My FREE 2013 Finance-Tracking Workbook - Simple Organized Living

For the last two years now, I?ve shared my ultra-simple method of tracking our finances ? how much money we bring in, and (more importantly) how much money we spend in different categories all year long.

THIS IS NOT OUR BUDGET!?

It is simply a group of Excel Spreadsheets we use to track our finances so we can look back over the years and see where our money is coming from and where it?s going.

It?s a great reality check because if you?re diligent with inputting the exact numbers, you might be surprised at how much money you actually spend in certain areas (restaurants, clothing, vacations,?entertainment, and cable TV, to name a few)

And even though this isn?t a budget worksheet, when it comes time to actually create your budget, you can use this Finance-Tracking Workbook to help you come up with appropriate budget numbers.

For example, if you see that you?re currently spending over $150 per month in cable TV, you might consider opting for a less expensive package to save $50-$75 per month. Or, if you see you?re currently spending well over $200 per month going out to eat, you might consider creating a ?restaurant?budget? of $150 per month and then put the other $50 per month into savings.

I?ve been using this workbook since my sophomore year in college ? I?ve adapted the categories many times since then, but the basic concept is still the same ? and the information I?ve gleaned from it is invaluable. Not only is it fun to look back on my college days and see how I stretched my tiny budget to cover basic?groceries?and gas, it?s also super helpful to be able to look back at last year?s budget to quickly remind myself how much we we spent on Christmas gifts, how much we gave to local charities, or even how much we spent on gas.

Even if you don?t have a budget, don?t want a budget, or don?t need a budget, I would still highly encourage you to record your income and expenses in some sort of financial workbook for your own personal reference.

Just last month, I got our annual home-insurance bill and it seemed really high. So instead of calling the company or weeding through our insurance paperwork, I simply pulled up last year?s Financial Workbook and saw that this current bill was several hundered dollars MORE than last year?s bill. I quickly called the company and within 5 minutes, we had the issues?straightened?out and we saved over $300

I?ve also saved money on our internet bill, garbage bill, and newspaper subscription by simply glancing back on previous year?s Financial Workbook and then contacting the companies to inquire about the additional charges? and you all know how much I love saving money!

OK, OK, I think I?ve made my point? you ALL should be using some type of method to track your finances!

You can either create your own, or you can download the one Dave and I use year after year.?It?s completely FREE and all the formulas are ready to go. It?s the raw Excel files so you can simply save it to your computer and input your own numbers. All I ask is that you don?t sell this to anyone? and if you think someone might be interested, please direct them back to this post on my website!

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE 2013 FINANCE-TRACKING WORKBOOK BELOW:

• Here is a link to it in?Google Docs.?{some of the formatting is different here}

NOTE:?The files will automatically download to your computer by clicking the link above. You will need Microsoft Excel (or similar program) on your computer to be able to use this worksheet ? and you should save it in a convenient place (like your desktop) so you can easily update it on a daily/weekly basis.

Also, if you?re interested in how exactly we use this workbook, you can read this post from 2011.

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Source: http://www.simpleorganizedliving.com/2013/01/07/my-free-2013-finance-tracking-workbook/

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