OK, so unless you’re a data analyst or have a passion for numbers, you probably hate Excel vehemently. However, the Excel spreadsheet could prove to be your best friend, or at least, your surrogate Dad, when it comes to keeping your finances in check.
We’ve all done it; let out that little gasp on receipt of our monthly statement. Particularly at that £100 withdrawal at 2am in the morning when inebriated – you know, you just needed to make sure you had enough cash in case you got stuck or couldn’t re-buy a round. Unsurprisingly, the money got spent and the hangover is somewhere up to £100 worse than if you’d just left it at the £50 headache you’d already paid for. You vow not to do that again. The problem with the statement is that it is too late, your naughty withdrawal merges into all the other necessary withdrawals and you forgive yourself. Perhaps rightly so, you deserve it. However, what would you see if you had a ‘beer money’ section on a spreadsheet that you filled in weekly? I suspect a whole list of naughty ‘just in cases’ that are slowly but surely breaking your bank and prohibiting your ability to save. You may not let yourself off the hook quite so easily.
Monitor your spending
Rather than endure the post-statement gasp, it is far better to keep track of your outgoings as you spend. Start a spreadsheet where you can clearly see all of your basic outgoings; rent or mortgage, council tax, car insurance, weekly shop etc and categorise the additional expenditure into clear groups i.e. eating out, clothes, alcohol etc. By documenting your spending in black and white, it will not only highlight to you exactly where the easiest savings can be made but it will make you think twice before you purchase some of the surplus items you’ve become accustomed to. It might even encourage you not to take your credit card drinking with you!