I thought I would share something I'm doing to help me with tracking my various personal finance accounts. This includes my installment accounts as well as my revolving credit cards.
Instead of using a spreadsheet, I'm using a combination spreadsheet and relation database known as AirTable (https://www.airtable.com). It has a nice web interface as well as a native mobile app for you to see/modify records on the road.
Here's an overview of my master table:
Instead of inserting a formula in each cell and copy/pasting it, you set it (or the field type/description) at the column level itself. For example, my DTI is calulated by setting the following column formula:
I have the Mo Pmnt auto calculated by taking the minimum payment (either 1 or 2% of balance) plus any interest if it's carrying a balance. What makes this very cool when compared to a spreadsheet is that it has a concept of views. So instead of only using the master view and rebuilding sorts/filters and pivot tables, I have the same data, but can define that data into multiple views.
For example, I have a view to show only accounts with balances, another with 5/24 accounts, another with installments, etc.
Once you create a view, you can choose what fields show for it and group data in different ways. For example, you could create a group around a specific company or type of credit. Below is an example of my DTI view that shows accounts groups based on type.
Below is an example of the debt by creditor which groups each credit company then shows each account sorted by balance.
I've taken this further by linking the balance field to another table that gets automatically updated using Tiller Money (https://www.tillerhq.com). TillerMoney uses Yodlee to link to all of my various online accounts and pulling the balance automatically. TillerMoney exports that data automatically every few days (between 1-4 days refresh per account typically) into a Google spreadsheet. I then use Zapier to export that data into Airtable automatically.
This means I no longer have to maintain entering my current balance every few days. It automatically happens for me. I just have to check the Tiller dashboard occasionally to re-authenticate accounts that time-out the automated updates. (It's as simple as clicking a box that says "Refresh".)
What's cool is there are different views such as Kanban, calendar, etc. You could create a calendar view to show each due date on a calendar as a different way of visualizing the data. Or a Kanban view of accounts due this week, next week... or installment vs revolving, etc.
Building different views, and grouping, sorting, filtering is SUPER SIMPLE. That was always one of the biggest limitations I had when using Excel and Google Sheets. Anytime I update data in ANY view updates data EVERYWHERE. It's sometimes easier to see/manage different things while in a different view. (For example, when I go through my soft pull CLIs, I see only those accounts eligible based on the date field and as I get a new CLI, I simply enter the new limit and the next try date and save. BOOM!
The Age and 5/24 field is automatically updated based on the open date from my master table. (Since I don't need to know the exact open date or other fields, I hide them in my CLI view to only show the fields I actually care about when making a CLI request.). The modified field automatically updates anytime I change that record and all changes are logged so I can see the history of every single change I make for each field.
The free version of Airtable and Zapier are enough for me to maintain my accounts. Tiller has a 30 day trial and then is 79/year. So for $80 a year, I don't have to update my balances. Otherwise if you don't mind manually doing it, you don't need Zapier or Tiller.
I hope this preview of how I'm managing my finances helps someone else as well!
Nice! Thanks for sharing!
I love this! I want to try to do something similar, but not as in depth.
Would you be willing to share some of your formulas if I run into problems?
@RadioRob wrote:
Sure thing. I think I can also export a blank preconfigured base as well. I’ll see if I can do that later.
That would be awesome 
Thank you SO MUCH for this and the detailed post! Just copied it over, excited to dig in
Very cool setup there, like that it's automated on most fronts of it too. I just setup an Excel spreadsheet to start tracking my expenses better (have a total tracker that gets split into monthly budget sheets) and try to have more accountability, also hoping it helps me stay on top of having more than one card now - before it was all right there in Bank of America but just added four cards to the mix and need something more.
as of 1/1/23
