When I open up an Excel file using Windows Explorer, I sometimes want to use
"Save As" to change the name of the file (eg. new month extension, version 2,
etc.)

When I do this, Microsoft defaults to a different folder -- it is the folder
that I saved my last Excel file, which usually is a totally different folder.

Is there a way for me to have SAVE AS default to the same folder that the
current file is?

Any ideas is greatly appreciated! This has been quite annoying.