Idiot -proof spreadsheet for savings and interest

SallySunshine

Anyone got any recommendations/suggestions for the above.
I concocted a very basic one but need a separate one for tax .

Eco_Miser

There's no such thing as idiot-proof.
I use Open Office Calc.

Why do you need a separate one for tax? Just add an extra column, or an extra sheet to consolidate all the tax if that is more appropriate or easier.

SallySunshine

Thanks Eco Miser.
I have an iMac with numbers and Office 2011 for Mac with Excel, so probably don't need another
programme.
I do have a separate sheet with tax, just think i need to get more organised somehow.

Eco_Miser

If you've got Excel, you don't need another spreadsheet program. I'm just allergic to paying Microsoft prices.

Alexland

Where I work we get the opportunity to buy an Office license for about £13 as a benefit of the Microsoft enterprise license so I use Excel. Openoffice is fine (we used it to plan our wedding) but it's a mind twist to keep changing between them.

I believe it's better to develop your own personal finance spreadsheet workbook which will expand with your knowledge and transaction history. It is a good way to test your understanding in deriving the logic plus if you create it yourself it will also help with adding features and detecting errors.

It's good to have a summary on the first tab that shows all the assets and liabilities in descending order of liquidity - a bit like a balance sheet. It's also good to keep track of what is tax paid and yet to be taxed money (eg pensions).

As an investor my fund valuations can be volatile so I put the value of my house and mortgage on the spreadsheet. This helps dampen the volatility in the overall portfolio. I try not to think of my various accounts as individual portfolios but as part of a greater asset allocation plan.

I also put the decreasing value of my car on the spreadsheet so that when I eventually have to buy a new one then it feels more like an asset reallocation than spending money.

The tabs will need some tailoring for the products you are using and the type of performance data available on the platforms. They also get tailored to analyse particular aspects (such as the fees for investing) that are of interest and sometime contain models comparing different scenarios.

colsten

Alexland wrote: »

Where I work we get the opportunity to buy an Office license for about £13 as a benefit of the Microsoft enterprise license so I use Excel.

What's your plan for when you don't work there any longer? Will you buy your own Excel licence? will you migrate to a free spreadsheet?

Alexland

No idea but not a problem for a long while hopefully.

greenglide

As long as you retain the downloaded version of office when you cease employment it will continue working.

Technically I believe that you only have the right to use the product as long as you remain in employment with an employer with the site licence (you have only paid the "delivery" costs, you have not bought the product). In practice microsoft will not know - I retired last year and still use my office 2017 licence!

The last time I looked you could purchase office licences for £15 or so on amazon, presumably people are reselling the employees access?

Alexland

Yes you are supposed to stop using it when leaving the company but in practice there are no controls on the downloaded version and I would imagine Microsoft turn a blind eye as it helps their market share having home users without undermining the prices business users pay.

Either way Openoffice is fine but Excel is a bit nicer to use. They will both get the maths right. Given that Lotus 123, MS Works and Viscalc have been providing these functions for years it's a miracle that MS have maintained such a high price for such old rope. Still it feels nice so they get my £13 but wouldn't get much more.

Eco_Miser

Alexland wrote: »

I believe it's better to develop your own personal finance spreadsheet workbook which will expand with your knowledge and transaction history.

I agree. Mine has expanded so much it's been split into five workbooks, mainly because the single book had become so big it took ages to load, and to update.
Banks, investments, suppliers (everyone who gets paid by direct debit),
summary (including tax), and forecast cashflow (so I know when stuff is going out or coming in or moving from account to account). It's big and complex and grew organically, and I wouldn't recommend anyone to try to copy it.

Alexland

15 years ago I would sell you a data warehouse solution but now I would suggest co-creating some big data analytics.

Just remember to backup and keep it structured enough that you wife can use it when your gone. It's good to do a regular finance review with the boss to make sure she is comfortable with the allocations and knows where to find the buried treasure.