Spreadsheet: 0d46313c-722d-4475-b777-2aa90d39e680
Sheet: Sheet1

Vertex42® Money Manager | Unnamed: 1 | Unnamed: 2 | Unnamed: 3
INSTRUCTIONS |  | © 2010 Vertex42 LLC
 |  | HELP
Intro
 | The Vertex42® Money Manager can be a very simple money management tool. Like most
 | spreadsheet applications, you should know that spreadsheets are error-prone. It is easy to
 | make mistakes, accidentally delete things that should not be deleted, forget to copy formulas,
 | etc. If you are comfortable using Excel, know how to identify and fix formulas when needed,
 | understand how to use basic row operations (delete, copy, inserted copied rows, etc.), are
 | okay with the level of risk you take on by using a spreadsheet, and follow the instructions
 | and guidelines, you should find this spreadsheet very useful.
 | General [NAME]
 | - Except for customizing the categories, you normally only edit cells with a gray border: | Input Cell
 | - Some of the labels include cell comments (marked with little red triangles) to provide
 | extra help information. | Label
 | - You can add your own cell comments! This is especially useful in the Budget worksheet,
 | where you can create notes to explain irregular or variable expenses.
 | - If you see "#####" in a cell, widen the COLUMN to display the cell contents.
 | - This workbook uses a lot of conditional formatting. Look up "conditional formatting" in the
 | Excel help system (F1) if you want to know how it works.
 | - You can add a limited amount of security by password protecting your workbook, but that
 | can be easily bypassed by anyone with malicious intent. The security of your data is your
 | responsibility.
 | - Backup your file regularly to avoid losing data! Excel files DO get corrupted occasionally.
Step 1 | Customize Categories (or don't)
 | The easiest way to get started is to just use the default set of budget categories.
 | If you need to make changes to the categories, make sure that you make corresponding
 | changes in ALL the other worksheets.
 | TIP: If you are going to customize the categories, it may be easier to start from the Budget
 | worksheet and then make sure that the Report and Categories worksheets correspond.
 | A. If you ADD or DELETE Categories, make sure that you use row operations (copying or
 | deleting entire rows) to help ensure that all formulas are copied correctly. Always insert
 | new rows between the first and last item in the category. If you insert a row immediately
 | above the "Total" or "Subtotal" row, formulas will not stretch to include the row you inserted.
 | B. Category names in all the worksheets must match exactly. Conditional formatting is used
 | to highlight the category names if the categories are not found in the Categories worksheet.
 | C. No Duplicate Category Names
 | Using duplicate category names like "Other" will result in errors, but you may not easily
 | notice the errors. Make sure that each category is UNIQUE.
 | D. Do Not Remove or Add Major Categories
 | If you add or remove major categories (like Housing, Food, Health, etc.), many formulas
 | will need to be updated and it is very likely you'll miss something and end up introducing
 | errors. Try to use the default set of categories or RENAME the categories, but avoid adding
 | or removing the major categories.
Step 2 | Define Your List of Accounts
 | List the accounts that you want to include in the Transaction History worksheet in the
 | list to the right. This list will be used to populate the dropdown box in the Accounts column
 | of the Transactions worksheet.
 | TIP: If you start each account name with a different letter, Excel's autocomplete feature
 | will make entering the account much faster for you. | ** ACCOUNTS **
 |  | Checking
 |  | Savings
 |  | BobsCard
 |  | JanesCard
 | To add more accounts, insert rows above this line. | [End of List]
Step 3 | Define your Yearly Budget
 | Define your budget using the Budget worksheet. Edit only the cells with the gray outline. | How to Budget: Budgeting Tips
 | See Vertex42.com and the blog Vertex42Blog.com for tips on budgeting. | Vertex42 Blog: Budgeting
 | - You can copy and paste the input cells within the Budget worksheet as needed. For example,
 | enter an average fuel cost in January, then copy the value to other months.
 | - Use formulas to do basic calculations like "=245/6" to divide 245 by 6 or "=34*2" to multipy
 | 34 by 2, or "=34+12+45" to add a bunch of numbers. [NAME] are entered using the
 | equals "=" sign.
 | - First Month Must be January: Even though it is possible to change the labels in the yearly
 | budget, formulas used in the Report worksheet assume that January is in column B, February
 | is in column C, etc.
