Personal Finance Tracker Spread Sheet $6 (Was $8) @ CompiledSanity Personal Finance

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Recent Tarrifs rises may be impacting your Temu purchases, but this spreadsheet can help you budget for that next Aldi Special Buy.

Whatever the case, this formula driven and automated net worth and savings tool has been really popular on OzBargain and reddit, and hopefully you'll enjoy it too! The sheet is made to help track monthly finances and provides a bird's eye view of your financial position each month. For example, I was able to see that if I had invested in NVIDIA in 2019 I wouldn't really need to track my investments anymore.

Changes since the last deal – added historical price lookups, historical exchange rates, improved lookback functionality, added additional Yahoo Finance and MorningStar support and many others.

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CompiledSanity Personal Finance Templates
CompiledSanity Personal Finance Templates

Comments

  • +5

    ——

    FAQ #1: Why should I pay money for this?

    The sheet is heavily automated, has live pricing and is a one-off payment rather than a subscription. If you're really interested, feel free to join the subreddit where I take future feature suggestions (and have for the past two years) and other users can help you debug and get set up.

    • Private financial solution compared to other cloud platforms

    • Live ETF, stock, crypto & managed fund prices & tracking

    • Property value & performance tracking dashboard

    • Monthly net worth & savings email updates

    • Automatic FIFO capital gains calculations for sold assets, among others.

    FAQ #2: what permissions do I need to give and what information will you get off me?

    All information is fully self-contained within and never leaves the sheet. There are 2 versions of the sheet:

    • FULL: Sheet contains the full suite of automated features but requires some more expansive permissions as a result.
    • SLIM: Does not support email updates, calendar reminders or the migration feature but has more self-contained permissions for those privacy conscious.

    Further FAQs can be found here

    ——

    • +10

      Accountability, insight and having a goal can help you save money. The cost is quite minimal (a cup of coffee) for the features returned.

    • +7

      It could be your first $2 saving, though.

      • +9

        My old man once said: you'll have the biggest savings on things you do not buy

        • +3

          Is/was he rich?

    • +2

      It's only $6…

    • I've seen so many people buy books, thinking there's a secret to making money that doesn't include forgoing the lattes and smashed avos.

      I was one, a long time ago. I took my book to the Australian Open to read between matches, and left it under the seat.
      That ~$30 down the drain taught me to never spend another cent on something that is freely available. (And that was before the internet!)

      To me, the managing of your own finances ensures that you keep control of everything and remain up to date with your options. I know I have trust issues, but I'm never going to trust anyone else to have my best interest at heart.

  • -6

    Picking up from an AusFinance post yesterday, but recent weeks of sharemarket performance have made me question whether people under 40 should be allowed to see their superannuation balance.

    Like I understand it's important to check whether your employer is paying it, seeing it grow etc., but the amount of colleagues I have selling it all for cash and pretending they're Michael Burry in the Big Short the second they see a dip is highly concerning…

    • +2

      And how do you sell your Super before retirement age?

      • +2

        You can effectively through changing the allocation! So many people I know changed their allocation from 'High Growth' (which isn't particularly high growth) to 'Cash', effectively selling out at the dip!

        • +2

          Yeah doesn't make sense 20 years from retirement but that's the psychology of money- I know people at retirement who cashed out during the COVID crash!

          • @reactor-au: I know a bloke (too close to home) that thought the world was going to end at the start of COVID (the end of Western Empire as we know it was the quote), and missed out on ALLLLLL the COVID gains.

            Here's a great article to read over your morning coffee (I'm just preaching to the choir here I'm sure): https://www.modulusfp.com/2023/12/18/the-cost-of-market-timi…

    • +1

      As some one under 40, if I can't see my super balance, I won't be able to know if my super/investment profile I've chosen is performing well

      • +2

        Nah I get that… Just crazy freak-out responses by people. Maybe it's just TikTok finance degrees being fed to people but damn it's worrying

      • You can always switch to an SMSF and manage everything yourself and watch everything in real time? Fees and insurances make it not worthwhile unless you plan on making a lot of plays.

