From Chaos to Clarity: Create a Simple Spreadsheet for All Your Recurring Charges
We get it. It’s easy to lose track of auto-payments, renewal dates, and scattered bills—especially when juggling multiple accounts.
Between streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, or Max, newspaper subscriptions, monthly medication deliveries, and recurring donations, things can get messy fast.
The good news? A simple spreadsheet can cut through the chaos. It keeps your bills visible, your payments on time, and your stress levels low, so nothing gets missed and everything stays on track.
How to Build Your Recurring Expenses Spreadsheet (Step-by-Step):
Choose Your Tool
Open a new Google Sheet, Excel workbook, or your preferred tracking app.
Create These Columns
- Expense Name (e.g., Netflix, Car Insurance)
- Amount (monthly, quarterly, semi-anually or annually)
- Due Date (day of month or billing cycle)
- Payment Method (auto-pay, manual)
- Payment Account (checking, savings, credit card)
- Category (Streaming, Utilities, Insurance, Donations)
- Notes/Links (login URL, cancellation policy, etc.)
Highlight Upcoming or Large Bills
- In Google Sheets:
- Select your Due Date column.
- Go to Format → Conditional formatting.
- Under “Format cells if…” choose Date is before and enter “=TODAY()+7.”
- Pick a fill color (e.g., yellow) and click Done.
- Select your Due Date column.
- In Excel:
- Select the same column.
- On the Home tab, click Conditional Formatting → Highlight Cell Rules → A Date Occurring…
- Choose Next Week (or “In the next 7 days”) and a color.
- Select the same column.
- If you’d prefer manual highlighting, simply click any due-date cell, click the paint-bucket icon, and pick a color whenever a date is coming up.
Filter by Category
Turn your header row into a filter view so you can instantly show only “Utilities,” “Subscriptions,” or any other category. In both Sheets and Excel, just click the filter icon in the header row.
Maintain Your System in 15 Minutes a Month
Block 15 minutes on your calendar each month. At that time, open your sheet, add any new charges, and clear out any colored cells to stay ahead of every due date.
Why This Works
When your bills are visible, they’re manageable. And when they’re manageable, you reduce stress, avoid mistakes, see opportunities to reduce, and free up mental space to focus on what matters most.
Simple tools like this spreadsheet build strong financial habits. They keep you in control, help you make informed decisions, and prevent small issues from becoming costly problems. That’s why we encourage every client to start here.
Set up your spreadsheet this week; your future self will thank you.
If you need any help streamlining your day-to-day finances, take our free assessment today.
Jeremy Zizmor is the founder of Assurance Family Partners, a company whose mission is to assist and empower individuals and families who need help managing their personal day-to-day finances. He is responsible for running all facets of the business.
