4 ways tracking expenses helps when filing taxes
Years ago I started tracking expenses simply to see how much I spent and earned. I was thrilled to see how writing down all my purchases made me more aware of my spending habits. I ultimately became more conscious of my spending and ended up saving a lot more money ...

How to add categories to the Simple Expense Tracker
When I started tracking expenses four years ago, I was disappointed with the free templates I could find online. Too many required registrations, and ultimately the spreadsheets were bloated with formats and sometimes macros. I initially created the free expense tracker (downloadable here) for readers of this site. That is, young, ...

Expense tracking: end of year review
For 4 years on this blog, I have been praising the benefits of tracking expenses (get the free spreadsheet here). I have gone into detail on how best to account for purchases properly, including topics such as: Tracking expenses while traveling How many categories should you have? Why the richest American suggested tracking expenses But I ...

5 tips for tracking expenses while traveling
When I was sipping a drink on a private beach resort recently, I felt completely relaxed and I forgot about my worldly troubles. In this paradise, it was tempting to let go and splurge on things like cocktails, jet ski rentals, and massages. But I brought myself down to earth and ...

How to enter a rebate when tracking expenses
Occasionally, I will get office supplies or food items with significant mail-in rebate discounts. What's the proper way to input the savings when you are tracking expenses? I will share my tactic below. (On a related note: I should mention I have never once had a rebate declined, in contrast to the horror ...

How many categories should you have for your budget or expense spreadsheet?
My friend is getting serious about his finances, and at my suggestion he has agreed to work through a couple months of my free budget and expense tracker spreadsheet. The first thing that struck him was the list of budget categories. Many mainstream budget worksheets have about 20-30 categories. Even Bundle, ...

Free budget spreadsheet and expense tracker
(To download, go to the "free budget spreadsheet and expense tracker" file in Financial Tools page) Last year a lot of people took a fresh look at their finances. And that meant starting with the basics of comparing income to expenses. I have long been recommending such expense tracking. For four years ...

How much does your girlfriend cost?
If women didn't exist, all the money in the world would have no meaning--Aristotle Onassis Friday night was ending, and we asked our friend what we owed. He replied, "Don't worry about it guys--it's so little that it's on me. This is nothing compared to a normal Friday night when I ...

The simple expense tracker–over 1,000 downloads
Not long ago I introduced a free spreadsheet called "The Simple Expense Tracker" to help people record their expenses. The spreadsheet tabulates expenses and income, and it automatically calculates monthly and yearly savings and spending by category. It's not as fancy as the software on websites like mint.com or wesabe.com. ...

A big reason why you should track your expenses–money flows are complex
Most of the people I discuss money with track their expenses or agree it is a good idea. But not everyone is convinced. Here is a comment I received earlier this week: Presh, I sort of see your point about tracking expenses, but isn't it overkill? I seem to do just ...

A free spreadsheet to track your expenses
(To download the file, see the "expense tracker" file in Financial Tools page) Tracking your money is perhaps the most powerful step for saving money. But what is the best way to do it? Programs like Microsoft Money and Intuit's Quicken are great but I think they are too sophisticated for beginners. ...

How do you deal with overdraft fees?
"Bob" emails me his frustrations with managing his checking account: I just got hit with an overdraft fee and I'm really annoyed. I regularly check my account online but this time a check cleared unexpectedly. It was a check I wrote a couple months ago and forgotten about. How do you deal ...

Is there a right way to track expenses?
I introduced a free spreadsheet to track your expenses (for the file, see the financial tools page) about a week ago, and I'm thrilled that people are finding it easy to use and helpful to their finances. Thank you for the support, and please feel free to contact me with ...

APR and APY converter
I've made spreadsheet that converts an APR to an equivalent APY (and vice versa) to complement my article about the difference between APR and APY. You have to enter a frequency of compounding. Many savings accounts like ING's Orange Savings compound interest monthly. This means you enter 12 for the compounding ...

Free spreadsheet to track your expenses
The File: See Financial Tools In last Fridays' article, I discussed some of the various ways you can track your expenses. I've tried to keep things simple so you can get started. Here are a few notes about the file: The spreadsheet is designed for one full year of data. The spreadsheet calculates ...