In Brazil, about 64.9% of families are in debt, according to the “Consumer Indebtedness and Default Survey” (also known as Peic), released on September 1st.

Whether with credit card expenses, installments, financing or personal credit, most Brazilians already start the month with their money committed to these payments. Being able to see the total value of your income and how much of it is already allocated to installments and fixed expenses brings more awareness about the flow of your finances — and contributes to avoiding debt and even having a little money left over at the end of the month.

“It’s annoying to have to write everything down, but only then can you know what you can or can’t do and what your budget allows,” says Aimée Ibrahim, an investment analyst who managed to become financially organized using spreadsheets.

TINO Econômico created a spreadsheet to help you on this mission. Check out how to use it, download your own spreadsheet and start writing things down.

1- Annual spreadsheet with monthly control

The spreadsheet is divided into the 12 months of the year, which allows for monthly control of finances. But it is also possible to have an annual view of income and expenses. At the beginning of each year, simply change the date in the respective column, and the spreadsheet is ready to use.

2- Income

In the values received in that month — salary, pocket money, extra jobs, etc.

3- Date received 

The exact date you will receive each one of the values.

4- Expenses

All the expenses of that month.

5- Fixed bills

They are those recurrent bills, which arrive every month and do not suffer a great variation in value. These are the predictable debts, which you know you will have to pay monthly.

6- Variable bills

The variable bills are the opposite of the fixed ones, that is, they change every month. This is also where unforeseen bills come in.

7- Investment

Monthly amount reserved for investments so that your money works for you (leave it blank if you haven’t invested yet).

8- Emergency reserve

Amount reserved monthly to be used only in unexpected situations, such as a health problem or broken cell phone. Experts recommend that an amount be set aside every month, as if it were a bill paid to yourself.

9- Due date

End date by when you can pay your bill without an extra charge or interest for being overdue. Don’t forget about it because if you do it might cost you, literally. 

10- Monthly balance

The line that measures your financial health and shows whether you ended the month with a positive or negative balance. If you spent more than you earned, the value will be in red. In the opposite case, if you spent less than the amount received, it will turn green.

11- Minimum and maximum

For annual control, here one can see the largest and smallest amounts spent related to a given expense.

To download the spreadsheet click here.