Hey everyone,
I’m trying to set up a system that logs my spending automatically. My bank app sends notifications right away when I make a purchase. These notifications include the store name and how much I spent.
What I’m wondering is if there’s a way to get this info into a spreadsheet without me having to type it all out. It would be great if the amount and merchant details could go straight into Excel or Google Sheets as soon as I buy something.
Has anyone figured out how to do this? I’m not super tech-savvy, so any tips or ideas would be really helpful. It would save me a ton of time on budgeting!
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
As someone who’s struggled with manual expense tracking, I can totally relate to your quest for automation! I recently discovered a nifty add-on called BudgetSheet that’s been a game-changer for me. It connects directly to your bank and imports transactions into Google Sheets without any manual input.
The setup was pretty straightforward, even for a tech novice like me. You just enable the add-on in Google Sheets, link your bank accounts, and voila! It starts pulling in your transactions automatically. It supports thousands of banks, so yours is likely covered.
One thing I love is how it categorizes expenses automatically. It’s not perfect, but it saves a ton of time compared to doing it manually. Plus, you can customize categories to fit your specific budgeting needs.
The basic version is free to try for a couple of weeks, which should give you a good feel for whether it suits your needs. After that, there’s a yearly fee, but for me, the time saved has been well worth it.
Just remember to review your transactions regularly to catch any miscategorizations or unusual activity. Happy budgeting!
Have you considered using IFTTT (If This Then That)? It is a practical automation tool that can automatically log your bank notifications into a Google Sheet. You would begin by creating an account with IFTTT, then configuring your bank’s app so that its notifications trigger an action in Google Sheets. The setup is relatively simple and, once established, runs without further intervention. However, remember to periodically review your data to ensure accuracy and always consider the security implications when linking financial services.
hey markseeker91, check out tiller! it syncs ur bank transactions to google sheets automatically. super easy to set up, even for non-techies. it categorizes stuff too, which is neat. there’s a free trial, so u can see if it works for ya. just remember to keep an eye on ur data and adjust categories as needed. good luck with ur budgeting!