tools for fools

I know, I had written about this too many times. But today, I will write about it again.

I think I spend to much.

I am not close to bankruptcy or anything (thank God), but I somewhat feel that I could save... more.

I had recently revised my personal finances dashboard (V4 at the moment) adding some KPIs and WOW, the result was breath-taking. As in I couldn't breathe when I saw the figures.

I think I would be effective doing BI/Analytics! <-- This reminds me of a conversation I once had with a headhunter wherein he says "I need someone who can make something out of nothing", while I got what he was saying (and that "nothing" was not nothing but "meaningless"), my sarcastic brain screamed "MAGICIAN?!?!".

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Back to the topic.

The most significant enhancement on V3 was that it included accumulators. Each month, you can see the accumulated gap between your budget and actuals. More important, it showed you the year to date savings.

That was a game changer. Maybe not as much as I would have liked as I was wanting a miracle, but it did help.

In the past, last month was last month. Past is past. Every month, I had an opportunity to redeem myself. While I am sure that everyday is a chance to redeem oneself, the tracking did not give me a full picture of my performance. For example, if I had a GIANT purchase in January, come February when I moved tabs, the expense is out of my sight. I was someone freed from the... ummm, guilt. Maybe. Damage perhaps.

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In the past I had entries and budget (variable items) for the following:

Fixed Cost
- Rent
- Help Fees

Variable Cost
- Daily Meals
- Groceries
- Socials
- Train/Bus Card
- Cab
- Shopping

Then I have this "Others" section where I key in Insurance, Social Services, Income Tax, More Shopping (If I have anything in installment), Travel, etc. Basically, anything extra that I have to pay for that month.

The trouble with the general Others was that it seemed like a black hole. I didn't know how much were necessities (eg: Insurance, Taxes), versus well, more shopping (gasp). Worse was that there was no budget assigned to these entries.

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In V4, I had added a Categories Column for the "Other Expenses".

I had also put in accumulators.

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I honestly don't know how I will fare this year.

I do hope that my enhanced tool will help me manage my money better.

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I know, it is like buying an exercise machine hoping to lose weight.

No one needs to remind me!