        • ? It's not about the "number of plays", for me it was about minimising costs. I'm not sure that the industry funds charge now (I have been told it's less??), but when I set up a SMSF it was because players like Perpetual and Colonial were charging %s of balance. It costs me < $1,000pa to run a SMSF, and it didn't require much of a balance to be cheaper than those thieves. (There are other advantages too.)

          • @SlickMick: Which accountant did you go through for your SMSF? I'm looking for a cheaper way to run mine.

            For the last financial year, I had to pay $1000 for tax return/accountant fees, plus $484 for SMSF audit, $373 for ASIC fees plus $200 for the ASIC paperwork prep, plus around $2000 for insurances (income protection to 65). Keen to see if there are cheaper deals for SMSF stuff.

            • +2

              @DangerNoodle:

              I had to pay $1000 for tax return/accountant fees

              no you didn't :) You can do the tax return yourself. However, because they make everything so complicated, I do pay $275pa for BGL360 software, which does the tax return and simplifies all the rest of the bookkeeping.

              You're paying a little bit too much for audit also. I pay $300, can't remember whether that's GST inclusive or not.

              I also use a trust rather than a company, so no ASIC-related costs. (However, that is a hassle if you want to change trustees.)

              So my entire cost per year is $275 + $300 (or $330) + $159 SMSF levy.

              There are some platforms that do almost all the work - you only have to categorise transactions once per year. I started with Esuperfund, but ditched them because they started at $599pa but just kept bumping that up every year.

    • How does one sell super?

      • Changing the allocation effectively does that!

    • +2

      Why not? Someone with financial knowledge should be allowed to temporarily shift their allocation to a more secure fund when they think the market outlook doesn’t look great.

      Worst case they lose out on some gains and move it back to their original fund once their perception of the market improves.

      • +1

        depends. It is supposed to be compulsory funding your own retirement. If you have idiots using it to gamble or just squandering it, then putting their hand out for a government-funded pension when they retire, I reckon it needs to change.

      • It's a bigger question than individual benefit I feel.

        If people don't have enough superannuation then the entire country funds that person's retirement. If this is because they've had too much control and don't have the ability to self-regulate, then it would be good to ask what can be done to stop this.

        At the end of the day, this is all spitballing. 90%+ of people don't check their super before they turn 50, and probably the same percentage don't move it out of 'balanced' until about that age too.

        I really do think that something needs to shift in the superannuation sector though for the good of the future.

        EDIT: For the avoidance of doubt, I have no issue with people being financially literate and timing the market. That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm just worried that as people become more 'Dunning-Kruger' financially literate, that ignorance will lead to bad outcomes.

    • +1

      Michael Burry hmmm, I pretend to be Steven Bradbury . Wait for everyone else to crash then GO HARD!! ⛸️

    • -3

      You can't sell your superannuation for cash, that's the whole point. You aren't allowed to access it before retirement.

      • If you allocate your entire investment mix to cash, what's the difference?

    • +1

      the amount of colleagues I have selling it all for cash and pretending they're Michael Burry in the Big Short the second they see a dip is highly concerning…

      Haha sold it for cash at the dip that says it all. They’re all gonna lose something. No gains. There is no way exchanging super in cash is good for anybody who is not currently in the pension phase (and even that one I doubt it would benefit many people)

      • +1

        That's exactly what I'm saying… If you've got 20-30 years left on taking out of super, a radical view would be not letting people see their balances to overreact to small dips

    • +1

      In PNG (back in the day, don't know about now), tax and super (they called it gratuity) were taken out of your pay and you never see it. I don't whether it even earned interest. I think the gov just borrowed it, and gave it back when you retired. No tax returns, no gambling. If you wanted to invest, you did that with your own money.

      Back in the day in Oz, tax was pretty much our super. Gov takes taxes while you're working, and gives a pension when you retire. (I think gov left it to companies to encourage investing in super e.g. we'll match your contributions.)

