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Dear Bob, City life can be so stressful! I need to buy a little holiday home so I can get away from it all, can I afford it? Yours WalterA: My dear Walter, I heartily agree, all the wining and dining can take its toll. Agnes and I like to retreat to our little pad in the Alps for a spot of fishing when it all gets too much for us.  I like to use spreadsheet software such as Excel for working out the old budget! Have a go and see whether you can afford a villa in Provence or a tent in the local park.

Step 1
Click on the start menu; then all Programs; then Microsoft Excel.
Step 2
Spreadsheet programs are made up of rectangles called cells which are referenced like a map.
Step 3
Name your file household accounts and click save.

Step 4
Click on a cell A3 and create an income list, using a cell for each item.
Step 5
Underneath your income list make a list of all of the outgoings.
Step 6
Type in the month in column B, then type in the cash amount against each item.

Step 7
To total up your income, click on the relevant cell (B9) and click auto sum.
Step 8
The formula bar tells you what cells are to be added together (ie cells B4 to B8).
Step 9
These cells are highlighted.  If correct, hit the enter key. The total appears.

Step 10
Use auto sum to calculate the outgoings in the total cell B24.
Step 11
A monthly budget is calculated by subtracting the total outgoings from the total income ie B9 – B24.
Step 12
First select the ‘balance’ cell (B26), then type the ‘=’ sign in the formula bar;…

Step 13
click on the ‘total income’ cell (B9);  type in '-' sign; click on the ‘total outgoings’ cell (B24)
Step 14
Hit the enter key, and the monthly balance is calculated for you.



Handy tip: Remember you can move horizontally across cells using your ‘tab key.’


Click here to download this information in a fact sheet. Large page:1MB


Find out more about budgeting with our handy weblinks

 



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