don't like my data in someone else's hands--like mint.com, etc.  Mine will track what you spend in each budget category for the month vs. what you planned.  You still have to sort the entries by category (you just enter the amount under the right category), but it rolls up into a monthly "budget v. actual".

If you want to pm me your e-mail addy, I will strip mine of my personal data and send it out before Friday (when I leave for vacation! :D)

[happysmileylady]

What year version of Excel do you have?

I have Office 2007 and if you click the little windows button at the top, then click new, you can download all manner of versions of budget sheets.  And then you can change them to fit whatever your needs are.

[lunamama]

I couldn't find what I was looking for to use in excel.

I actually found an app for my iphone that is exactly what I was looking for. It is called ExpenseTracker. I'm happy with it so far.