We often misunderstand the meaning of budgeting, associating it with austerity and savings, which are traditionally perceived negatively. Some believe that only those who are short of money need a budget. However, it's not true - we all need budgeting not to save but to control our income and expenses.

Microsoft Excel has been a common name with several business professionals; however, only a few can master the platform. With more than 400 functions in the program, it can be overwhelming for anyone. Excel is undoubtedly one of the most sophisticated computer programs with a lot of functionality beneath its surface. For people who are just starting, it can be intimidating to learn, and this is why enrolling yourself in a Microsoft Excel Training program can come in handy.

Often you need to import data to the Excel spreadsheet from a text file. Microsoft Excel offers a Text Import Wizard to import data from different text file formats:

When you import data from a text file to the Excel spreadsheet, Microsoft Excel launches a Text Import Wizard to help you to import data correctly. Here you can import all or some data from text files of different formats:

When you paste or import data into the Excel spreadsheet, you might notice unusual symbols like a diamond with a question mark. The replacement character � (often a black diamond with a white question mark or an empty square box) represents an unknown, unrecognized or unrepresentable character:

Excel provides three easy ways to print chosen ranges: print the selection, define the print area in the Page Setup dialog, or create the print area. The first two methods work well for occasional printing but, if you need to print a specific range or ranges of worksheet frequently, defining one or multiple areas to print, significantly reduce the efforts. Moreover, with print areas, you can easily add new ranges to the current selection.

Protecting a workbook is different from protecting the Excel file with a password to prevent reading/writing or locking the spreadsheet elements to prevent editing. Workbook protection forbids other users to add, move, rename or delete worksheets and defends against viewing hidden worksheets or hiding worksheets.

If you need to count the number of dates between two dates in Excel, you don't need to use DATEDIF and other Excel date manipulation functions. Date in Excel isn't a separate type, but a number with proper formatting. The integer part of this number represents days since the fixed moment for all dates. Subtract one date from another, and you will get the number of days between two dates. Also, you can add or subtract an integer from the date, and get the date in the future or the past.

Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart that is often used in project management applications.

The drop-down list is a handy feature provided by Excel data validation tools. Drop-down menus limit the possible choices and help to avoid mistakes. However, not so many Excel users know the Source field of the Data Validation dialog is a formula field. Formulas in the Source field should return the list of the values, but they are not necessarily a range or a list of options.