This thread was originally published by Cori Arnold.
I've used Microsoft Excel every day for the last 15+ years in my finance job. Excel is not only an accounting tool, but also an amazing personal finance tool. Use these 5 Excel features to grow your net worth:
1. Compounding interest scenarios
This table tells you how much your investments will grow based on the monthly contribution and the return %. You can change the investment value and return.
2. Debt amortization
This table shows you out exactly how many months you have left to pay off your debt. You can run scenarios to see how the payment value changes the pay-off length.
3. Pivot tables
When you understand pivot tables, you can synthesize thousands of data in minutes. This is an example of an income statement for a side hustle. Download your bank data and create a pivot on the data.
4. Budgeting
Once you build your budget template, you can use the same template every month. You can copy the tab, the column, or the budget values to any spot you want after you've set it up once.
5. Visuals
Having a visual where you see progress on your debt, or your net worth is a huge motivator. There are many chart options in Excel.
Use these five features and you’ll be well on your way to increasing your net worth!
Also published here.