      Just spitballing here, but I reckon we could go back to that model, except the compulsory part is put aside for your own retirement rather than communal. So super could be government owned. It could even be guaranteed since they'd have such a huge source of money to invest over an infinite timeframe. Like guarantee 8% return so you don't have to worry about retiring during a crash. Gov could even borrow that money themselves if necessary, so long as they're happy to pay 8% interest on what they use.

      Then all additional investments are after tax, and you can do what you like with that - spend it, save it, invest it, gamble it.

  • +3

    Ok, i bought this last time, aaand havent used it since lol

    Can we request features, e.g dividends tracking like sharesight hhaha

    • +4

      Absolutely! I add a lot of features from community feedback. Feel free to let me know if there’s something you want to see.

      • If I have US and AU shares which version I should use ?

        • Definitely the AU version if you earn your salary in AUD.

          All assets in other currencies will then be converted automatically for you.

      • +1

        Could you generate a capital gains and losses report that is mytax friendly please?

    • not sure if i bought this, but there was some finance spreadsheet on sale on ozb before - i think it was some guy doing a google sheet? not sure thats how bad i am - i haven't used it since buying it lol

    • +5

      Hi there Alvian, this is a standard template clause for these type of tools after it was requested to have a policy in the past. This is to absolve of any consequences as a result of using the sheet, such as financial impacts (‘I traded X stock because of you!’).

      Is there something about this clause that is not appropriate in this case?

        • +14

          It’s quite an accusation - so I want to make it right. This is a $6 spreadsheet, and so this was written to consider liability given how it can be used and interpreted. Most similar tools wouldn’t provide any TOS at all, this was for transparency.

          As mentioned in the TOS, no part of the TOS can be in conflict with local law - so in this case ACL would still apply.

          If there is any issues with the sheet, all users can reach out to me here or via Reddit where I usually make these issues right.

        • +2

          Dude, give this guy a small break.

      • +5

        ive written software before and always had clauses like this. Limiting my liability as a condition. I can't see anything wrong with this. It doesnt stop you suing someone if they were careless or negligent but you can't sue because you didnt get the returns you thought would get.

  • +9

    I've been using this for 2 years and I've found it to be a motivator to keep track of my personal finances. It helps that I'm a former financial advisor and understand how to input things of course, but it's been great to use. I also have no relation to the creator at all.

  • +3

    I've been using it for the last year or so and it's been great to keep track of DCA of ETFs, dividends etc.

  • +3

    I have been using this for 4 years now and absolutely love it!!

    • +1

      Thanks for the kind works OZBholic. Glad it’s been of so much use to you.

      • It has been publicly available for 5 years, right? Do you expect to be releasing updates/fixes for the next 5 years?

        PS I'm gonna give it a go, and will likely end up spending the $6/$8 regardless.

  • +1

    upvoting this. this has been so helpful in seeing where my finances are. could be better utilised if i figured out how to utilise the rest of the spreadsheet but it does all i need for now

    • +2

      So glad it’s been helpful for you. A good tool is a good tool, no matter how you use it :-)

  • +1

    I bought this spreadsheet a little over a year ago and recommend it too. CSPersonalFinance has put a huge amount of thought and work into it and regularly adds (small) enhancements to keep improving it. You can keep your use of it quite simple or use the full range of functionality, depending on your investments and how much time you want to put into it. It also provides useful insights into your savings, investments, and expenditure. There's also an active forum to post any questions you may have and comprehensive help and support. For the cost of a large coffee, it's well worth it!

  • Sorry - can I ask, would this spreadsheet be useful for purpose of tracking expenditures? Currently, I use a basic spreadsheet where I input incomes and then track spending from things like groceries, bills mortgage repayments etc. In terms of investment, I only have super - no other forms of active investment like ETFs etc - so unsure if this spreadsheet (product) is for me

    • +2

      Great question. So this sheet works on a level higher than transactions to ensure ease of use when updating each month. It records balances rather than individual transactions and therefore takes just a few minutes each month to update. This helps you track progression, net-worth and saving and investment performance.

