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MONEY CLARITY
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Most money advice starts three steps ahead of where you actually are. Just like you don't walk into a gym expecting to lift 100 kilos on your first try. You don't need to know your numbers yet - that's the whole point. We'll build clarity and confidence one rep at a time.
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Starting with this rep: a simple monthly tracker. Paste in your transactions of the past months; the rules engine suggests a category for each; you only fix the ones it gets wrong.
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1. Open this in Google Sheets or Excel
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Upload this file to Google Drive, then right-click it and choose Open with > Google Sheets. (Or in Sheets: File > Import > Upload.) All tabs, dropdowns, formulas and the rules engine carry over.
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2. What to import (the make-or-break step)
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Export transactions from your bank AND from every credit card you use, and paste them all into the 'Log' tab.
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Bank-only means you miss most of your card spending and the whole picture breaks. Import the cards.
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Amount must be ONE column with signs: money in = positive, money out = negative. If your bank gives separate debit/credit columns, combine them into one signed column first.
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3. How the Log works (yellow columns are the only ones you touch)
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Fill Date, Description, Amount. The 'Rule match' column auto-suggests a subcategory from the description.
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Only fill the 'Override' column when the suggestion is wrong or blank — pick from the dropdown. 'Subcategory (used)', Category and Type fill in automatically (grey = don't type).
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4. Credit cards & transfers (the rule that keeps totals honest)
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Log each card purchase in its real subcategory (Groceries, Restaurants...) as a negative amount — same as any spend. This is where the spending is captured.
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When you pay the card from your bank, log that payment as 'Credit-card payment' (a Transfer). The spend was already counted at purchase; marking the payment as a Transfer stops it being double-counted.
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Same for moving money to savings or investments — those are Transfers, not spending. The Summary deliberately excludes everything in the Transfer category.
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5. Refunds
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A refund on something you bought = a POSITIVE amount in that purchase's own subcategory (not income). It reduces that category's total. Only genuine new money (salary, gifts, tax refund) goes under Income.
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6. Your rules & categories
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Rules' tab: each row is a Keyword and the Subcategory to assign when a description contains it. Add your own regular merchants. If two keywords match one description, the one LOWER in the list wins — so put specific rules below general ones.
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Categories tab: add, rename or remove subcategories. The dropdowns and auto-fill follow automatically.
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7. Reading the Summary
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Total income = your Income rows. Total spending = everything except Transfers. Net cash flow = income - spending (what you kept). Net set aside = money moved into savings/investments.
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