by Wayne Leon Learmond

Created on: July 08, 2010   Last Updated: July 09, 2010

Setting up a personal financial worksheet record of your financial incomings and outgoings is a must in this day and age of austerity. In order to record all your financial comings and goings, you need to know what your money is being spent on.  This, in turn, will help you gain back financial control of your paychecks, and any other monies you may have coming in or, for that matter, going out.

To go about setting up a financial worksheet, the items you must have are thus: a personal computer, in order for you to download the documents you will need to help you.  Financial software such as Excel - for those who do not know what Excel is, and do not already have it, this is what it doe:

Excel is simply a spreadsheet program which will enable you to add in numerical values into the rows and columns of a spreadsheet.  Once you have done this, you can then use the numerical information you have entered, for such things as graphs, statistical analysis, and calculations.  Using Excel for a personal budget can be very useful indeed, but one thing to remember is that you would need to adjust Excel to fit your own personal needs. 

If you already own Excel, then all well and good, as downloading  the relevant personal financial software, or spreadsheets, could well be free.  Again, you would need to adjust these to suit your own needs, but they are very user-friendly.  In this day and age keeping account of all of your money - whether it be paychecks, credit cards or hp purchases - are of paramount importance in keeping an eye on your finances. With this in mind you need to set up a budget that you are able to live with and, above all, follow.

Budget spreadsheets are simple to use and follow, and many can be downloaded for free on the Internet.  One of the best ones at the moment is the Household Budget Worksheet for Excel.  Click on the link and download it now. This worksheet covers virtually everything within your home. The categories are listed, [as in titles] and again, are easy to follow and to navigate. I, myself, have used this worksheet on a number of occasions, and have had no problems with it at all.

You must know where every penny of your money is going, by knowing this, it will then make it a lot easier in setting up a financial budget that will suit your personal circumstances. By doing this, your debt will soon be a thing of the past.  Go through your budget with a fine tooth comb, and look at every penny that you can save on items that you simply do not need.

Do you really need hp purchases? Cut these out and begin to pay by cash instead of credit card. The thing to remember about hp purchases is that you are paying interest on top of what was the original price of the item. By paying in full what you owe, before or on the due date, you will no longer trigger off the APR [Annual Percentage Rate]. Whether you purchase by hp or cash, you must put all spending down on your budget worksheet.  Only then will you be able to work out exactly on what your money has been going on and where you can save.

To sum up, budget worksheets are a great way of gaining at least some control of your money. By putting the correct financial information down, they can give you an idea of where you have been going right, and where you have been going wrong in your spending.

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