Database

Notion for Finance: Savings Calculator Template

Sarah Brennan ·

🏦 Finance Tracker

Notion can be used for simple and complex financial planning and tracking. For instance, using some important formula tricks, you can manipulate date and number properties to project the approximate end to a savings goal. The following use-case is a great addition to any personal finance Notion dashboard. Here’s how it works.

The Savings Calculator

The savings calculator determines how many months into the future it will take to save for a particular item. If there is no Start date applied, the End formula will calculate from today's date until Start is filled.

Properties

  • Start: date property

  • Save per Month: number property

  • Cost: number property

End: formula property

if(empty(prop("Start")), dateSubtract(dateSubtract(dateAdd(now(), ceil(prop("Cost") / prop("Save per Month")), "months"), hour(now()), "hours"), minute(now()), "minutes"), dateAdd(prop("Start"), ceil(prop("Cost") / prop("Save per Month")), "months"))

Formula breakdown

Statement 1: Make prediction for approximate end date from today if Start property is empty. Also ensure that the resulting date has time “12:00am.”

  1. if(empty(prop("Start")),

    • If the Start property is empty …

  2. dateSubtract(dateSubtract(dateAdd(now(), ceil(prop("Cost") / prop("Save per Month")), "months"), hour(now()), "hours"), minute(now()), "minutes")

    • Divide Save per Month and Cost …

  3. dateSubtract(dateSubtract(dateAdd(now(), ceil(prop("Cost") / prop("Save per Month")), "months"), hour(now()), "hours"), minute(now()), "minutes")

    • Then, add the result of 2. to today’s date in the value of months …

  4. dateSubtract(dateSubtract(dateAdd(now(), ceil(prop("Cost") / prop("Save per Month")), "months"), hour(now()), "hours"), minute(now()), "minutes")

    • Then, subtract the hour of now from the date resulting in 3.

  5. dateSubtract(dateSubtract(dateAdd(now(), ceil(prop("Cost") / prop("Save per Month")), "months"), hour(now()), "hours"), minute(now()), "minutes")

    • Then, subtract the minute of now from the date resulting in 3.

Statement 2: Make prediction for end date from Start property. This is the false condition, or when the above statement does not apply.

  1. dateAdd(prop("Start"), ceil(prop("Cost") / prop("Save per Month")), "months"))

    • Divide Save per Month and Cost, and add the result to Start date in the value of months.

 

Why Convert Date To 12:00AM?

It is good practice to convert date calculations from now(), or today, into dates with a 12:00am time. The now() function includes today’s time, so any addition or subtraction to now() will have a time. 12:00am can indicate that the date spans the entire 24 hour day.

You can also format a date to only show the date without the time.

  • ex. formatDate(prop(“Date”), “MM/DD/YYYY”)

However, this will result in a text property and NOT a date that can be viewable in a calendar.

 

Savings Tracker Database

The Track Savings database allows the user to add new cards for every input amount into a savings item. Upon clicking a new card, the monthly amount assigned to the item will automatically be added.

  • Added property: Amount Saved: rollup property

If there is a custom amount to add, there is an option to do so in the card.

 

Adjusted End Date Formula

Determine what the adjusted end date is from the amount of money saved. This is a separate formula in the Savings Calculator using the above rollup property.

Adjusted End Formula

dateSubtract(dateSubtract(dateAdd(now(), ceil((prop("Cost") - prop("Amount Saved")) / prop("Save per Month")), "months"), hour(now()), "hours"), minute(now()), "minutes")

 

Further Reading

Featured
Free Notion Template: One-Click Recurring Checklists

How to create a one-click checklist using Notion. This includes a free template that can be used for personal or professional tasks. The recurring checklist is designed to simplify the process of adding checklists and completing projects, allowing you to focus on what needs to be done rather than spending time recreating repetitive to-do lists.

Free Notion Template: Airline Ticket Organizer for Travel

For those looking for an easy way to manage their travel information, this Notion template for airline tickets can provide a great solution. This template is designed to help users keep track of airline tickets and associated information. It includes sections for collecting and organizing information like flight number, departure and arrival times, airline, layovers, and more.

Populate A Weekly Spread From a Notion Calendar

This is a weekly spread between Monday and Sunday that will auto-populate from a Notion calendar. All days are spread into two rows of four columns. For those who like the presentation of a non-database weekly spread but also like the convenience of a database manager, this is the best of both worlds, and it takes a few minutes to setup. There is also the option to duplicate the Notion template below the tutorial.

Free 2022-2023 Calendar Covers For Notion

Claim your free copy of 2022-2023 calendar covers for Notion in 6 color way themes. Below is a collection of calendars between September 2022 and December 2023 with weekly pages included too. The template, available to duplicate at the bottom of the article, nests all corresponding weeks with their parent month in the body of every month page.