Family finances simplified with Excel personal budget planner.

Keeping track of family finances is a difficult task without a proper household budget planner. Often, a spouse is in charge of all financial matters and it can become daunting, especially at month or year end. Finances are something that many shy away from because of the lack of incoming funds and abundance of outgoing funds.

Family budget planners are crucial to ensure we have a good understanding of our family financial situation. Too often, finances are put on the back burner because families are overwhelmed by their debts and feel hopeless in improving their financial situation. Begin a financial record to get a true picture of your family earning and spending.

Family Finance Planner

Assortments of financial planners are on the Internet for free or for a fee. Choosing a financial planner to record your assets and debts is a personal choice. If it is your first time it is best to choose a budget planner that is easy to use and allows you to add or delete categories based on your family financial situation.

Microsoft has an excellent financial planner for beginners . The plan allows the user to add or delete columns effortless with minimum Excel training. User must input the data, but the formulas for subtotals have been included. As well, it is easy to change to headings and to personalize it to your family situation. Microsoft is a good tool because it is well known and most know the basic functions. If you are unaware of how to use Excel there are an assortment of books and Microsoft provides free training tutorials on their website.

Tracking Finances

Each month families have money credited or debited from their bank account. As frightening as it is to see more money debited from your account, it will give you an idea of where money is being spent. Tracking finances can be cumbersome, but good organization can keep the task to a few short hours a month or a couple minutes a day. All members must keep records of their spending if it is not via debit or credit. Once a month, the family member in charge of finances can input the information from credit and debit records and the miscellaneous cash purchases can be done daily or at the end of the month.

During the first couple of months there will be more work, because the record keeper must add new categories to align with the family budget. However, after a few months, record keeping will take little time.

Inputting Financial Data

Monthly Excel Financial Planner has a cell (box) for only one amount under each category. Record keeper must do a subtotal for each separate item for the month. Example, paychecks would be added for a monthly total; same is true for grocery bills. If you know the basics of Excel you can create a new spreadsheet to calculate the total or simply add them altogether with a calculator and input the data.

Constant Debits

Each month there are funds debited from your account that are constant. Mortgage payments, car loans, car leases, house taxes, car insurance, and more debit the same amount each month. Input the data all at once with a simple cut and paste for the year.

Changing Debits

Each month, families pay for electricity, phones, groceries and more utilities that are dependent on the usage. Bills for these services fluctuate and must be recorded on a monthly basis. As well, these bills may be reduced with energy conservation or researching different phone providers and more.

Emergency Debits

Emergency debits seem to be a constant each month; the only change is the emergency. Car repairs, illness, weddings, and more are constantly in need of money. Input the data monthly.

Family Credits

Credits have fewer categories than debit categories. Salaries, government checks, tax refunds, purchase refunds, birthday money and more are credits in your family budget. If a salary is constant input the data for all months to give a true picture of your assets and to assist in curbing your spending. Fluctuating assets; tips, commission, and birthday money will be added on a monthly basis.

Credit/Debit Totals

At the end of the Excel family budget planner they have a formula to total credits, debits, and show the difference. Difference will either display a positive or negative numbers. Positive numbers are black and negative numbers are in bold red. Totals are an excellent way to see how much money the family has overspent or saved. If the family has overspent, the financial planner can easily see the expenses and decide on where they can save next month to ensure they are in the black.