I've tried a lot of different ways to track my finances (Excel, MS Money, Mint.com, creating my own website) but I think the best one is a spreadsheet within Google Docs.
Google Docs is good because it's free, Google won't lose your data, you can access it from any computer, you can make nice graphs, and you can set things up however you want to.
A couple of people have asked me how I made the graphs in my journal, so I cleaned up my personal finances spreadsheet and removed all the personal data. You can access that here: ERE Finances
Fair warning: it's not the most straightforward of spreadsheets. Let me know if you're confused by anything.
You can use this to make graphs like:
(check out the Graphs sheet/tab on the bottom of the spreadsheet)
I hope you find this useful! Let me know if you do anything cool with it. (Start by doing File -> Make a Copy)
How I track my finances on Google Docs
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George the original one
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AlexOliver
- Posts: 461
- Joined: Tue Aug 03, 2010 7:25 pm
I also like the flexibility of creating your own tools with spreadsheets.
I love that expense/interest graph.
Another graph I like includes my actual IRA value and my predicted IRA value assuming 8% and 11% interest. This helps me get a better idea of how much my portfolio is really worth in the long term.
And now that I'm splitting my investments into ten equal categories, a graph can help me tell when it's time to rebalance.
I have a pie chart of my assets. I keep trying to get my home equity to be less than half, but I just can't keep up. And I'm trying to have my IRA + 403(b) exceed my pension, which it did for a while, but that's not so easy either!
I love that expense/interest graph.
Another graph I like includes my actual IRA value and my predicted IRA value assuming 8% and 11% interest. This helps me get a better idea of how much my portfolio is really worth in the long term.
And now that I'm splitting my investments into ten equal categories, a graph can help me tell when it's time to rebalance.
I have a pie chart of my assets. I keep trying to get my home equity to be less than half, but I just can't keep up. And I'm trying to have my IRA + 403(b) exceed my pension, which it did for a while, but that's not so easy either!
@Marius
Yeah, 4% may be aggressive, but it keeps me motivated. My real plan is to hit FI @ 4% and then keep going to a more conversative number.
@Kevin M
Yeah, things you enter manually:
- nothing on 'Finances'
- everything on '-FI' and '+FI' (except columns A and B which are hidden by default)
- the values for account/month on 'Net Worth'
- Real Interest and Annual Income on 'Budget', along with the costs and recurrence of the expenses
- nothing on 'Graphs'
and sometimes you have to copy and paste columns or rows to get new places to enter data.
In general if you double click on a cell and it has a formula starting with =, leave it alone, and if it has just a raw number in it, edit it.
@Debbie M
Investing and asset allocation graphs are definitely a good idea. I should work on that...
My spreadsheets are light on investing because I'm not really doing it yet -- which makes my 4% number even more unrealistic.
Yeah, 4% may be aggressive, but it keeps me motivated. My real plan is to hit FI @ 4% and then keep going to a more conversative number.
@Kevin M
Yeah, things you enter manually:
- nothing on 'Finances'
- everything on '-FI' and '+FI' (except columns A and B which are hidden by default)
- the values for account/month on 'Net Worth'
- Real Interest and Annual Income on 'Budget', along with the costs and recurrence of the expenses
- nothing on 'Graphs'
and sometimes you have to copy and paste columns or rows to get new places to enter data.
In general if you double click on a cell and it has a formula starting with =, leave it alone, and if it has just a raw number in it, edit it.
@Debbie M
Investing and asset allocation graphs are definitely a good idea. I should work on that...
My spreadsheets are light on investing because I'm not really doing it yet -- which makes my 4% number even more unrealistic.
Why are we hesitant to share the dollar amounts we earn, save, and spend? I have graphs similar to akratic's but mine show earnings too. Usually we can calculate the income based upon years to FI change and monthly spending anyway.
I don't care if someone's income is mine*10 or mine/10. Around here wealth is measured in assets/expenses, not income. Even a fast food employee could be wealthy by that metric.
I like akratic's expenses and passive income vs time graph (I assume it's time, there are no x axis labels). I'm going to pretty up my graphs and make a post similar to his journal. Does anyone object to real numbers? We're all anonymous here except Jacob and he pretty much tells all.
