My "Free" Expense Tracker

Christopher Mills
June 6, 2022

There's a common misconception that you need to earn more to invest more and whilst that stands true in some situations, it's not the only way. I was listening to a podcast earlier today, the presenter was speaking about rich people and their constant need to earn because of their constant spending to impress. He then spoke about wealthy people and how they buy assets that earn them returns. The reason this came to mind is that it would seem that rich people don't worry about their expenses, they go in blindly. We want to be wealthy, so let's take the time to look at our expenses so that we can cut down on them and spend on assets.

Are you ready? Let's dive in...

Introducing my tracker

There was a period in my life when I tracked my expenses for a number of years. Every single time money left me, I tracked it - It didn't matter if it was a small payment or a large one, it was all tracked. I tracked my expenses in an Excel spreadsheet that I made which allowed me to understand where my money was going. I also started to understand trends in my spending and a number of other really valuable lessons. With time, I started being able to manage my expenses without a spreadsheet - each time I spent, it was as though I was assigning it within my mind rather than on paper. I cannot begin to explain what a game-changer this was for my finances.

Over the years, I shared my expense tracker with a number of people, some of whom still use it to this day. I recently took the time to rebuild it and make it accessible to more people. I've stripped out some features that I felt complicated the sheet for beginners, so I might release a second version in the future.

Below is a sample screenshot of what to expect:

The Sheet allows you to capture all your expenses against a list of categories such as housing, automobile, food, utilities, and such. Each of these categories is also broken down further meaning that if you want to dive in deeper than the top level, the data is there for you to do exactly that. The sheet also uses a simple pie graph to assist you in visualising where the expenses are highest.

One thing that I feel is very helpful is the Insights tab, which is populated over the months that you capture your expenses. So, after a few months of tracking expenses, the Sheet shows you graphs and trends about your spending which then shows you if certain expenses are increasing or decreasing - Having this represented visually is very powerful and incredibly motivating if you are trying to cut down.

This is a sheet that you can gain access to and start tracking your expenses going forward, you could access it and retro-capture expenses, or you can access it and completely change it to suit your needs. The options are quite endless, all I've done is give you a foot up so you don't have to recreate the wheel essentially. The way Google Sheets works is that you access this sheet, make a copy and then it belongs to you and you can do what you like.

Access the tracker

The tracker is completely free, all I ask is that you support us to access it:

Once you've accessed the tracker, you'll see some simple instructions that need to be followed:

  1. Click on "File" in the top left menu of Google Sheets and choose "Make a copy".
  2. The "1. Example" sheet gives you an example of how a month would look.
  3. I've put the months in as sheets, this is where you'll fill your spending out each month.
  4. All you have to do is capture the money amounts and the sheets will do the rest.

I've put a lot of time into making the setup as easy as possible, I'm confident that it will only take you a minute or two to get set up, and then you'll be capturing expenses right away!

The feedback I've received has been really positive and I'm always open to making further adjustments to the tracker, so if you start using the tracker and think of a useful addition, please reach out to me. The best place to request a feature would be on Instagram on this post but you're welcome to leave a comment below in the comment section.

Something that I haven't addressed is why a Sheet and not use a piece of software or app such as 22seven, mint, good budget, or the likes:

  1. These software solutions over-complicate things in my opinion. When you sign up, there are so many features that you end up getting distracted, exploring so many things but perfect nothing.
  2. I dislike the automation, I don't like connecting my bank accounts to these solutions, not only from a security/privacy point of view but because it feels as though you lose control.
  3. What happens if you get things going and then find out you have to pay to unlock crucial features? I'm not a fan of putting all my data into a solution that then rolls out a price plan and you feel forced to sign up.

I like having control over my money, a Google Sheet (that I own) feels the safest from this point of view, hence recommending this.

Reverse Budgeting?

Everything we've looked at here is about capturing expenses and then making adjustments to lower them. I appreciate that not everyone's able to do this so there's another route; as you receive your salary/income, invest immediately and then spend what's remaining on your expenses. This method is good for some people as it forces the automation of your savings but if you're in a tight spot financially, it might be best to first reduce your expenses, and then set up some saving automation. I wanted to raise this reverse budgeting method as it's something I've come across over time more than once.

The next step is budgeting?

Once you're on top of your expenses, the next step is to move into creating a budget plan. That's a topic for another post but I'll mention one method that's incredibly popular, the 50/30/20 budget. This method recommends that you spend your after-tax money on roughly 50% necessities, 30% on wants, and at least 20% on savings, debt repayment, or investing.

There are plenty of resources available online that break down the 50/30/20 method as well as other budgeting methods that you could explore until I have the time to write one myself.

Some useful saving tips

Whilst we're on the topic of expenses, let's look at a few ways that perhaps aren't so obvious that may assist you in spending less and reducing unnecessary expenses:

Delay purchasing: If you're about to purchase something, stop, sleep on it, and if you still want to purchase it the next day, then go for it. I've personally done this countless times in my life: I fill my cart, sleep on it and then revisit the cart the following day. I can honestly say that I've removed items many times and thus saved myself lots of money. Impulse control especially when purchasing online is so easy, is crucial.

Keep the value: Look at what you're spending your money on and figure out what truly adds value to your life. Stop purchasing things that aren't valuable. This took me a while to figure out, what things really brought value to my life. As an example, I love indoor plants, they bring me a lot of joy and peace of mind whereas buying random gadgets doesn't so I've cut down on gadgets a lot.

Make saving automatic: I mentioned this earlier in the blog post but in a different way. To save money you need to automate your monthly contributions. Once you're on top of your expenses and you can afford to invest, automate this with your brokerage. Each month, let a debit order fire and let the money go to your brokerage. Don't rely on yourself to always remember!

Lifestyle creep: I remember reading Rich Dad Poor Dad and although I'm not a fan of a number of the things within the book, Robert did talk about receiving a raise and immediately upgrading your car, for example, and how dangerous that is. Don't fall for lifestyle creep, this is one of the riskiest psychological mistakes that you can make.

In closing

So much of this topic is underpinned by psychology. The concept of cutting back on expenses so that one can save is really simple in theory but the psychology behind actually doing it, cutting luxuries out of your life, for example, is incredibly difficult. One needs a lot of psychological strength to achieve this, be gentle on yourself, allow yourself to make mistakes but continue to fall forward and with time, you'll get on top of understanding your expenses and you'll find ways to make changes that allow you to start saving and investing.

Christopher Mills

I run a successful agency, my other passion is personal finance.

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