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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: OWHL on April 01, 2013, 04:43:43 PM

Title: What To Look For in Personal Finance Data and Charts
Post by: OWHL on April 01, 2013, 04:43:43 PM
So I have been tracking my financial info for about a year and I am wondering if I am looking at my expenses and income in the right way.

My goal is to track every penny and catch where the money is "leaking."

I will provide what charts I have now. I guess the real question is am I making the right charts? What could I do better?
What financial relations am I not analyzing?

***See attached. Didnt know how to add an image file***
Title: Re: What To Look For in Personal Finance Data and Charts
Post by: chucklesmcgee on April 01, 2013, 06:31:16 PM
It's tough to say exactly since your file only has the charts, not the actual transactions. In terms of categories I think you're alright (assuming your rent includes your electric/gas/water bill and the categories are otherwise complete.)

I would look at your biggest expenses and see what can be taken away from those.

Charting out each and every expense is great to get a sense of your finances, but once you've adjusted your behavior to Mustachian-levels just a rough bit of accounting is all that's needed.
Title: Re: What To Look For in Personal Finance Data and Charts
Post by: arebelspy on April 01, 2013, 06:57:22 PM
Pretty!

Over time you'll probably get tired of tracking all that and consolidate to the most important ones.
Title: Re: What To Look For in Personal Finance Data and Charts
Post by: OWHL on April 02, 2013, 06:28:58 AM
I would provide more raw data but some category names and notes to each transaction reveal too much information that I would release to a forum.

The tracking is real easy- use Droid wallet. Converts right into excel into a table format. From there I just group, organize and chart.

I did it once for a 8 month span- took about a day. For a three month span of data it was a few hours.

I just think that maybe there are other ratios or data relationships I could be looking at to better understand my money flow.
Title: Re: What To Look For in Personal Finance Data and Charts
Post by: matchewed on April 02, 2013, 08:17:13 AM
The numbers for money flow are pretty simple and there are many ways to cut it. But the basics are there. How much in (and from where if you're into the strategy of building income streams). And how much out and where to.

I personally like to keep it that simple. This alongside a "what is my net worth" calculation and I know if I'm heading in the right direction at a glance and can go about my life. The geeky side of me is excited about the future to see me beat projections but I know I'm sandbagging with an anticipated return of 2% after inflation on Net Worth increase.