October 28, 2010 at 09:50Personal finance accounting
I don’t remember when exactly, it seems in the spring a topic slipped here regarding the accounting for personal finances. It was then that I thought that it would be necessary to share my own, but all the seriousness in the design of the habratopiks frightened me away, and yet I decided.
My own system appeared at a time when I began to earn better than many peers, but the money disappeared all the time. To understand where, I had to think a bit and, taking as a basis several other systems (and the “life ballance” organizer), make up my Excel file.
The basic principle is visibility. Due to the fact that all expenses are divided into topics and there are diagrams, you can always evaluate what takes the most money. And, if you don’t like such a balance, start correcting it on the fly, redistributing expenses.
(Download the table in .xls, 203.5 Kb )
So, the table consists of several blocks.
No. 1 - this is actually the main cost accounting, divided into categories. Categories, so to speak, from my past, now I would change them a little. You can add comments with details to the amounts. There are totals for the day, expense item and general. Chart 1d is attached to table No. 1.
No. 2 is a detailed transcript of one of the categories. It so happened that at that time about 40% of my income went on vacation and I wanted to consider this category in more detail. Chart 2d is attached to the table.
No. 3 is a block where you can see how much money is left (delta), and also “put aside” (register with your hands) in the piggy bank. The amount indicated in the "piggy bank" will not be taken into account in other calculations and continue to the next month. The total amount in the piggy bank can be viewed on the "annual" page.
No. 4 - the block needed to calculate the "daily limit", it indicates the estimated date of the next income. The daily limit is calculated by simply dividing the remaining amount by the number of days until the next income. The tool is very primitive, but at one time it helped me save money: it was very interesting to watch how the limit grows per day (and there is the opportunity to “gulp”). Thanks to this, the habit of saving was developed.
No. 5 - a unit for fixing debts (I am very forgetful).
I must say that I myself use this table as a temporary “medicine” when I completely lose control over expenses. It helps to even out spending, as well as save some necessary amount.
I will be glad to any ideas for improvement, as well as ideas for the addition of "budgeting."
My own system appeared at a time when I began to earn better than many peers, but the money disappeared all the time. To understand where, I had to think a bit and, taking as a basis several other systems (and the “life ballance” organizer), make up my Excel file.
The basic principle is visibility. Due to the fact that all expenses are divided into topics and there are diagrams, you can always evaluate what takes the most money. And, if you don’t like such a balance, start correcting it on the fly, redistributing expenses.
(Download the table in .xls, 203.5 Kb )
So, the table consists of several blocks.
No. 1 - this is actually the main cost accounting, divided into categories. Categories, so to speak, from my past, now I would change them a little. You can add comments with details to the amounts. There are totals for the day, expense item and general. Chart 1d is attached to table No. 1.
No. 2 is a detailed transcript of one of the categories. It so happened that at that time about 40% of my income went on vacation and I wanted to consider this category in more detail. Chart 2d is attached to the table.
No. 3 is a block where you can see how much money is left (delta), and also “put aside” (register with your hands) in the piggy bank. The amount indicated in the "piggy bank" will not be taken into account in other calculations and continue to the next month. The total amount in the piggy bank can be viewed on the "annual" page.
No. 4 - the block needed to calculate the "daily limit", it indicates the estimated date of the next income. The daily limit is calculated by simply dividing the remaining amount by the number of days until the next income. The tool is very primitive, but at one time it helped me save money: it was very interesting to watch how the limit grows per day (and there is the opportunity to “gulp”). Thanks to this, the habit of saving was developed.
No. 5 - a unit for fixing debts (I am very forgetful).
I must say that I myself use this table as a temporary “medicine” when I completely lose control over expenses. It helps to even out spending, as well as save some necessary amount.
I will be glad to any ideas for improvement, as well as ideas for the addition of "budgeting."