Libreoffice spreadsheet how to#
Libreoffice spreadsheet download#

This formula uses a negative percentage because donating to charity is an expense. This same method can be used if you give a percentage (e.g., 10%) of your income to charity (Row 21 of the template): =SUM(B2*-0.1) While I don't focus on this too much, I do find it helpful to see if I'm meeting my savings goals from month to month.įor instance, Row 32 of the Budget tab template uses this formula to calculate the 20% of your income that you should allocate to savings: =SUM(B2*0.2) The common recommendation is to put aside 20% of your take-home pay for savings. If you want to donate or save a percentage of your income, there's a function for that, too! Where x is the corresponding Yearly Estimate cell on your spreadsheet (from Column P). To do so, place this equation in the appropriate cell in the Monthly Estimate column: =SUM(x/12) If you want to do the latter, you need to divide your Yearly Estimate by 12 and put that amount into your monthly budget. You can either ignore these expenses in the monthly estimates or put money aside for them in your budget each month. You may pay some expenses, such as car insurance, only once a year. (For example, to calculate the annual cost of your phone service using the template, the formula would read =SUM(B12*13).) Calculating the monthly cost of yearly expenses In a cell in Column P, type this: =SUM(x*12)īut change x to the name of the Monthly Estimate cell you want to use. In the template, you can use the Yearly Estimate column to make an equation to annualize a monthly expense or income. Formulas do all the heavy lifting, so you don't have to do a lot of sums in your head. You could do this manually for each category, but it is much easier to use formulas.įormulas are automated calculations that determine the value of a cell. To find the yearly cost of a monthly expense, multiply your monthly estimate by 12. Calculating the annual cost of monthly expenses For annual expenses and income (e.g., taxes, insurance, tuition, etc.), enter them in Column P ( Yearly Estimate). In Column B ( Monthly Estimate) of the Budget tab, enter your anticipated monthly income and expenses for each category (an exception is the Charity row, which is automatically calculated as a percentage of your income). You can make adjustments in your second year to create a more accurate budget based upon what you spend in year one. But doing this will help you get a realistic idea of where your money is going. Your first year of budgeting estimates won't be perfect, and you may be surprised at how much or little you spend on certain categories. You can calculate these amounts monthly, yearly, or using a mix of the two. Once you have defined your categories, it's time to estimate how much you expect to earn and spend. Make sure to use the exact same categories you used on the Budget sheet in Column A. In Validity, select the Criteria tab, then click on the arrow to the right of Allow, set it to List, and type the categories you want to use in the Entries box. To add or remove categories from the dropdown menu, click on Column C in a Monthly sheet to select all Category cells. Then, in the main menu, select Data > Validity. You may need to change some of them so that they will match the categories in your budget (Column A of the Budget tab). Click the arrow, and you'll see the example categories. Click on a cell in Column C, and a drop-down arrow will appear on the right. You can view them on the Monthly sheets (accessed with the tabs at the bottom of the LibreOffice window). The template uses a drop-down menu to make it easy to assign categories to income and expenses.

You want budgeting to be as quick and easy as possible. You even could save up your receipts to calculate all your expenses at the end of the month, but this can be a hard slog. You can input transactions as they happen, daily, or weekly. It's important to interact with your spreadsheet frequently.

Libreoffice spreadsheet download#

Next, download my LibreOffice Calc template, which you can use as a starting point to create your own budget to meet your spending and savings goals. Getting startedīegin by downloading and installing LibreOffice, if you don't already have it. Fortunately, LibreOffice makes it easy for anyone to keep their yearly budget in check, even the math-averse. In this article, I'll step through a sample budget by explaining the logic behind important money decisions as well as the formulas you need to automate the process.

But it's important to know where your money is coming and going.

Libreoffice spreadsheet how to#

It can feel overwhelming to think about money, much less about how to keep track of it. Budgets can be intimidating for beginners.