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TIP: It is MUCH easier to keep savings separate from spending if you are using separate bank accounts for each. On the other hand, minimum payments on credit card balance(s) are included as "Credit Card Payments" in the Debt section of the outflows. The transfer of money from your checking account to your credit card account would NOT show up in the cash flow statement in this case. You would monitor your credit card statement and allocate each transaction to specific expense categories. Is a credit card account a spending account? If you are paying the balance off each month, then yes. Note again that this is meant to show how much cushion your spending account has. If you included your Retirement Fund in the cash balance, then it wouldn't make sense to include "Retirement Fund" as an Outflow. You’ll be able to easily set up a budget with Mint based on your spending patterns. And the best part is that it is completely free Image from Mint. Mint (App) Mint offers budgeting assistance to help you manage your budget on the go. Why? Because we are treating transfers to these types of savings as Outflows from cash accounts. That will give you an idea of whether or not you stuck to your budgeting goals. Do NOT include the balance in any of the categories listed under "Allocations" in the Outflows section. What is NOT a spending account? Your Retirement Fund, Emergency Fund, College Fund, etc. A checking account, your wallet, and/or savings account might be considered a "spending account" if money leaves your possession from that account (like paying bills from a savings account or paying a cab driver with money from your purse). The purpose of the beginning/ending cash balance section at the top of this spreadsheet is to show how much cushion you have in your spending account.įor the Beginning Balance, enter the sum of the amounts in your spending accounts on the chosen start date. Add your income and expenses to this monthly budget template, and we'll show how your spending aligns with the 50/30/20 rule. Keep in mind that spreadsheets allow you to make more mistakes than software like Quicken, because spreadsheets use formulas and calculations that you may mess up by accident. With just a basic understanding of spreadsheets, you can do amazing things with Excel. If you want to use a free spreadsheet with the ability to enter transactions in account registers like you do in Quicken, you can try the Money Management Template. Excel templates are an excellent tool for boosting productivity. Quicken was my personal tool of choice when it comes to personal money management (before they switched to a subscription fee). It's mainly for people who don't already use Quicken (you can generate a report like this from Quicken very easily via the Reports menu).Īlthough there are some really cool things that can be done with Excel to make this worksheet more useful, I have intentionally kept this template simple. It includes a fairly comprehensive set of expense categories and was designed to be easy to understand and simple to customize. This worksheet was created to be used as an educational resource for personal finance classes.
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