I was recently able to convince a friend to let me help her set up a budget and teach her how to track her expenses.

OK I actually didn’t have to do much convincing. This person ran into a bit of trouble. She works as a contractor and coronavirus shut her industry down.

At the time she wasn’t too concerned, our government provided assistance and she had all the time in the world to work on creative projects.

Oh but it was also tax season, and she was handed her largest tax bill yet, with no cash in the bank to cover it. When she called to tell me about it I begged her to let me help her. Turns out I didn’t really need to beg – it was clear she’d finally turned a corner and realized something needed to change.

By the way, this is basically my dream come true. If I could build budgets and expense tracking spreadsheets for a living (a good living), I’d do it. I offer to help family members all the time but my requests fall on deaf ears. Unfortunately finances are deeply personal and it can be awkward to expose your financial situation and spending habits. I also probably bore people when I open my mouth and start talking about the importance of spreadsheets…

So here’s what’s happened in the first 3 months of helping her:

In the next post I’ll detail my process and what spreadsheets and tools we used to get her financial snapshot.