Here's the budgeting spreadsheet that I told you I'd send. Keep in mind; this is definitely for the “nerds”. If you weren’t there tonight, this spreadsheet is what I use instead of writing it out every month by hand. I find it much easier to change on the computer, than by hand. I mentioned it in class and many people wanted a copy of it. If you want to use it, great; if not, just discard it.
There are a couple of instructions I need to give you.
1. In the top left date field, change the date to the beginning of your budget cycle. The other dates will change automatically.
2. In the "Income" section at the bottom of the page, put in the date, the name of the source (work, babysitting, gifts, etc.), and the amount. The income for that week will total, and also get added into the budget sheet for that week.
3. Feel free to customize the categories. Unless you are quite adept at Excel, you will probably NOT want to delete or add any more categories. Doing so could cause some real challenges to the formulas. If you don't use a given category, just leave it blank - it won't hurt anything. Besides, you may need it later.
4. VERY IMPORTANT!! Don't type in any of the Yellow areas. These are full of formulas! If you type anything in any of those areas, the whole sheet could be wrong!!!
5. The ONLY areas you should enter information into are:
A. The 1st date cell at the top
B. The Income report sections at the bottom
C. The Category descriptions
D. The weekly amounts for each category (in the PINK sections)
6. If you follow these instructions, all the INCOME will appear in the GREEN sections at the top of the columns and will ADD to your weekly balances. All EXPENSES that are recorded in the PINK sections will DEDUCT from your balances. Any excess for each week automatically carries over to the top of the next week.
7. Notice that there is an Income/Allocation/Balance section at the bottom right of the spreadsheet. This compares your income for the month to your expenses. Remember, you should have a $0 balance - every dollar needs to be assigned (allocated).
Another suggestion; before you use this spreadsheet. Make a copy of the blank one, and start a new one with a "SAVE AS...". That way you will always have a clean budget form in case something goes terribly, terribly wrong.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me. I truly hope this tool will make budgeting "fun" and easy for you.
I’ll see you all in FPU class next week. Don’t forget to do your homework and reading assignments.
Randy