How would you structure an excel/google sheets file to track multiple banks, savings, credit cards, loans, and cash?

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to build a simple Excel or Google Sheets file to track my personal finances, and I’d really appreciate some advice.

I’m not from a finance/accounting background, and I’m not very advanced with Excel or Google Sheets either, so I’m looking for something simple, practical, and easy to maintain.

My issue is that I use multiple banks, and each bank may have different types of products/services, such as:

• credit cards
• savings deposits
• payment/checking accounts
• loans
• cash on hand

For example, my setup looks something like this:

• a credit card at Bank A
• savings deposits at Bank B
• a payment/checking account at Bank C
• a mortgage/loan at Bank D

For savings, I may split money into multiple deposits, for example:

• $10,000 for 3 months at 7.1% per year
• $20,000 for 6 months at 7.2% per year
• $40,000 for 12 months at 7.5% per year

What I want to do is manually enter/update data at the beginning of each month, then have the file show:

1. an overall view of my personal finances
2. a summary by category, such as:
   • savings
   • credit cards
   • payment/checking
   • loans
   • cash

I’m not trying to build anything too advanced or automated. I just want a clean system that helps me keep track of everything in one place.

What I’m unsure about is:

• should I use one master table for everything, or separate sheets for each category?
• what columns/fields should I include for each type of account/product?
• how should I structure the workbook so it stays simple but still flexible?
• what kind of dashboard/summary would be most useful?
• if you were building this as a beginner, how would you set it up?

If anyone has experience with this, I’d really appreciate:

• workbook structure ideas
• sample layouts
• recommended columns
• tips to keep it simple and not overcomplicate it

I’d be very grateful for any suggestions. I want to build this properly from the start instead of making a mess and rebuilding it later.

Thanks a lot.