How to create a spending tracker in Excel
Build a spending tracker in Excel that totals your expenses by category and month, with drop-down lists and a worked example.
Updated November 1, 2026
See the Expense Tracker Spreadsheet
What a spending tracker is
A spending tracker is a log of every expense, with totals that show where the money went: by category, by month and by how you paid. It is not a budget. A budget is a plan; a tracker is the record of what happened. Many people start with a tracker for two or three months, then build a budget from what they learn.
Why track spending at all
- You find the leaks. Small, frequent spending (coffee, delivery, subscriptions) is invisible until it is added up.
- You get real numbers for a budget. A budget built on three months of actual spending is far more realistic than one built on guesses.
- You see card spending clearly. Splitting by payment method shows how much went on credit and needs paying off.
How to build it in Excel
- Make a Categories sheet. One column of category names, such as Groceries, Dining out, Gas, Utilities, Shopping, Subscriptions. A second column for payment methods: Cash, Debit card, Credit card, Bank transfer.
- Make an Expenses sheet with five columns: Date, Description, Category, Payment method, Amount. Format the date column as a date and the amount column as a number with two decimals.
- Add drop-down lists. Select the Category column, go to Data > Data Validation, choose List, and point the source at the category names on the Categories sheet. Do the same for Payment method.
- Make a Monthly sheet. Categories down column A, the first day of each month across row 4 (1/1/2025, 2/1/2025 and so on, formatted to show "Jan", "Feb").
- Fill it with one formula. In B5, with your expenses in rows 5 to 2000:
=SUMIFS(Expenses!$E$5:$E$2000, Expenses!$C$5:$C$2000, $A5, Expenses!$A$5:$A$2000, ">="&B$4, Expenses!$A$5:$A$2000, "<="&EOMONTH(B$4,0))
Copy it across and down. The dollar signs keep the ranges fixed while the category and month change. Add a total row with SUM and an average column, and the tracker is working.
See the Expense Tracker Spreadsheet
What to record
Every expense, including the small ones, the same day if you can. A useful habit is to record at one fixed time, such as every evening, from your card app and your receipts.
- Write the shop or payee in Description; it makes searching easy later.
- Split a mixed purchase into two rows if it covers two categories, for example groceries and household items.
- Record refunds as a negative amount in the same category.
- Leave transfers between your own accounts out. They are not spending.
Personal, household or side business
The same layout works for one person or a household. For a couple, add a "Who" column and a second SUMIFS condition to see each person's spending. For a side business, keep business expenses in their own file or add a Business/Personal column, because mixing them makes tax time harder.
Worked example
One renter tracks six months of spending, January to June 2025: 123 expenses. These are the sample numbers in the Reamwise Expense Tracker Spreadsheet, so you can check them against the file.
| 2025 | Spent | Expenses |
|---|---|---|
| January | 2,379.25 | 20 |
| February | 2,322.96 | 19 |
| March | 2,448.14 | 22 |
| April | 2,517.28 | 18 |
| May | 2,894.39 | 22 |
| June | 2,596.55 | 22 |
| Total | 15,158.57 | 123 |
The monthly average is $2,526.43. Split by how it was paid: $8,925.62 by bank transfer (mostly rent), $4,607.70 on a credit card, $1,451.16 by debit card and $174.09 in cash. The credit card figure is the one to watch, because it is the money that still has to be paid off.
With a monthly limit on a few categories, the tracker also shows when one goes over: groceries crept just past $550 in April, and shopping reached $158.18 against $150 in June. Small misses, but they only show up because every expense was written down.
Common mistakes
- One sheet per month. Twelve sheets means twelve places to fix a formula. Keep one Expenses sheet with dates.
- Too many categories. Fifteen to twenty is plenty. Forty makes every entry a decision.
- Recording card payments as spending. Paying off the credit card is not new spending; the purchases already were.
- Whole-column ranges everywhere.
E:Eworks but can slow big files. A fixed range such as rows 5 to 2000 is quicker. - No check that everything was counted. The grand total on the Monthly sheet should equal the sum of the Amount column for the year.
Questions
Does Excel have a built-in expense tracker template?
Yes, Excel offers a few under File > New. They work for a start but usually lack monthly totals by category and payment method.
Can I use the same tracker in Google Sheets?
Yes. SUMIFS, EOMONTH and data validation work the same way in Google Sheets.
How do I make a chart of my spending?
Select the categories and one month's totals on the Monthly sheet and insert a bar chart. A bar chart sorted from largest to smallest is easier to read than a pie chart.
Should I track cash spending?
Yes. Cash is the easiest money to lose track of. Record the purchases, not the ATM withdrawal, or record the withdrawal once in a "Cash" category if you cannot keep receipts.
How long should I track before making a budget?
Two or three full months is usually enough to see your real pattern, including bills that do not come every month.
Can I import transactions from my bank?
Most banks let you download a CSV file. Paste the date, payee and amount into the Expenses sheet and choose a category for each row.
Summary
Use one Expenses sheet with five columns, drop-down lists for category and payment method, and a Monthly sheet built from one SUMIFS formula. Record every expense, keep transfers out, and check the grand total. If you would rather start from a file that already does this, with charts and sample data, the Expense Tracker Spreadsheet is built this way.
Disclaimer. For general information only. Not tax, legal or financial advice. Check the rules for your country or ask a qualified adviser. Read the full disclaimer.