I found this nice add-in here and had to definitely pass it on to all YNAB users (well, anybody who wants a nice calendar feature in Excel). I just thought it would work really well for entering things in the Register.

6/10/06 Update: I modified the calendar.xla file just slightly. Now, if you choose “Insert Date” and you happen to be on the Register page, after you select the date, the cell to the right (the category cell) is selected. This saves you one click per entry – which might add up to be quite a bit over the long haul! (Former hyperlink not now operational:) Download the modified calendar popup here.

It kind of helps with the following dialogue:

Her: “Hey, I’m entering some stuff in the budget. When was it that we filled up the car? Friday wasn’t it? What day was that?”

Him: “The 9th? No, the – wait. Let’s see, today’s the 15th…it was the 10th.”

Her: “The 10th was Saturday.”

Him: “Right, like I said at first. It was the 9th.”

You all know that’s not far from the truth.

So anyway, this is a true add-in. A few of the other little tricks we’ve done in the past (automatic date entry) have required that you plug some code into your visual basic editor. This is much easier.

Step 1: (Former hyperlink not now operational:)  Download the (modified) Excel Add-In. Remember to save it somewhere memorable. I suggest you save it in the same place you have YNAB saved (could be C:\Program Files\YNAB…\).

Step 2: Start up YNAB.

Step 3: Go to Tools –> Add-Ins.

Step 4: Choose “Browse…”

Step 5: Locate the Calendar.xla file.

Step 6: Notice the Calendar Add-in has been…added..in..?

Step 7: Now whenever you need to enter a date into a cell (the Register again comes to mind), just right-click on the cell and select “Insert Date”.

Step 8: Notice that today’s date is selected by default. However, strangely enough “Her” was right. Friday was on the 9th… Once that date is selected it will automatically be entered into the cell.

Keep in mind that you still won’t be able to add dates to protected cells (and accidentally overwrite a crucial formula) unless you unprotect the sheet first.

Disclaimer: I have only tested this on my machine, which is running Windows XP, Excel 2002, ServicePack 3.