• 1.2: The Flexibility and Breadth of Application of Excel

      • 1.2.1: The Family Budget

        • Ryan Lowe's "Excel Family Budget: Excel as a Planning Tool" Page

          Read the following text and view the video tutorial, "Excel Family Budget." Also download the sample file if you find it helpful.

          The image below is a simplified example of a family budget through August. Each column (vertical) represents an entire month. Each row (horizontal) represents an expense in the budget. Notice there are repeated expenses that are the same for each month, but the vacation expense is entered in only one month. Also, some expenses may vary, as indicated with the Heat-A/C. The bottom line is the total for each month.

          In the example, what do you notice about the first column and first row? Look at cell D4. What does this number represent?

          Image shows a sample budget for the months of January through August with categories such as Rent, Car, Heat/AC, etc.

      • 1.2.2: The Work Estimate

        • Work Estimate - Jack's Auto Repair Page

          Here is another example of a spreadsheet used for financial data: This one is for a work estimate created for a customer by an employee of an auto repair shop. Look at the estimate closely. Notice that the data is organized in a way that allows the customer to quickly determine the number and types of repairs required, the estimated number of hours of work required for each repair, the price per hour for each repair, and the total cost of each repair and of all repairs.

          Now that you have seen two examples of financial spreadsheets, try creating your own! Create a personal monthly budget. Start by determining the categories that your expenses fall under. Enter the months into the column headings and categories into the first row. Now fill in the amount spent per month in each category. Try using the AutoSum feature that you learned in subunit 1.1 to calculate the total expenses for each category and the total expenses per month. Change the number in one or two of the cells and notice what happens to the sum. Formulas can save us a lot of time and allow us to make changes to our data easily! You will learn about more formulas in the next unit. Make sure to save your budget with a file name you will recognize to a device you use frequently. If you do not have access to a device you use regularly, consider emailing your saved spreadsheet to yourself. You will revisit this file in Unit 3.

          Can you think about other uses for spreadsheets? Are there any uses for spreadsheets that surprised you?

          While this activity does not have a specific grading rubric, we do encourage you to post your response on Saylor's discussion forums, along with a note asking for feedback from the community. Make sure to include the activity prompt/instructions, as well as you own personal notes for what you would like others to focus their attention on when peer reviewing, so that you can get the most helpful feedback possible.

          While there, you should reply to your classmates' posts as well, especially on those topics that you feel you have already mastered.

          Note: You will need to create an account at discourse.saylor.org to participate in the forum. Signing up is free and only takes a moment.