I don't care if someone's income is mine*10 or mine/10. Around here wealth is measured in assets/expenses, not income. Even a fast food employee could be wealthy by that metric.
I like akratic's expenses and passive income vs time graph (I assume it's time, there are no x axis labels). I'm going to pretty up my graphs and make a post similar to his journal. Does anyone object to real numbers? We're all anonymous here except Jacob and he pretty much tells all.
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AlexOliver
- Posts: 461
- Joined: Tue Aug 03, 2010 7:25 pm
"Why are we hesitant to share the dollar amounts we earn, save, and spend?"
For most people, I think it's a social custom/taboo not to talk about how much one makes.
Also, people tend to make all sorts of assumptions once they know how much or how little one makes. Sometimes it easier just to keep them in the dark. I certainly wouldn't want any contractor I'm hiring to know how much I make.
For most people, I think it's a social custom/taboo not to talk about how much one makes.
Also, people tend to make all sorts of assumptions once they know how much or how little one makes. Sometimes it easier just to keep them in the dark. I certainly wouldn't want any contractor I'm hiring to know how much I make.
I like to think that I earn much more money that all my friends, and I don't want anyone to prove me wrong.
I really avoid talking about earnings with people... while I may not care how much someone else is making (that is not true) I don't know how another person can use the information.
I'm very open talking about any other subject, doh!
I really avoid talking about earnings with people... while I may not care how much someone else is making (that is not true) I don't know how another person can use the information.
I'm very open talking about any other subject, doh!
@AlexK "Why are we hesitant to share the dollar amounts we earn, save, and spend?"
I suspect that as long as someone supposes your situation is similar to his, it's easier for him to relate to you. When he learns you are significantly richer or poorer, I think you become to him one of "the others" ("the rich" or "the poor") and it will probably be more difficult for him to see you as a person and not as a member of such a group. Result: higher risk of judging, jealousy and low empathy.
I suspect that as long as someone supposes your situation is similar to his, it's easier for him to relate to you. When he learns you are significantly richer or poorer, I think you become to him one of "the others" ("the rich" or "the poor") and it will probably be more difficult for him to see you as a person and not as a member of such a group. Result: higher risk of judging, jealousy and low empathy.
For those with a Mac (and using Numbers), here is an option. This is what I used for 2011. It's definitely not the greatest or most elegant file, but it might be a place to start or an example worth checking out:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B1i8uT ... YxM2NiNzc5
(In the first sheet of the file, there are two lines for each budget category. The first lines are budget values, and the second is actual)
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B1i8uT ... YxM2NiNzc5
(In the first sheet of the file, there are two lines for each budget category. The first lines are budget values, and the second is actual)
Re:
You can delete your account and after a grace period of 6 months everything associated with and in your account will be deleted.AlexOliver wrote:"Google won't lose your data"
Ever. Even if you want them to.
Their motto is Don't be evil.
Facebook is the real villain.
"You can go but you can never leave."
You can "disable" your account but you cannot delete it. What "disable" means is everything still stays on their servers ready to spring back to life the moment your account is logged in.
Re: Re:
It used to be like that, but you can now (at least they say you can, and it looks like I successfully did it)fiby41 wrote:You can "disable" your account but you cannot delete it. What "disable" means is everything still stays on their servers ready to spring back to life the moment your account is logged in.
If you don't think you'll use Facebook again, you can request to have your account permanently deleted. Please keep in mind that you won't be able to reactivate your account or retrieve anything you've added. Before you do this, you may want to download a copy of your info from Facebook. Then, if you'd like your account permanently deleted with no option for recovery, log into your account and let us know.
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Re: How I track my finances on Google Docs
Does google sheets have an answer to pivot tables? This is one of the best features of excel and allows for really simple analysis and graphing of complex tables.
At the moment, I use excel and use dropbox to backup and sync my data between my PC and laptop, although I haven't accessed it successfully in work due to information governance policies. Google sheets might get me around the restrictions on dropbox.
At the moment, I use excel and use dropbox to backup and sync my data between my PC and laptop, although I haven't accessed it successfully in work due to information governance policies. Google sheets might get me around the restrictions on dropbox.