Most people start their net worth journey the same way: a Google Sheet, some SUM formulas, and a tab for every account. It works — until it doesn't.
The spreadsheet trap
A well-maintained spreadsheet can hold a year of data just fine. Two years, maybe. Five years in, you have 60 monthly tabs, 12 currency conversion columns that break every time exchange rates shift, and a formula audit that takes longer than the entry itself.
The real cost is invisible: you stop looking. Maintenance friction compounds, and the spreadsheet sits unopened for three months at a time. Which means you lose the one thing net worth tracking is supposed to give you — a clear, unbroken picture of your financial progress.
What spreadsheets can't do well
Multi-currency totals
If you hold accounts in EUR, USD, and VND, your spreadsheet needs a live exchange rate source or a manual update column. Both solutions are fragile. One formula error and your totals are wrong without a visible warning.
A dedicated tracker handles currency at entry time — you record the balance in its native currency, set the rate once per month, and the dashboard converts everything automatically.
Trend lines across years
Excel and Google Sheets can draw charts, but building a proper area chart across 24 months of categorised data requires more pivot-table work than most people want to do on a Sunday evening.
With a purpose-built tool, the chart is always there. You scroll the timeline, hover a month, and see the exact breakdown — bank accounts, investments, assets, debt — without touching a formula.
Goal tracking
Spreadsheets have no concept of a financial goal. You can add a cell that says "Target: €100,000" but there is no projection, no estimated completion date, and no celebration when you cross it.
A net worth tracker can calculate your average monthly growth rate, project forward across three scenarios (conservative, historical, aggressive), and show you exactly when each goal is reachable at your current pace.
The real problem: discipline decay
The deepest issue with a spreadsheet is that it requires the same discipline to maintain it as to build it. Every month you need to remember to open it, fill it in, verify the formulas, and save it somewhere safe.
Apps with a focused interface make monthly entry a three-minute ritual. The form is pre-filled from last month's values. You adjust what changed, hit save, and you're done.
When a spreadsheet is fine
If you have three accounts, all in the same currency, and you've maintained the habit for years without friction — keep it. The goal is a complete picture of your finances, not a particular tool.
But if you are rebuilding the spreadsheet from scratch each year, losing data, skipping months, or dreading the update — it is time to try something built for the job.
What to look for in a net worth tracker
- Manual entry — you stay in control; no bank login required
- Multi-currency support — native amounts with per-entry exchange rates
- Historical charts — at least two years of month-by-month data
- Goal projections — estimated timelines based on your actual growth rate
- Export — your data stays yours; CSV at minimum
Fizzy checks all of these and keeps the interface out of your way. Start tracking for free →