One Number
Replace a dozen spreadsheets with a single figure you check monthly.
Most people track their money in far more detail than any decision they will ever make. The result is a lot of watching and very little steering.
One number a month, everything you own minus everything you owe, is the only figure that moves when any money decision changes. Monthly gives you twelve points a year. Enough to see a trend. Too few to make you check daily and trade badly.
List what you own, honestly
Accounts, investments, property at a careful value, anything you would really sell. Ignore anything you would not.
List what you owe, all of it
Every balance, including the ones you avoid opening. The avoided ones are usually the expensive ones.
Subtract, and write the date next to it
One line a month, in one place. Not a dashboard. A list.
Only compare it to your own past
The question is whether the line is going up. Any other comparison gives you feelings instead of information.
Go deeper
What the paid version adds to this one.
How to value things you cannot sell quickly, where most people inflate their own number
The three things the trend line tells you that are worth acting on
The tracker, plus the yearly review that turns twelve numbers into decisions
The version for two people tracking one number together