Personal Finance Tracker for Beginners (template included)!

About this video

Jeff says automated app Mint did not make him mindful — he would log in occasionally, promise to spend less on gadgets, and forget the next day — so for the past year he has used a manual Google Sheets tracker, spending about 10 minutes a month. He stresses he is not a personal finance or investing expert. The tracker must do three things: show monthly spending trends, show net worth from expenses and investments to confirm it is going up, and take at most 10 minutes a month. He updates one row on the first of each month with the previous month’s finalized data, for example updating the August row on September 1st. On the left, Total Monthly Spend sums three expense buckets minus Reimbursables. Based in China in the example, the buckets are rent plus Alipay and WeChat spend, each calculated as spend minus split-bill money returned — illustrated by a $100 meal where friends return $75, leaving $25 spent — with a negative WeChat balance possible if refunds arrived there instead. The same logic applies to a credit card or checking statement minus Venmo returns elsewhere. Reimbursables are amounts later repaid, such as a hotel deposit for his dad or a doctor visit reimbursed by insurance, removed manually because apps do not recognize them. In a Comments column he lists the top five most expensive items that month to reflect and says this has reduced his electronics spending. On the right, Net Worth is assets minus liabilities: bank columns show statement balance minus credit card owed, brokerage accounts are Webull and Interactive Brokers (he previously used Robinhood in the US), vested stock compensation is included because it can be sold immediately, and RMB, HKD, and USD holdings are converted to a single currency using a Google Finance currency converter formula that updates in real time. He does not track income sources in the sheet. He advises downloading the template, scheduling a 15-minute monthly recurring calendar event, and committing for at least three months.

Key takeaways

• Track manually for about 10 minutes a month — update one row on the 1st for the prior month — because Jeff says automated Mint reviews did not change his spending behavior
• Calculate Total Monthly Spend as rent plus payment-app/card spend minus split-bill returns, minus Reimbursables such as repaid hotel deposits or insurance-reimbursed medical costs
• Use the Comments column to list the top five most expensive items each month and reflect on them; Jeff says this reduced his electronics spending
• Calculate Net Worth as assets minus liabilities: bank balances minus credit card owed, plus brokerage values (Webull and Interactive Brokers) and vested stock compensation that can be sold immediately
• If holding multiple currencies (his example uses RMB, HKD, and USD), convert with a Google Finance formula into one currency; he does not track income in this sheet

Episode details: published August 10, 2021 · 9:23 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Jeff Su’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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