Manage spending and stop burdening it with LibreOffice Calc

Introduction

If you're like most people, you don't have a bottomless bank account. You may want to take a closer look at your monthly spending. There are many ways to do this, but the quickest and easiest is to use a spreadsheet. Many people create a very basic spreadsheet to do this, consisting of two long columns with a total at the bottom. This works, but it's a bit silly. I'm going to create a personal consumption spreadsheet that's easier to scrutinize (in my opinion) and more visually appealing by using LibreOffice Calc.

List your expenses first

Don’t bother with LibreOffice yet. Sit down with pen and paper and make a list of your monthly daily expenses. Take the time, go through your records, and write down everything, no matter how small. Don't worry about how much you spend. Focus on where you spend your money.

When you're done, group your expenses under the headings that make the most sense. For example, put your gas, electric, and water bills under "Utilities." You may also want to use a group called "Assorted" for the unexpected expenses we encounter every month.

Create Spreadsheet

Launch LibreOffice Calc and create an empty spreadsheet. Leave three blank rows at the top of the spreadsheet. We will come back later.

You group your expenses into categories for a reason: these groups will become blocks on your spreadsheet. We start by placing the most important spending group (such as "Household") at the top of the spreadsheet.

Enter the name of the spending group in the first cell of the fourth row at the top of the worksheet. Make it larger (maybe a 12-point font) and bold so it stands out.

In the row below this header, add the following three columns:

spend

date

Amount
Enter the name of the spend within this group in the cell under the Spend column.

Next, select the cell under the Date header. Click the Format menu and select Number Format > Date. Repeat this for the cells under the Amount heading and select Number Format > Currency.

You will see this:

This is a set of expenses. Instead of creating new blocks for each spend group, copy what you created and paste it next to the first block. I recommend putting three blocks in a row, with an empty column between them.

You will see this:

Repeat for all of your spend groups.

Total all

It's one thing to see all individual expenses, but you can also view the total for each group of expenses and all expenses together.

We first total the amounts for each expense group. You can let LibreOffice Calc do this automatically. Highlight the cell at the bottom of the Amount column and click the Sum button on the Formula toolbar.

Click the first cell in the Amount column and drag your cursor to the last cell in the column. Then press Enter.

Now let's do something with the two or three blank lines you left at the top. This is the total of all your expenses. I recommend putting it there so it's visible whenever you open the file.

In one of the cells in the upper left corner of the table, enter something like "Monthly Total". Then, in the cell next to it, enter =SUM(). This is the LibreOffice Calc function, which adds the value of a specific cell in a spreadsheet.

Instead of manually entering the name of the cell you want to add, hold down Ctrl on your keyboard. Then click on the cell on the spreadsheet where you totaled each set of expenses.

Finish

You have a sheet that tracks your expenses for a month. Having a spreadsheet of your expenses for a single month is a bit of a waste. Why not use it to track your monthly spending throughout the year?

Right-click the tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet and select Move or Copy Sheet. In the window that pops up, click -move to end position- and press Enter. Repeat until you have 12 sheets - one for each month. Rename the table after the month, and then save the spreadsheet with a descriptive name like Monthly Expenses 2017.ods.

Now that the setup is complete, you can use the spreadsheet. Using a spreadsheet to track your expenses won't solidify your financial foundation by itself, but it can help you control how much you spend each month.

(title picture: opensource.com)

About the Author:

Scott Nesbitt - I am a long-time user of free/open source software and write a variety of software for fun and profit. I won't take it too seriously. You can find me online in these places: Twitter, Mastodon, GitHub.

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