Step 4 | Record Transactions
 | The Transactions worksheet lets you record transactions for multiple accounts. Think of a
 | PAYMENT as money leaving the account and a DEPOSIT as money entering the account.
 | Examples of different types of transactions are given below.
 | IMPORTANT: You must copy and paste entire rows when adding new rows, to ensure that all
 | the formatting, data validation, and formulas get copied correctly.
 | THE MOST COMMON ERROR is inserting a new row and forgetting to copy formulas,
 | especially the hidden formulas in columns [NAME]
 | When you insert a blank row, some formatting is copied from the row above it automatically,
 | but formulas and data validation are not copied. Remember: COPY - PASTE - EDIT
 | Use the screenshot below as a guide for how to enter transactions.
 | Num: This column is usually used to list the check number, but you can also use it to enter
 | "DEP" for deposit, "TXFR" for transfer, "EFT" for electronic funds transfer, "ACH" for
 | Automated Clearing House transactions, etc.
 | Category: The Category field is essential to the functionality of this workbook. The Category
 | is a dropdown list that gets its info from the Categories worksheet.
 | The Category column uses conditional formatting to highlight the category PINK if the | [Transfer] | : Normal background color to identify Transfers
 | category is not found in the Categories worksheet, BROWN if the category is not found in | [Balance] | : Normal background color to identify Beginning Balance
 | the Yearly or Monthly worksheet, and GRAY if the category is blank, [Transfer], or [Balance]. | [NAME] | : Category not found in the Categories worksheet
 | If the formatting isn't copied correctly, you'll lose this double-check feature. So again, this | [NAME] | : Category not found in the Budget or Report worksheets
 | spreadsheet is not error-proof.
 | IMPORTANT: If you have chosen a category such as "Ted's Fund" and then later remove
 | "Ted's Fund" from the list in the Categories worksheet, it will not be changed in the Transactions
 | table automatically. You will need to make sure that you find all the records that have used
 | "Ted's Fund" as the Category and change them to something else.
 | Step 4-0: Delete the Sample Rows
 | Step 4-1: Enter the beginning balance(s):
 | The Beginning Balance on JANUARY 1st for each account should be the first lines in the
 | register. If an account has a Negative balance (like a Credit Card), enter the balance as a
 | Positive value in the PAYMENT column. If an account has a Positive balance, enter the balance
 | as a Positive value in the DEPOSIT column. Use the Account Balance column to compare to
 | the balance shown on your bank or credit card statements.
 | Step 4-2: Add New Transactions:
 | You will probably find that the fastest way to add new transactions is copy and paste similar
 | previous transactions. You can select one or more rows, copy them, and then paste them
 | below the last transaction. Then, you just need to edit the cells that need to be changed.
 | TIP: Always leave the last row in the table BLANK so that you can easily add new rows. To
 | add new rows, select the last row of the table (row 57 in the image below) and drag the fill
 | handle down to copy the row down to create as many new rows as you need.
 | Recording a SPLIT Transaction
 | If a single transaction needs to be allocated to multiple budget categories, you need to create
 | a SPLIT transaction. You can do this by splitting the transaction into multiple transactions -
 | one for each category. You can use the MEMO field to indicate that the transaction is a "Split".
 | ACCOUNT   DATE    NUM   PAYEE    MEMO    CATEGORY    PAYMENT
 | Checking  1/1/10  2032  Target   Split   Clothing      23.10
 | Checking  1/1/10  2032  Target   Split   Groceries     45.15
 | Checking  1/1/10  2032  Target   Split   Supplies      25.04
 | Tip: If you want to verify the total amount of the split transaction, you can do a quick
 | calculation off to the side of the table using an Excel formula, like "=[NAME]:H15)"
 | Recording a [Transfer] Between Spending Accounts
 | Record a transfer by listing two transactions (one PAYMENT, one DEPOSIT) to offset each other.
 | Choose "[Transfer]" as the Category for both transactions. For example, a $250 credit card
 | payment would be recorded as a transfer FROM your checking TO your credit card account:
 | ACCOUNT     DATE    NUM   PAYEE            CATEGORY    PAYMENT  DEPOSIT
 | CreditCard  1/1/10  TXFR  [From Checking]  [Transfer]            150.00
 | Checking    1/1/10  TXFR  [To CreditCard]  [Transfer]   150.00
 | NOTE: The above example assumes that the "payment" to your Credit Card is to pay off the
 | charges that you have already recorded earlier in the Transaction History table for the
 | CreditCard account. If you are NOT recording individual CreditCard transactions using the
 | Transactions worksheet, or part of the $150.00 was to pay down an outstanding debt, then a
 | credit card payment would look like one of the following, where "Credit Card #1" is a category
 | under Obligations.
 | Example 1: Not using Credit Card #1 any more, but still owe money on it.
 | ACCOUNT     DATE    NUM   PAYEE           CATEGORY        PAYMENT
 | Checking    1/1/10        Credit Card     Credit Card #1   150.00
 | Example 2: A portion of a credit card payment used to pay down $25.00 of outstanding debt.
