You've exported your Chime transactions to Excel. Now here's what to do with them. Below you'll find formulas, pivot table instructions, and step-by-step chart guides — all designed to work with the .xlsx file Squealer gives you.
When you export from Squealer, your .xlsx file contains a single sheet with these columns:
| Column | Header | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A | Date | 01/15/2025 |
| B | Description | WALMART SUPERCENTER #4182 |
| C | Amount | -47.82 |
| D | Balance | 1,234.56 |
Negative amounts are debits (money out). Positive amounts are credits (money in). Every formula below references these columns.
Want to know how many times you visited each merchant? This gives you a ranked list — most frequent at the top.
In a new column (say, F2), enter this formula and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter (or just Enter in Excel 365):
=SORT(UNIQUE(B2:B1000))This spills a list of every unique merchant name from your Description column.
Next to your unique list (cell G2), enter:
=COUNTIF($B$2:$B$1000, F2)Drag this formula down to fill alongside every merchant in column F.
If you want them ranked from most to least, use this single formula instead of steps 1 and 2:
=SORTBY(
UNIQUE(B2:B1000),
COUNTIF(B2:B1000, UNIQUE(B2:B1000)),
-1
)And in G2, use the same COUNTIF as Step 2. You now have a clean frequency table.
Bubble charts are a great way to see where your money goes at a glance. The trick is keeping it readable — too many bubbles and it turns into a mess. Here's how to build one that actually looks good.
In a new area of your sheet (say H2), list your top merchants. In I2, calculate total spent:
=ABS(SUMIF($B$2:$B$1000, H2, $C$2:$C$1000))ABS converts negatives to positives so your chart bubbles render correctly.
This is the key to a clean bubble chart. Sort your merchant list by total spending (largest first) and only include the top 10 to 15. You can use this formula to get the top N merchants automatically:
=SORTBY(
UNIQUE(B2:B1000),
ABS(SUMIF(B2:B1000, UNIQUE(B2:B1000), C2:C1000)),
-1
)Then only use the first 10-15 rows for your chart. Lump the rest into an "Other" row if you want.
Set up three columns for your bubble chart data:
| Column | Purpose | Description |
|---|---|---|
| X-axis | Transaction Count | How many times you went there |
| Y-axis | Average Transaction | Average amount per visit |
| Bubble Size | Total Spent | Sum of all transactions at that merchant |
For the average transaction column:
=ABS(AVERAGEIF($B$2:$B$1000, H2, $C$2:$C$1000))Select all three columns, go to Insert → Chart → Bubble. Excel will map X, Y, and size automatically. Right-click bubbles to add data labels with the merchant names.
Your statement dates contain more patterns than you'd expect. Here's how to pull them apart.
See which days had the most activity. In a new column (E2):
=COUNTIF($A$2:$A$1000, A2)Drag down. Now sort by this column to find your busiest transaction days.
Group your spending by week number. In a helper column:
=WEEKNUM(A2)Then use a pivot table (or SUMIF) to total spending per week. This reveals which weeks are expensive and which are lean.
Split the month into early (1st–10th), mid (11th–20th), and late (21st–31st):
=IF(DAY(A2)<=10, "Early",
IF(DAY(A2)<=20, "Mid", "Late"))Use this with SUMIF to see if you front-load or back-load your spending each month.
Your export already has a Balance column. Select columns A (Date) and D (Balance), insert a Line Chart. You'll see your account balance over time — dips, peaks, and trends all visible at a glance.
Find out which day of the week costs you the most.
=TEXT(A2, "dddd")This returns "Monday", "Tuesday", etc. Drag down for all rows.
In a summary area, list each day of the week (Monday through Sunday) in column H. In column I:
=ABS(SUMIF($E$2:$E$1000, H2, $C$2:$C$1000))Select your day names and totals, insert a Bar Chart or Column Chart. You'll immediately see which days are most expensive. Most people are surprised by the answer.
Not sure which chart fits your question? Here's a reference for the most useful ones you can build straight from your Squealer export.
Use this to compare spending by merchant, by day of week, or by week number. Vertical (column) works well for time-based X-axes. Horizontal (bar) is better when merchant names are long.
Plot your running balance, daily spending totals, or weekly totals over time. Line charts reveal upward and downward trends that bar charts hide.
Shows frequency (X), average amount (Y), and total spending (bubble size) for each merchant. Limit to 10-15 merchants for readability. Detailed guide above.
Shows what percentage of your total spending goes to each merchant or category. Keep it to 5–7 slices max. Group small merchants into "Other."
Plot transaction amount vs. day of month to see if you spend more at certain times. Or plot amount vs. running balance to see if low balances change spending behavior.
Stack merchant spending within each week or month period. See not just how much you spent, but what it was composed of. Works best with 4–6 merchant groups.
Alluvial diagrams show how flows move from one group to another — like money flowing from your account to different merchants across different time periods. Excel doesn't have a built-in alluvial chart, but here's how to get one.
Create a summary with three columns: Time Period, Merchant, and Total Spent. Use the month-period formula from the date tricks section above:
Time Period | Merchant | Total
Early | WALMART SUPERCENTER | 142.50
Early | AMAZON | 67.30
Mid | WALMART SUPERCENTER | 89.12
Mid | SHELL GAS | 45.00
Late | AMAZON | 112.99
Late | SHELL GAS | 38.50Copy your three-column data and paste it into a free alluvial/Sankey diagram tool online (search for "SankeyMATIC" or "RAWGraphs"). These tools accept CSV-style input and generate publication-quality flow diagrams. You can paste directly from Excel.
Microsoft Power BI Desktop is free and has a Sankey diagram visual in its marketplace. Import your .xlsx file directly, drag in your fields, and you've got an interactive alluvial chart. Overkill for a quick view, but powerful if you process multiple months.
Pivot tables let you slice your transaction data any way you want — no formulas required once it's set up.
Click any cell in your transaction data. Press Ctrl+T to convert it to a Table (this makes the pivot table auto-update when you add data). Then go to Insert → PivotTable.
Drag fields into these areas:
| Area | Field | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Rows | Description | Each merchant becomes a row |
| Values | Amount (Sum) | Total spent per merchant |
| Values | Amount (Count) | Number of transactions |
Add a "Category" column to your original data (column E). Label each transaction however makes sense to you — "Groceries", "Gas", "Fun", "Bills", whatever fits your actual life. Then add that Category field to the Rows area of your pivot table, above Description. Now you have spending grouped your way.
=TEXT(A2, "YYYY-MM")Drag this field into the Columns area of your pivot table. Now you see spending by category by month — a full custom budget view, built entirely on your terms.
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