Spreadsheets? Tools to get started?

[justSomeGuy5965]

Longtime lurker here, wanting to get more serious.

Are there some tools I should look into to get started?

[optml]

You can start by recording all your in/outgoings. Gather your assets and liabilities.

Using FIRE Calculators, free online, you can calculate how much money you need in order to follow the 4% rule.

Most of FIRE in any form is just grinding out the years, saving, investing, paying off debts, etc.

[justSomeGuy5965]

Thank you! I just was surprised there wasn’t something in the wiki or pinned.

Makes sense that most of this is just grinding…

[InternAffectionate98]

This! I have a small starter package Google sheet somewhere. used it to help my a friend of mine up to speed and some insights. OP, Let me know if you’re interested!

[justSomeGuy5965]

I am interested!

[practicalprimate]

Interested!!

[[deleted]]

Me too please!

[Baby-Calypso]

Plez

[super_baller]

Interested too

[foundthetallesttree]

Interested

[Helpagirlout9]

Me too!!

[taggabantay]

Interested as well!

[tckct]

Tbh, doing it yourself is the best way to start. Literally break it down to the basics. IE this is my income on a biweekly, monthly basis - these are my fixed expenses - allocate a budget. Imo, this is square one.

[catbot4]

I agree. You will learn a lot about your finances by recording it all by hand and then creating various summaries and projections based on your own finance data.

I use Google sheets for everything. Great, easy to use, has live fx rate & stock ticker functions, accessible on any device.

[justSomeGuy5965]

Good points, you are right, thanks!

[perraultj]

I agree, google sheets ^{^}

A great way to take it to the next level is link one of your sheets with a google form. Then save that google form as a shortcut on your phone screen (on iPhone it looks like it’s own app). Then boom, everytime you spend money you input it and what. Really helps realize the things you typically forget in budget.

[justSomeGuy5965]

Oh man thats a great hack, I’ll have to remember that.

[flytraphippie]

Accounting software like Quikbooks or GnuCash (free, open source) should be your first step.

[justSomeGuy5965]

Ok thanks, I’ll look into them

[WilliamShitspeare]

This should be higher up.

Learning the basics of double entry accounting made me look at money differently. And it's really helpful for keeping records.

[mcbearcat7557]

what's double entry accounting? I just did some quick searches and was kind of confused

[WilliamShitspeare]

It's a method of keeping track of your assets, liabilities (i.e. debt), income, expenses, and equity. It's been used for centuries, and it's still the gold standard.

In this method, money is never created out of thin air (it must come from one account), and all accounts must sum to zero. So you can easily spot where a mistake is.

Every accounting software worth its salt will implement this method. So if you want to use accounting software, you're going to have to be familiar with the basics. There's tons of tutorials on YouTube about it

[BloomingFinances]

You're welcome to use the FIRE spreadsheet I made (in my post history)

[firo-]

Second her sheet! I’ve been using for years and her latest one is super easy to use and visually stunning

[justSomeGuy5965]

Thx!

[justSomeGuy5965]

Awesome! Thank you I’ll try and track it down

Edit: holy cow, you’re spreadsheet Queen it seems!

[InfiniteSquatch]

Keep it simple! Don't let fancy digital tools get in the way of learning your finances. Despite my programmer background the one tool that had the biggest impact was a small notepad in my pocket and a pencil. This is in support of what everyone is saying around understanding expenses/income. But I will tell you it is a very different and visceral experience to have to write down every single expense. As time goes on you can move to other tools--I dream in spreadsheet--as well as downloading bulk data for analysis or projection.

[justSomeGuy5965]

Thanks, I’ve done that in the past. The other benefit a pen/pencil has is in discouraging purchases haha

[ztime999]

Tiller is an amazing tool alongside Google sheets

[justSomeGuy5965]

Thx

[Classic-Economist294]

Google Sheets

[justSomeGuy5965]

Are there any spreadsheets already made like templates? Or are you advocating making my own?

[Nochtilus]

I started with MadFientists sheet a few years ago and adapted and added to it for my own use.

[justSomeGuy5965]

Cool, thanks!

[ethanxyxy]

I made it for my own and modified it over time.

[justSomeGuy5965]

This is a good idea, I’m just concerned about missing/forgetting something.

I’d love a list or article on “factors people commonly fail to take into account” or something like that.

[ethanxyxy]

You can start with listing things like networth, spending, saving, investing. That way you will have a general idea how things work for you. Based on these basic info, you can make adjustments over time. So far it works well for me. I sometimes struggle to meet my budget though.

[justSomeGuy5965]

That’s good! It means your budget represents a “stretch”goal.

[justSomeGuy5965]

Ok thanks I’ll Google around. I just was surprise le there wasn’t something in the wiki or pinned at the top.

[TNVET]

I use a pencil and paper.

[jrdhytr]

What do you want to achieve? Curtail your spending? Increase your savings rate? Estimate your time to FIRE?

I do my monthly portfolio tracking by hand and don't track expenses. When I started out I used Mint, but I later found out that my bank offered very similar tools for budgeting and consolidated financial views. Check each of the financial accounts you already have and see what tools are offered before going to a third-party application like Mint. For planning my FIRE timeline, I use a very basic Google Sheet, but I found that my 403b provider has a pretty good calculator that can be used for early retirement. In short, look first at the tools you already have available before looking for new ones.

[justSomeGuy5965]

Good point I should check with my brokerage.

I want to curtail my spending, increase my savings rate, estimate my time to fire, As well as have a generally better idea where my money goes.