小胖's Money Management Tip #2

小胖 had tried and tested several iPhone apps to note down his daily expenses, so that he would have to think twice before deciding to splurge and then regret it afterwards. Unfortunately, he would always forget to update it daily, or maybe he's just too lazy to do it... 

It was then he decided to organise his entire input and output altogether in a single spreadsheet. Otherwise known as my Net Worth, which Investopedia describes it as the amount of assets exceeding liabilities. 

Source: www.financialjuneteenth.com

Updating this spreadsheet allows 小胖 to gain an overall awareness on items such as: 

1) Whether his stocks portfolio has increased in value month-on-month?

2) Whether the balances in his savings account has increased month-on-month? 

3) Has his long-term liabilities decreased in value? 

4) Has he paid ALL his credit card bills? 

5) Ensuring that his Net Worth increases gradually over the months. 

The spreadsheet has included CPF savings as part of his assets as ultimately 小胖 feels that the amount in his CPF savings are his, and there's no reason that we should segregate CPF savings aside from his current Net Worth. There are a number of ways to utilise the amount in his CPF account, though he haven't been doing it. But in the near future, 小胖 will update on what are the ways that your money in your CPF account can be used for. 

Going back to the topic, 小胖 makes it a point to update this spreadsheet weekly, if not fortnightly, and the goods news is that he has been doing it religiously for the past six months now! 

The general idea of constantly updating this spreadsheet is to keep my savings and expenses in check. Not only it instills discipline in myself, it also lets me realise the purpose of saving part of my paycheck and helps me to keep in line in order to meet my financial goals or targets for the year. 

This basic spreadsheet was adapted during an online search late last year. Throughout the next few months, 小胖 will explore ways to:

1) insert a line chart to exhibit the gradual increase of his Net Worth.

2) highlight his financial goals and targets for the year in the spreadsheet. 

So how do you guys manage to keep tabs on your finances? Please let me know in the comments below! 

If you are interested in the spreadsheet, please click HERE!