majik

I've decided to provide this forum with some templates that I've developed for my own use. You may need to tweak them a little bit to make them applicable to your situation, but for the most part, they're easily adaptable. If you have any questions, I'm more than happy to help.

Salary Comparison Template – This was created fairly quickly to take my raises and my wife’s promotions and determine an estimated net effect. Nothing real complicated about this at all, just enter either salary or hourly information and it’ll spit out the numbers. The template assumes a dual income – to use a single income scenario, just keep the second section blank. I don’t keep a password on this because I don’t keep the information entered. I just use it for “what-if” scenarios. It could also be helpful if you’re looking for a job elsewhere – you can compare current pay to expected pay and see how much extra cash you’ll have. It assumes that the same Net Pay as a ratio of Gross Pay (i.e., your paycheck is 75% of your gross pay). To use two Salary or two Hourly scenarios, simply copy and paste the colored cells in one section over the other section and the numbers should still work out.
Attachment 471

Income Template – This is pretty useful to create a budget. I spent a lot of time making it pretty, and it should print out nicely if you prefer hard copy format. Enter your income and expenses and you'll see how much you're saving (or overspending) over the month/year. I keep it updated monthly so I can look back over the year and see how my spending habits have changed, and compare utility rates to prior years. It definitely helps me budget for the next year knowing what I spent the previous. I have added a tab for 401(k) calculations and company matching, but it's pretty specific to my situation -- you might have to change it quite a bit to make it applicable to your circumstances. The password to open is " default " and included in the filename in case you forget. I'd suggest changing the password to something you can remember (File, Save As, Tools, General Options) so nosy friends don't get into your personal documents.
Attachment 472

Mortgage Rate Comparison Template - I personally used this last month to determine what my savings would be if I refinanced my home. I've entered random numbers for template purposes. The first tab should be your current mortgage with the proper rate. The subsequent tabs should be the different scenarios (what your new loan amount will be, and how much a 1/8 or 1/4 of a percentage can make. In my additional section (Brandon's calculations) I've shown how much faster you'll pay it off and how much savings you'll see with the new loan.

Note: On the first tab, you see the Optional Extra Payments cell. I think I used $200 as the default. Whatever extra payments you put in the first tab, all future tabs will assume you make the same TOTAL monthly payment, and they will adjust the Extra Payments +/- to reflect the same total payment.
Example: Assume your Required Payments are $1,000 and your Optional extra payments are $250 on the first tab. On the second tab, your monthly required payments decrease by $100, so your Optional extra payments will increase by $100, ASSUMING you still pay the $1,250 every month (1,000+250). This assumes you have a fixed budget for your mortgage, and any savings will be used to pay off the loan faster. It's amazing to see how adding $100 to your monthly payment can knock YEARS off the life of your loan. I was adding $250 in extra payments every month to my loan, and it was estimating that I'd pay off my 30 year loan in 17 years, saving thousands in interest.
Attachment 473 - the password is ' default ' (as shown in the file name in case you forget).

I really suggest you look at the Mortgage template. I took it from the standard Excel template "Loan Amortization" and heavily customized it. You can plug in numbers with your current mortgage, and see how much extra payments will help you pay off the house faster. I compared my template with the rates my mortgage broker was providing me, and they were IDENTICAL, to the penny. Very accurate.



I've also added some screen shots to help. Pay attention to the COMMENTS in some of the template (if you see red in the corner of the cell, hover over the cell with your mouse). The comments help explain what the contents of the cell should be.

Salary Comparison Template:
Attachment 477

Income Template:
Attachment 474
Attachment 475

Mortgage Template:
Attachment 476




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tanc

Those are neat, thanks majik

majik

i'm really open to any and all suggestions and complaints. I designed them for my own use, then tried to make them into templates.

The income template is really my favorite and most useful. It's an easy way to keep track of how much you're spending every month and see where you can cut back or how much extra money you have left over at the end of the month. I buy EVERYTHING on my credit cards, and then pay them off at the end of the month. That makes it easy for me to put into the spreadsheet. If you write a lot of checks or pay with cash, it might be a good idea to put a "Bank transactions" column and monitor that online. I have the spreadsheet printed out and I write down the utilities when they come in and keep it on a paper copy, then every month or so I update the electronic format. Seeing what I spent last year helps me budget for the next.

hm... maybe I'll incorporate percentages of income into the next version...

Please give me feedback!

supercow

I've got an budget form that me and my dad use thats been polished up after years of use. It just monthly and is designed so you put in all your expenses and can budget for each type. car, food, gifts, etc. I'll have to attach that one here. I've found it to be pretty useful.

majik

yeah, definitely. Anything you want to contribute would be great.

If you want, send it to me in e-mail with a description and I'll add it to the first post so it'll get more attention and not overlooked in the replies (all 4 of them).

majikTib at Gmail

mwood

im going to have to check this out...

i already have a bills matrix but it does not show what or how much i saved or anything...so i will be using both of them to figure, if i would keep both or just one...

mwood

all i have to say is wow and i love these files...i think everyone should use this especially with the economy the way it is right now

majik

which files / features have you found most helpful?

Any suggestions for improvement?

I'm surprised at the low number of downloads. I thought more people would find this helpful sad.gif

mwood

well the one i love is the income template...it let me know that even though i thought i was saving money, i actually was not...

i dont have a mortgage has i will not have to use that until i purchase a house, and i going to start using the salary comparison at the beginning of the year and hopefully my wife will disclose her info so i can input it in

Rixshark

The income one is great!

I had to make a few tweaks to it for my personal use, since I don't have a mortgage yet.

Its opened my eyes a bit to make me think.....Where the hell is all my money going. I think I'm going to have to clamp down on a few things now fing02.gif