      For transaction tracking, there are a variety of options out there such as Frollo or Pocketsmith that might work.

      • Yeah fair - I've looked at others but haven't had much luck in that regard.

        Great question. So this sheet works on a level higher than transactions to ensure ease of use when updating each month. It records balances rather than individual transactions and therefore takes just a few minutes each month to update.

        Would it be possible for me to update this weekly (rather than monthly)? i.e. update balances weekly? If so, theoretically, I figure it may be able to work

        • Absolutely, you can update the sheet at anytime and live values for investments should be returned automatically in realtime. Then you can see live values across the sheet for all your assets. There’s no limit to when you can change the sheet.

          The only action that is monthly is recording your net worth to ‘lock it in’ for that month. You can see what this looks like here.

  • Didn't invest in NVDA, but are you going to make the same mistake with ASTS?

    • Time will tell on this one. :-) I hope not!

  • Is it a one-off fee or a monthly fee?

    • +2

      It’s a one-off $6 purchase and includes all future updates. There are no ongoing subscriptions or fees for use or features.

      • I do have my own spreadsheet to track a few things, but it's not even close to being as comprehensive as yours, and I can't do any projections because I don't have time to invest in that.

        Paying $6 is the price of a coffee these days. Great work, I'll buy it.

        • Sure you won’t be disappointed and it will be worth the time saved. If you have any questions feel free to reach out, and the sheet guide is located here

  • I bought this to help track my Dad's shares and it's been a great launching point for more complicated tracking. Highly recommend it, it's very feature rich and easy to use if you've got complicated finances to keep track of, and very customizable

  • +1

    Great tool, I was able to track how much I invested into NVDA and I wanted to cry.

  • +1

    I use Cashew (Phone Application) on my iPhone. Can you upload information from that into this sheet? If yes, could you please point me in the right direction :)

    Thanks,

    • I don’t have an automatic migration tool if that’s what you mean. The data would need to be manually copied in. Hopefully not a big exercise!

  • Don’t have enough money to fill all sheet :(

  • +1

    just checking - absolutely no 'macros' or anything that sends data back to 'base'?

    • Nope - There are no external connections except for those reaching out to MorningStar, Yahoo Finance, CMC and FT.com for live pricing.

      I also have a FAQ on privacy here if you’re interested in reading more.

    • +7

      Coder here. I had a quick look at the script attached to the document. It looks legit.

  • Hello OP,
    Will this sheet help in keeping track of all investment property related expenses (paid out of pocket)?

    • The sheet can track Property returns and rental income, but it doesn’t have transaction level tracking for improvement expenses (to keep things simple), if that’s what you mean.

      • Yes, that answers my question, thanks mate!

        • No worries! Glad to help.

  • I bought this spreadsheet a few years ago and can highly recommend it. I now use it in combination with Pocketsmith to manage my finances.

  • Struggling to see what's actually in the spreadsheet as when I press the sample tabs pictures it scrolls back to the top of the page and just shows the overview

    Most comments mention shares/etf's/crypto - how beneficial is it if you don't dabble in these outside of Super?

    • Apologies if there’s an issue with the website. You can see better close-ups and explanations in the Sheet guide here.

      The tool is still handy for those who mainly hold Cash, Super or Property. It can help highlight your savings rate each month, has places to record large purchases and records/shows your progression each month.

      Personally I’ve been recording for close to 7 years, and it’s extremely encouraging watching progress over time.

      • Got it thank you! So this is like a snapshot where you capture the data once a month? Though the budget section looks good, I can't really see any sort of transaction spot to record what I actually spent on electricity for the month say apart from in "spend notes" compared to what was budgeted

        Not sure this one's what I'm looking for, appreciate though thanks

        • Yep that’s correct! Among other functions, but that is definitely one of the major ones.

          As for transactions, the sheet works on a level higher to ensure ease of use when updating each month. It records balances rather than individual transactions and therefore takes just a few minutes each month to update.

