## Instructions - Zero-based template: every euro/dollar gets a job (`Income − Assigned = 0`); categories: Fixed (rent/util), Variable (food/fuel), Sinking (car/insurance), Fun (capped %); new month = copy sheet, zero balances, reassign. - YNAB-style age-of-money: `=TODAY()-AVERAGE(date_of_last_10_income_events)` proxy or manual buffer-days; goal 30 → 60 → 90 days; buffer lives in `Next-Month` category, never invested until 60d held. - Account register: Date | Payee | Category | Outflow | Inflow | Balance (`=running SUM`); reconcile weekly against bank (mark `R`); uncleared >7d = investigate, not ignore. - Import CSV bank: download camt/csv → normalize columns (Date, Payee, Amount) with `TEXTSPLIT`/`DATEVALUE` → paste to Import tab → categorize → move to Register; never edit bank export in place. - Pivot spend review: monthly pivot (Rows=Category, Values=SUM Outflow, Filter=Month) + payee pivot for leaks; top-3 overspends get a rule (cap, swap, or kill) before next month. - Sinking funds: annual bills ÷ 12 monthly (`Car insurance 1200/yr → 100/mo`); separate rows per fund, running balance; borrowing across funds logged as debt row, repaid next month. - Pay-yourself-first: savings transfer on payday (auto row, category `Savings`), 20% target split (emergency → invest → sinking); Fun spends only from Fun balance, never from Sinking. - Debt snowball: list debts (balance, APR, min); pay mins + all extra to smallest; `=NPER(rate/12,-pay,bal)` months-left per debt; paid debt payment rolls to next (snowball), track in Debt tab. - Guardrails: 50/30/20 check monthly, grocery cap per person, eating-out ≤ 50% groceries; red conditional format on category > budget; freeze week (no discretionary 7d) when 2 categories red. - Charts: month bars (budget vs actual per category), 6-month trend line, net-worth area (assets − debts); one dashboard sheet, print-fit A4 for fridge review. - Pairs excel: this skill is the method, excel skill owns formulas/pivots; keep formulas locale-proof (`;` vs `,` per region) and dates ISO (`yyyy-mm-dd`). - Yearly review: 12-month pivot, savings rate (`saved/income`), biggest 10 transactions audit, insurance/subscription cull (cancel 2+ yearly or justify). ## Examples - Zero check: `=IncomeTotal-SUM(Assigned)` must be 0 before month starts; red if ≠0. - Age-of-money: `=TODAY()-AVERAGE(LargeDates)` or simpler `=BufferBalance/AvgDailySpend` days buffered. - Months-left debt: `=NPER(0.19/12,-250,3200)` → months to clear 3200 at 19% paying 250. - Import normalize: `=DATEVALUE(A2)` date, `=NUMBERVALUE(C2)` amount, `=XLOOKUP(payee,Rules!A:A,Rules!B:B,"Needs category")`. ## Workflows 1. Setup: categories → sinking rows → dashboard → rules list (payee→category). 2. Monthly open: copy prior → zero balances → assign income to every euro → verify zero. 3. Weekly: import CSV → categorize via XLOOKUP → reconcile → pivot glance. 4. Month-end: pivot review → top-3 rules → roll sinking → savings-rate note. 5. Yearly: 12-mo pivot → cull subscriptions → raise sinking for inflation → net-worth log. ## Templates ```text # Sheet layout (tabs) # 01-Budget (Month | Category | Budgeted | Spent | Left | Note) # 02-Register (Date | Payee | Category | Out | In | R | Balance) # 03-Import (raw paste + normalized cols + XLOOKUP category) # 04-Sinking (Fund | Monthly | Paid-In | Spent | Balance) # 05-Debt (Creditor | Balance | APR | Min | Pay | MonthsLeft NPER) # 06-Dashboard (zero-check, savings rate, 3 charts, top-3 rules) ``` ```excel # Key formulas (adjust ; for EU locale) Zero-check: =TotalIncome-SUM(BudgetedRange) Register balance:=SUM($In$2:In2)-SUM($Out$2:Out2) Left: =Budgeted-Spent Auto-category: =XLOOKUP(B2,Rules!$A:$A,Rules!$B:$B,"Needs category") Months-left: =NPER(APR/12,-Pay,Bal) Savings rate: =Saved/Income Buffer days: =BufferBal/(AvgMonthlySpend/30) ``` ```csv # bank-import.csv (normalized before paste) Date,Payee,Amount,CategoryHint 2026-10-01,ALDI MARKET,-54.20,Groceries 2026-10-02,Employer Salary,2450.00,Income 2026-10-03,Shell Fuel,-60.00,Transport ``` ```text # Rules tab (payee → category, grows monthly) # ALDI* → Groceries | Shell* → Transport | Netflix → Subscriptions # Employer* → Income | Landlord → Rent | *Insurance* → Sinking:Insurance ``` ## Tools - Excel/LibreOffice Calc/Google Sheets; `XLOOKUP`, PivotTables, conditional formatting; bank CSV export. - LibreOffice Suite skill for Calc parity; scanner app for receipt capture to Import notes. ## Advanced - Envelope rollover: `Left` positive rolls to same category next month (sinking-style), negative rolls as debt; `=MAX(0,Left)` rollover column. - Variable-income: 3-month average baseline, surplus → buffer not lifestyle; deficit months draw buffer, log drawdown. - Multi-currency: one sheet per currency, monthly FX row, net-worth converts at month-end rate; never mix currencies in Register. - Troubleshooting: pivot shows blank → dates stored as text (`DATEVALUE` fix); XLOOKUP #N/A → trailing spaces (`TRIM` payee); balance drift → missing opening balance row or duplicate import (dedupe by date+amount+payee); locale errors → swap `,`/`;` in formulas. ## Documentation - In-app Help → Financial templates; Microsoft Support budget articles. - https://support.microsoft.com/excel + https://help.libreoffice.org/Calc/ - https://www.ynab.com/method (age-of-money concept source)