Cash for the Merchandise

Budgeting for cash transactions is easily done, but you'll want to set up a time each week or so when you will hit the ATM for that week's pocket or purse cash.  This post will suggest a way to handle cash as a regular expense and budget for it in your Pagemonth spreadsheet.

If you haven't gotten a Pagemonth Budget Folder for Excel or for Works, you can get one for $9.95 at the bottom of of our homepage.  Open your budget file and notice it has a category for cash in Regular Expenses:  category 110.  January's monthly cash amount shows in cell O16 as $400.

This amount is based on an average of $100 per week.  In my budget, I get my weekly cash on Fridays.  So on the sample budget of $400 you'll use in most months, I'm budgeting for most months of any given year.

But you also need to budget for months with five Fridays and will need more cash for those.  In 2013 there are four:  March, May, August and November.  Budget $500 for cash in column O for those months.  I use the 2013 calendar printed on the back of my check register to spot those months quickly.

As for when you'll get your cash, it's up to you.  But I assume you won't withdraw a whole month's worth at once to carry around or hide somewhere at home.  So for the date in column L, type "var" indicating various dates.  That will set up the cash on the Budget side of your spreadsheet.

Then you need to plan to withdraw your weekly cash on the Cashflow, left side of your budget.  Enter "cash" in column B and $100 in column C for any dates you plan to get your cash.
Feel free to alter the dates anytime in column A  We have distributed them on our budget sheets throughout each month with more days repeated around the middle and end of the month when most bills may be paid, and fewer at the beginning.  But there's nothing functional about the dates in column A.  You can redistribute them as you wish.  As you change them around, however, try to keep them in chronological sequence as in a checkbook.

Our Pagemonth spreadsheets all show cash withdrawals on the 1t, 8th, 14th, and 21st of each money when you download them.  They would show another withdrawal on the 28th in five-Friday months.   Sometimes other entries will bunch things up too tightly and you'll need to shift things a bit, but try to keep the chronology intact, because otherwie your balance in column D will jump around all over the place.  The dates will also provide a quick visual reference for finding items on the Budget side as you add in income and expene items.

Be aware that each amount in Cashflow is either added to or subtracted from your checking account balance in column D for its row, so when you move dates and items around be sure you give them the right formula in column D, using a + for additions and a - for subtractions.

So far, so good.  But what should you do if you run out of cash by Tuesday and aren't budgeted for more till Friday?  Get more cash when you need to, as much as you think you'll need.  But be sure to enter it in Cashflow on that day, crowding in a row if need be, and add it to your Cstegory 110 total as well.

If you find you run out of cash regularly, increase your 110 totals to $125 or $150 per week for a few months and see if that works better.  Conversely, if you find too much cash building up in pocket or purse, decrease your 110 total to $75 or even $50 for a few months.  Eventually you'll find the amount that works best for your needs.

Budgeting for cash isn't difficult.  It's something to estimate like any other Regular Expense then adjust it to actual experience.