          This helps you track progression, net-worth and saving and investment performance. Because of the lower input it takes just a few minutes to update.

          For transaction tracking, there are a variety of options out there such as Frollo or Pocketsmith that might work.

  • Help needed CS. Hard to get a hold of

  • Crypto tracking?

    • Yes it’s included, and resolves live pricing for any asset on CoinMarketCap. You can see more info here.

  • Just purchased :) Most likely the most justifiable $6 ever spent. Keep up the great work!

  • Looks awesome. Do you get updates or is it like buying windows Word2003 then having to pay again for Word2007 etc?

    • Just a one off fee, all future updates included. You can see all the recent updates here.

  • +2

    I got downvoted for mentioning Grok last time but here goes.
    I got Grok to understand my complete financial situation and goals for the next 20yrs. It constructed an insanely detailed plan which involved wash sales, debt recycling, considered tax brackets, super carry over etc etc. I then asked it to create an app for me where I can plug in all the variables as our situation changed. It recommended instead to use Excel/Sheets and created and copy and paste CSV style table I could dump into 4 sheets and now I have a custom spreadsheet that I can update and work towards a tailored goal.

    No shade on OP but just letting people know that with a bit of effort with a decent LLM, you can create your own.

    • A plan that involved wash sales? As in… the thing you're not allowed to do…?

      • It gave me a strategy to ensure that the ATO would not consider it a wash sale. I was using deepsearch mode so it provided the forums it found where people discussed it.

    • Hi,

      Any chance you could share your spreadsheet or what prompts you used to perform this? I'm keen on creating my own which I can dump a CSV file into at the end of each month - which links up to a budget and ledger overview for the year and forecast it forward, etc. I've tried plenty of LLM's before and quite frankly the output for creating spreadsheets has been subpar

      • Can't share my spreadsheet as I cbf stripping the values.
        Grok is pretty easy to setup. Use deepsearch to ensure it learns about all aspects of ausfinance it needs to, then provide your personal financial info. Once you are sure it has it right, use Think mode to start providing a strategy to achieve a goal. Go back to regular mode to clarify and correct errors or missed things, then output.
        You need to do the output bit by bit as it is not good with multiple sheets and CSV formats. Admittedly it took a few attempts to get the format correct.

        Having said all that, I bought the sheet in this deal just then and am giving it a go to try and move away from sharesight. After a day of playing, I reckon using an llm for strategy and this sheet for recording data might be the way to go

  • Bought this template about a year ago. Previously was tracking on my own spreadsheet with no smarts.
    CS's sheet is fantastic, has all the links to live prices and has provided some great insights into my financial position.

    • Thanks for the kind words! Glad it’s been so useful to you and made a difference. Always satisfying to hear.

  • Just wondering where are you getting the property values? RP data or something? or is it something we need to enter manually?

    • Property data is manually entered, but there’s lots of websites that can give you an estimate for your address or on a suburb level.

      I usually update this one once every couple of months with an average from various websites. It’s not something you need to do regularly given the illiquidity.

    • I think it is manually

  • +1

    This is a fantastic tool for anyone wanting to track their assets, liabilities, super, budget, and overall NW growth. I bought back in 2022 and have been using religiously since. At $6 this is a no brainer.

    The developer is also frequently active on Reddit for any enquiries / troubleshooting, and is constantly updating the tool based on user feedback.

    Thank you CS for this amazing product.

  • +1

    Paid for this about 24 months ago. It has been invaluable to improving my financial freedom and literacy. I use almost all aspects of it. At times I've obsessed over it which is not helpful, but I don't think I'd be in the financial position I am today without it. Huge bargain.

    • Super encouraging to hear! So glad to hear it’s been so useful for you. Keep up the great work.

  • Just out of curiosity, how does the OP prevent people from copying and sharing the sheet? I mean, in terms of piracy.

  • Is this tool suitable for a beginner starting to build their financial portfolio and financial literacy?

    • +1

      Yes. Great way to better understand your personal financial situation and build your financial literacy

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