Managing Mortgages..how do you keep track???

[diamonds22]

Hi all,

I'm trying to keep track of my mortgage repayments/additional payments...and I’m just wondering how you guys go about this?? (did you buy a special software program or DIY) I've done up and excel sheet...but I also want it to indicate how much interest I am paying (to be calculated automatically) Does anyone have any ideas on the formula to calculate this? or have a copy of how they 'track' there mortgage??? (mine is pretty lame and it really doesn’t indicate all the information I want to have specified)

Thanks all!..you were a great help with my budget planning. I’m on a roll with it now and kicking myself for not doing it earlier!!

[2littleprincesses]

I just keep a spreadsheet in the same format as a bank statement. It doesn't calculate interest automatically, but I repay weekly and interest is calculated monthly. I access it via internet and keep track that way

[Little_Toad]

If you want to work out the interest over each payment you can try this:

http://www.infochoice.com.au/banking/calculate/flash/amortising.asp

[MumOfTwoBoys]

We use Quicken. It's very powerful and useful software. We put in there all our income/expendature figures and because it contains numerous categories (and you can create your own as well) you can easily see how much you spend on your groceries, childcare, mortgage payment, clothes, etc. Basically, you can set it up to show any level of detail. It can also generate you charts so you can clearly see how you spend your money. My husband runs his own business so he set up the items under business categories to automatically keep track of GST. Helps him a lot when he prepares his BAS statements.

Quicken requires some time to get used to but ones you set it up to suit your needs - it's fantastic.

[Daddy2Angels]

If you know your excel fomulas it can be a very powerful tool :) about 60 dollars you can acquire a book on excel and in terms of keeping track of finances it can be beneficial.