Many people use an Excel spreadsheet to setup and manage their budget. This is an easy way to get started, and is sure to put you on the right track to a more organized financial life. But believe it or not, some people don’t even know how to use Excel. Fortunately, once you open up a blank spreadsheet and take a closer look you should be able to pick up the proper knowledge.

Here are the basics of using Excel to setup a budget:

1. Open a new spreadsheet. You will notice an infinite number of rows and columns broken down into small blocks. As you can see from the start, these blocks are customizable and they will allow you to best organize the details of your budget.

2. Name your columns. You need at least two columns for a basic budget: income and expenses. Of course, you can add more columns depending on the complexity of your situation and what you are trying to accomplish.

3. Name your rows. As you move down a column each row will represent a value of a particular income type or expense. For instance, your expense column will include rows for everything from your rent to student loans to utility bills and much more.

4. At the bottom of each row should be a “final” number. In the income column this will represent how much money you earn each month. In the expense column the final number will be the total of all your expenses. At this point you will be able to see once and for all if you are earning more than you spend or vice versa.

Does that sound boring and time consuming to you? While Excel can benefit you in many ways, when it comes to your personal budget you may want to opt for something more professional.

Our personal budgeting software is anything but boring and time consuming. In fact, with no setup required you can build a successful budget in 20 minutes or less. When compared to Excel it is easy to see that our software is much more time efficient. To go along with this, we offer a variety of exciting features such as the ability to track spending, set goals, and chart your performance. When you are excited about your budget you have a much better chance of sticking to it.

If you need to “throw together” a quick budget, Excel may do the job for the time being. But remember, your personal budget is not something to take for granted. It is important to rely on a professional budgeting solution that will keep you motivated while helping ensure financial success.