Highlight Data with Conditional Formatting

In this extension, you will use conditional formatting to highlight data in your spreadsheet.

Conditional formatting changes the color of spreadsheet cells that contain certain words or numbers.

This helps you see important parts of your data quickly and clearly.

In the case of your expenses, you could highlight the cost of certain items or categories you want to save money on.

To highlight data in your spreadsheet, you will apply conditional formatting to your cost column and apply conditional formatting to your category column.

To begin, open your spreadsheet.

Your spreadsheet is automatically saved in Google Drive, and you can come back to it anytime.

Conditional formatting highlights data based upon different conditions that you choose.

For example, you could choose to highlight the cost of an expense if it is greater than, less than, or equal to a certain amount.

To cut down on your major expenses, you might want to see every cost that is greater than three hundred dollars.

Apply conditional formatting to your cost column to see these costs.

Change the formatting style to fit your preference.

Color the background of the cell or the numbers it contains.

Now, you can clearly see that, in this example, the cost of rent, daycare, and groceries all exceed three hundred dollars.

Highlight any part of your data, whether numbers or words.

Maybe you’d like to spend less money on entertainment and want to focus in on that category.

Apply conditional formatting to your category column.

Choose a color for the text or the background.

Along with background and text color, you can also change the format of the font.

For example, you may want to bold your text to make it stand out.

Now you can see the data you want right away, without having to read through your entire spreadsheet.

Highlighting your data helps you save time and makes it easier to use your budget.

Now, it’s your turn. Open your spreadsheet, apply conditional formatting to your cost column, and apply conditional formatting to your category column.