V24.1 Upgrade
Version 24.1 of Mark's Spreadsheet contains new features for all users and new features for advanced users.
New Features for All Users
The new features for all users are accessed through the Data Entry worksheet.
The province of Quebec is now supported. Select QC from the Province/Territory drop-down to have the Spreadsheet calculate taxes and benefits for Quebec. The Spreadsheet now supports all Canadian provinces and territories.
In the Consumer Debt (Loans) section, the Spreadsheet now supports up to three consumer loans. Consumer loans can be things like a balance carried on a credit card, vehicle loans and personal loans. Enter the details for any loans in the columns provided. The Spreadsheet allocates any excess funds to debt repayment starting with Loan 1, then Loan 2 then Loan 3. For the fastest debt repayment enter any loans in the order of highest to lowest interest rate. This is known as the “avalanche” method. On the Dashboard, debt payments are shown on the negative side of the Cashflow Chart. The Net Worth and Estate Value chart shows any consumer debt and it is included in your Net Worth and Estate Value calculations.
In the Real Estate section, you will notice that in addition to your principal residence, the Spreadsheet now supports up to three additional properties. These can be properties that you rent out for income or non-income generating properties like a cottage. Follow the descriptions for each field when entering your data. You may need the assistance of your accountant when determining the Undepreciated Capital Cost (UCC) or Adjusted Cost Base (ACB) and understanding which expenses qualify as capital expenses. Net Real Estate income or expenses are shown on the Cashflow Chart. Equity in your home and other real estate are shown separately on the Net Worth and Estate value chart and are included your Net Worth and Estate Value calculations
New Features for Advanced Users
Since version 24.0, the Advanced Worksheets have been hidden to make the Spreadsheet less intimidating for new users. To show the Advanced Worksheets simply click either Show button in the Start Here worksheet.
The Advanced Data Entry worksheets (1 Advanced, 2 Advanced and Shared Advanced) now have editable cells to the right and bottom where you can enter your own calculations to feed numbers into the advanced data entry cells. For example if you have loaned money to someone you can create a loan schedule in the user cells and feed the interest payments into the Other/Other Income column. User calculations are not copied when exporting and importing data into an upgraded spreadsheet so you must copy your calculations manually.
All cells in the other advanced worksheets are now selectable (although not editable). This gives you the ability to see the formulas used for each cell and to copy/paste numbers to other applications For example, if you want to see how person 1’s employment income is calculated in their retirement year, you can simply click on that cell and look at the formula. The copy operation works also.
The Debt, Real Estate and Life Insurance worksheets are new. The Debt worksheet contains details for the Consumer Loans described earlier. The former Assets worksheet has now been split into a Real Estate worksheet which contains information for your principal residence and any additional real estate you own and a Life Insurance worksheet which contains information about your life insurance policies.
We hope you find these new features helpful. Drop us a line through the Contact us page on our website if there is a feature you would like to see in a future version.