After almost 10 years of testing tools and applications to track my money, I always come back to an old school system for 3 reasons

• Anyway, she finds that a simple Excel spreadsheet best meets her needs for three reasons: she keeps it honest, it allows her to track multiple systems and be flexible.
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My days begin and end with the most basic fund management tool you will find an Excel spreadsheet.

I have been a personal finance writer for about a decade now and have tested many sophisticated tools, applications and online resources. Despite all the latest useful technologies, I always come back to my trusty Excel document. Here's why.

1. it keeps me honest

Although tedious, as soon as I can after each purchase, I physically connect it to my Excel document to keep the cumulative total of my monthly credit card purchases against my overall budget. I sort things out with yellow colored blocks for purchases that will be paid from my husband and my checking account, white for ill covers of my own funds, purple for my health insurance payment and other items related to health and so on and so on. etc.

I know that there are online tools that do it for you, allowing you to define categories that the system automatically puts into compartments. I used these tools and found that I was still checking the system for errors or changing compartments anyway. So I thought, why not cut the middle?

2. This is the best way I have found to follow my multiple systems

My elaborate Excel system actually consists of several sheets that can actually become cumbersome. However, for a guy like me, I'm not bothered. I keep four Excel documents:

1. Whoever follows our monthly common expenses in relation to our budget
2. A system that tracks my monthly credit card purchases against my personal budget
3. The person who follows the full year of expenses for which I am solely responsible (compared to what my husband pays with his salary) in relation to the income that I expect to earn for each month (since I am a freelancer, this may vary, but doing it this way helps me set monthly goals)
4. The one who follows what is currently in my current account in relation to the bills that will have to be paid in the near future

It's a lot of documents, and I could probably consolidate a bit, but I've been using this system for years and it works.

It takes me about 20 minutes each morning to check the Excel sheets against my chequing and savings accounts to make sure everything looks right, and I usually end the day with a quick five check minutes.

3. It allows flexibility

As a freelancer, my income can be sporadic and varied. Some months are busier than others and I often have to wait for checks to arrive. Having a system that allows me to manually move things as needed makes tracking easier.

Budgeting and personal finances help you find the system that's right for you, the one that will help you stay in line with your goals. I love the number of products available these days to help people better manage their money. However, if you feel like you've tried them all and still have not found the system you like, let me suggest the simple Excel document. This may surprise you.

Editor's note: This content is not provided by Goldman Sachs. The opinions, badyzes, criticisms or recommendations expressed in this article are binding only on their authors and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise approved by Goldman Sachs.

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