 | ACCOUNT     DATE    NUM   PAYEE           MEMO   CATEGORY      PAYMENT  DEPOSIT
 | CreditCard  1/1/10  TXFR  [From Checking]        [Transfer]              150.00
 | Checking    1/1/10  TXFR  [To CreditCard] Split  [Transfer]     125.00
 | Checking    1/1/10  TXFR  [To CreditCard] Split  Credit Card #1  25.00
 | Recording a [Transfer] To SAVINGS
 | When budgeting, you treat a transfer to Savings as an expense. You'll notice in the Budget
 | worksheet that there are multiple savings goals listed as sub-categories under the main
 | "To Savings" category. Instead of just throwing money into Savings, you should allocate the
 | money to specific savings goals based on percentages. For example, 50% to your Emergency
 | Fund, 25% to Retirement, etc. You do this by recording the transfer as a SPLIT transaction:
 | In the example below, the CATEGORY for the Savings account transaction is "[Transfer]"
 | while the CATEGORY for the Checking account transaction(s) are budget sub-categories.
 | ACCOUNT   DATE    NUM   PAYEE            CATEGORY       PAYMENT   DEPOSIT
 | Savings   1/1/10  TXFR  [From Checking]  [Transfer]                200.00
 | Checking  1/1/10  TXFR  [To Savings]     Emergency Fund  100.00
 | Checking  1/1/10  TXFR  [To Savings]     Retirement       50.00
 | Checking  1/1/10  TXFR  [To Savings]     College Fund     50.00
 | Recording a Return or Refund
 | A very common approach for recording returns or refunds is to record them as a negative
 | expense. As an example, let's say you purchased a blender from a department store and
 | allocated the payment to your "Appliances" category. After returning the blender, the store
 | credits your card. Instead of entering the credit as a deposit, enter the amount as a negative
 | payment as shown below. Doing this will credit the correct budget category instead of
 | treating the return as income.
 | Original Transaction:
 | ACCOUNT     DATE    NUM   PAYEE            CATEGORY    PAYMENT  DEPOSIT
 | CreditCard  1/1/10        The Big Store    Appliances    50.00
 | Recording the Return:
 | ACCOUNT     DATE    NUM   PAYEE            CATEGORY    PAYMENT  DEPOSIT
 | CreditCard  1/5/10        The Big Store    Appliances   -50.00
 | Step 4-3: Record "Cleared" Transactions.
 | When you see that charges have been processed or "cleared" by your bank, you should
 | enter a "c" in the reconcile (R) column for that transaction.
 | The Cleared Balance in the transaction history table shows the Account balance for the
 | transactions marked "R" for reconciled or "c" for cleared. This allows you to compare the
 | Cleared Balance with the current balance shown on your bank statements.
 | The Account Balance reflects your actual or effective balance and is the one you should be
 | looking at to stay on budget. The Cleared Balance is for comparing to your bank and credit
 | card statements. For example, when you write a check to a friend, it won't show up in your
 | bank account until they cash it. You should record the transaction immediately, to help you
 | stay on budget, but until the check shows up on your bank statement, your Cleared Balance
 | will be different from the Account Balance (until you enter a "c" or "R" in the reconcile column).
 | Step 4-4: Reconcile Your Accounts
 | You should reconcile your accounts at least one a month. Reconciling is also commonly known
 | as "balancing your checkbook".
 | A. Get your bank and credit card statements
 | B. Review your statements for errors and fraudulent charges
 | C. Your statements may include ATM fees, bank fees, or other transactions that you forget
 | to include in the Transactions worksheet. Add them.
 | [NAME] that the Cleared Balance (as of the Ending Statement Date) in the Transactions
 | worksheet matches the Statement Balance.
 | E. Enter an "R" in the reconcile (R) column for every transaction that shows up on your
 | bank statement.
 | TIP: If you are familiar with using Excel lists or tables, you can use autofiltering to filter the
 | transaction history table to show a single account at a time.
 | Step 4-5: Check [NAME]
 | If you ever have reason to suspect that you forgot to copy formulas, you should UNHIDE
 | columns [NAME] and copy the formulas down.
Step 5 | Track Your Progress
 | A very important part of good money management is keeping track of how your current
 | spending compares to your budget. You might check your budget status on a weekly or even
 | daily basis, but you should at least manage your money on a monthly basis.
 | Use the Report worksheet to compare your budget to your actual spending throughout
 | the month. Change the month by entering the month number (1 for Jan., 2 for Feb., etc.).
 | The Report pulls the budget info from the Budget worksheet and the actual spending from
 | the [NAME] worksheet, so you can view the report at any time during the month and
 | see how much you have left (or how much you have overspent) in each category.
 | IMPORTANT: If the Report worksheet does not appear to be pulling information from the
 | Transactions worksheet, please see Step 4-5 above ([NAME]).