Please help! Savings for 2025

Andrew_Hinson 

Let's break it down step by step, so you can understand exactly how each piece fits together. I'll correct any inconsistencies from the original explanation and align everything properly.

Step-by-Step Walkthrough of Setting Up the Savings Plan

1. Savings Goals Section

This is where you'll set up each of your savings goals (e.g., vacation, car repair). Each goal has a target amount, a target date, and an automatically calculated number of months to save.

For this, assume that this part of the spreadsheet starts in A1.

Breakdown of Formulas:

• Target Amount (£): This is the total amount you need for the savings goal (you enter this manually).
• Target Date: When you want to complete saving for this goal.
• Months to Save: This is calculated using the DATEDIF() formula. It gives you the number of months left until the target date, starting from the current date.
• Formula: =DATEDIF(TODAY(), C2, "m") (change C2 for each row).
• Monthly Required (£): The amount of money you need to save each month to reach your goal by the target date.
• Formula: =B2/D2 (again, adjust for each row).

2. Monthly Budget Section

Now we set up the section where you enter your monthly disposable income and calculate how much is allocated to each goal.

Let's assume this section starts in A7.

Breakdown of Formulas:

• Disposable Income (£): This is the amount of money you have available to allocate to your savings goals for that month. You enter this manually.
• Goal Allocations (Vacation, Car Repair, Wedding): Here, we allocate your disposable income based on the target dates of your goals. The goal with the earliest target date will get funded first, and after that is fully funded, any extra money will flow to the next goal.

Formula for Goal 1 (Vacation) Allocation:

For Vacation Allocation in C7 (January):

=MIN($E$2, $B7 - SUM($C$6:C6))

Explanation:

• $E$2: This refers to the "Monthly Required (£)" for the Vacation goal (from row 2).
• $B7: This is your disposable income for January (cell B7).
• SUM($C$6:C6): This ensures that we account for any savings already made in previous months for the goal.

You can drag this formula down for each month (C8, C9, etc.).

Formula for Goal 2 (Car Repair) Allocation:

For Car Repair Allocation in D7 (January):

=MIN($E$3, $B7 - SUM($C$7))

Explanation:

• $E$3: This refers to the "Monthly Required (£)" for Car Repair.
• $B7 - SUM($C$7): This subtracts the amount already allocated to Vacation for that month.

Drag this formula down similarly.

Formula for Goal 3 (Wedding) Allocation:

For Wedding Allocation in E7 (January):

=MIN($E$4, $B7 - SUM($C$7:D7))

Explanation:

• $E$4: This is the "Monthly Required (£)" for Wedding.
• $B7 - SUM($C$7:D7): This subtracts the amounts allocated to Vacation and Car Repair for the current month.

Drag this formula down for each month.

Formula for Leftover Income:

In F7, to calculate any leftover income after the savings allocations:

=B7 - SUM(C7:E7)

This formula subtracts the total savings allocations from the disposable income for the month.

3. Flagging Insufficient Funds

If the total disposable income is not enough to meet the required savings allocations, you can add a warning system.

For example, in cell G7:

=IF(SUM(C7:E7) > B7, "Insufficient Funds", "")

This formula will show "Insufficient Funds" if the savings goals exceed the disposable income for the month.

4. Tracking Goal Completion

To check if a goal is met, you can add a formula that flags when the total contributions reach the target amount.

For example, in H2 (next to the Vacation goal):

=IF(SUM($C$7:C7) >= $B$2, "Goal Met", "")

This will show "Goal Met" when the total contributions for the vacation meet or exceed the target amount (£3000).

Summary of Key Steps:

• Set up your savings goals: Create a structured table that includes target amounts, dates, and the number of months to save.
• Allocate disposable income: Use the MIN() and SUM() functions to dynamically allocate money to savings goals based on target dates.
• Flag issues: Add flags to warn when there’s not enough income to meet goals.

Once you get this framework in place, it will dynamically adjust as you change values, so you can experiment with different income levels, target dates, and amounts. The text, steps and the formulas were created with the help of AI.