If this thread works, I'll learn how to set up my spreadsheets and perhaps others will talk back and forth with ideas about how all of you are doing yours.

I started a fuel useage spreadsheet:

Item/Date/Cost/Amount/Mileage/MPG/running MPG

My problem is this, I don't know how to enter a formula to calculate MPG and running MPG. I'm using Open Office.

1) Is that something Rev. or anyone else can explain to me here?

2) Is there a tutorial somewhere that teaches you how to do that?

3) Should I give up now and buy the Fogline Software?

If I can get through this, I know down the road I'll be wondering how to make the information on this spreadsheet automatically appear on another spreadsheet, eg., I'll input my fuel usage information and expect it to automatically show up on a spreadsheet for all expenses. Am I even on the right track? TIA

 

Do some Googling for Excel formula tutorials. Basically, for a MPG spreadsheet, you want three columns: one column that you enter your miles into, a second column that you enter your gallons into, and a third column that calculates the MPG. Basically, Column A (miles) divided by Column B (gallons), which calculates for Column C (MPG). Then at the bottom, you want a total for whatever time period you are using (month to month, quarterly, etc), which averages out the entire month.

I'll revisit this tomorrow when I am more awake and I'll make up a quick and dirty version for you, so you can understand the basic premise.

 

You just need a little headstart and it will come to you.

Put your text in a cell like "Miles driven per year"
Then go the the cell you want the answer and take the data from another
cell in F13 which is the miles driven per week and put the following formula in.

=F13*52


If you have a whole list of numbers like all your personal bills you can add them all up with the following.

=SUM(K12:K28)

Or

Get all you stuff typed in then email it to me and I'll put your formulas in and you can go from there

 

Yup it's mostly algebra, or close to it. Use the cell numbers as the variables. Don't forget you can copy the formula all the way down.

For fuel milage this is how I would do it:



I left the formula in the "action" bar (or whatever you call it)

Basically all I did in cell D4 is put:

=(a4-a3)/b4

a4 - a3 because you want to figure out how many miles on this tank

b4 is how many gallons you burned, so now you're dividing it into the miles

I then went to cell D4 and hit ctrl + c to copy the forumula

Then went to every cell below it and hit ctrl + v to paste the formula

Easy!

 

Ok, here's a spreadsheet to get some of you going. Either PM me or email and I'll send you the file.

If someone has some WEB storage and willing to put it up for everyone that would be great. We could have others modify it and make other variations.

 

Oh yea. And by the way Rev, even you can email me because I know you want to analyze the crapola out of my equations!!!!!!!!!!

I was going to put in maintenance and other things but it becomes so subjective I figured everyone could make up their own mind how much they needed to put away a week or whatever.

The spread sheet I use has become so complicated I get cross eyed looking at it.

One more thing. That's miles per month not days per month

 

All this looks very interesting. I actually had fun programming Lotus spreadsheets 15 years ago when I did it in class. I just like how you can configure your data just the way you want to suit your purposes.

Hoowwweeevvveeerrr...., I'm utterly clueless navigating my way around this program- I can't even bring up the spreadsheet I did yesterday. You know, some programs you can wade right in, just start figuring out things as you go. Well, not this one, not for me.

Might just have to go Fogline. It's like I need the Open Office manual that I don't have, and if it doesn't come quickly anyway, I really shouldn't spend too much time trying to figure it out.

 

Steve, that's interesting for adding everything up. How do you keep record of individual purchases, though? Don't you want a spreadsheet somewhere where you can see every toll, every bungee strap you bought? Or, is another program other than a spreadsheet best for that?

 

I made that as an example so you could learn or other people could play with it.

I have my own spreadsheet to do all my bookkeeping.

 

Ok. So this page looks like some kind of 'reports' page, but the actual data is being entered somewhere else? This page gets updated automatically when you input your actual receipts and whatnot somewhere else?