At the time I lost Track My Spend app, I was three quarters of the way done with March but it was now July and that meant entering April, May and June’s receipts as well.
I didn’t want anything complicated.
The new method must be simple to use, totally customisable (is that a word?) and quick to set up. Oh, and FREE!
So I experimented with … a spreadsheet. I know what you are thinking – I blog about personal finances, surely I love whizz bang spreadsheets. No, that is not me – I only have a very basic understanding of spreadsheets, acquired 30 years ago.
And so I was pleasantly surprised that making my personal expense tracker on Google Sheets was NOT difficult at all.
Column 1 – Categories
Column 2 – Items
The next 31 columns – dates of the month
Enter the $ amount for each row of expenses under the appropriate date
And then totalling every column and row
The END. How simple is that?
It is totally customisable to your circumstances and lifestyle. You get to decide on your categories. For example, Eating Out can be a category on its own or you can lump it with Entertainment.
It’s your spreadsheet so you can customise it to your heart’s content. Sometimes with apps, there are pre determined categories that may not suit your lifestyle.
You can be as detailed as you like under each category. For example, under my Food category, I list out each item I purchase but I also have rows that just say butcher, fruit & vegetables etc – for those times when I don’t have a receipt.
Once you’ve added a row for say artichokes, you don’t have to add it ever again because you’ll duplicate this month’s spreadsheet and rename it as next month.
Pro tip – make sure you clear all the $ amounts and double check all the rows and columns are zero before you start adding the new month’s expenses.
And as long as you have an internet connection, you can see your Google Sheets spreadsheet anywhere and on any device. So if you are bored waiting in line for anything, you can enter your receipts 🙂
I was very diligent when I first started tracking my expenses – I’d do it every Sunday but these days, I just do it on the last day of the month. Yes, I did lapse the last few months but I am back on track now, loving my new system 🙂