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Business finance (investment) personal statement example.

Investments are about timing, opportunity and choices. The choices we make influence the goals we aspire to achieve. In the business world these three words have the ability to enhance profits or cause failure; they have fascinated and influenced my interest to study aspects of the business sector at higher level.

After competing in the IFS Student investor challenge which entails investing £100,000 virtual money on the stock market, it sparked an interest that to this day I have not lost in the captivating world of the stock market. The thrill of being able to study markets and how unpredictable they are is my goal for later life. Along with studies I am constantly trying to keep up to date with the various trends of different markets in order to formulate my own opinion of how they may change in the near future. My interests do not only lie in the stock market, they lie substantially in the business world itself; more specifically how problems are presented and overcome and the stages in which this is achieved. I thrive on being able to solve problems independently or within a group with minor guidance and wish to develop these skills throughout my studies in higher education. I am looking forward to tailoring my electives to further my career prospects. The course I have chosen will suit me well as I can combine my own opinions and knowledge with those given by a university lecturer to begin to achieve my main goal; becoming a successful investment banker.

I am always analysing the way businesses have priced their products or shares, what strategies they use to gain the largest profits and how a finance report can reflect on a business’s management style. This will benefit me greatly in higher education. I possess a business related mind, which has aided me in all aspects of my life often helping me with my day to day decisions.

In 2011-2012 I took part in Young Enterprise. I successfully applied for the post of Finance Director. I gained skills needed to be the sole finance director whilst assisting with the day to day running of the business. I allocated the various functional departments a budget, reviewed their spending each month and discuss financial risks with further opportunities. I thoroughly enjoyed taking part and believe it gives people my age practical application in the business world first hand over pure theory.

I am always keen to help others and relish the added bonus of improving myself. From the age of 5 I have been playing the piano, it’s a relaxing passion that lets me express my feelings through the songs I play. I am still committed and face my LCM grade 6 exam in April. Since the age of 11, I have participated in a local drama and singing club, performing in various shows in theatres. To this day I still relate my public speaking skills to my 7 years of performing to large audiences and mentors. In the beginning of 2011 I volunteered to work in a retirement home. It helped me improve my communication skills with people who are not able to communicate well themselves. In the business world this is a necessity as good communication is a crucial skill, without it messages may not be conveyed properly leading to potential disasters. For work experience I was an Usher in Milton Keynes County Court. I have joined’ Toastmasters’ a public speaking club and taking part in the Big MK Youth Debate over issues concerning people in Milton Keynes.

The finance side of the business sector is a world I would flourish in and going to university is the key to my future. Thousands of risks are taken every day, on the stock market and in companies themselves, sometimes they pay off, sometimes they don’t. If I was awarded this opportunity I can personally guarantee I am a risk worth taking.

Profile info

This personal statement was written by Liam791 for application in 2013.

Liam791's university choices The University of Durham City University City University University of Lincoln University of Westminster

Green : offer made Red : no offer made

Liam791's Comments

DO IT EARLY!!!

So many people i knew were mega panicking about two days before the deadline, i got mine in early (late october) and got an offer 2 days after submission, then another 1 week after! it really pays to get it in as soon and as early as possible, im not saying work on it through your summer holiday (believe me, i did NOT do that) just saying as soon as you get into the A2 year it should be the main priority for the first couple of months, then when its all done, you can focus on the bloody exams!

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• Finance Personal Statement Examples

Here are two finance personal statement examples from some of the best students in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Both examples you can use as inspiration and motivation to write your own personal statement for university . 

Finance Personal Statement

Ever since I discovered my passion for the finance industry at a young age, I have been determined to pursue a career as a financial consultant and advisor. It is this unwavering ambition that has led me to apply for the MSc course in Finance at the esteemed London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). I firmly believe that this course will provide me with the necessary tools and knowledge to achieve my career goals by expanding my understanding of financial products, the intricate workings of financial markets, and investment banking.

The reputation of LSE as a university of academic excellence is one of the key reasons for my decision to apply. I am aware of the university’s ability to equip students with critical analysis skills that are essential for becoming leaders in their chosen sectors. Moreover, being located in the heart of London provides unparalleled opportunities for networking and professional development in the world of business and finance. The course’s comprehensive approach, which strikes a balance between theoretical and practical modules, is also highly appealing to me.

My educational background in accounting has laid a solid foundation for my advanced studies in finance. Through my coursework in accounting, I have developed strong numerical skills and gained practical experience in management accounting and reporting roles within financial firms. It was during my studies that I discovered a particular interest in Strategic Financial Management, where I was introduced to financial products such as equities, derivatives, fixed income, and bonds, along with their significance in financial markets. Building on this knowledge, I have become a qualified accountant and have gained valuable work experience as an Associate at Deloitte, where I am part of the project management team, responsible for decision support. This role has honed my ability to work under pressure and within tight time constraints, allowing me to meet urgent and conflicting deadlines.

To stay up-to-date with the dynamic financial market, I avidly follow financial news through subscriptions to reputable media platforms such as the Financial Times, the Economist, and Bloomberg. Additionally, I engage in various hobbies such as travelling, watching movies and documentaries, and reading to broaden my knowledge and stay informed about current affairs. As a sports enthusiast, I follow tennis, football, boxing, and Formula One racing. These diverse interests have cultivated qualities such as ambition, intuition, focus, and self-discipline, which drive me to excel in any endeavour. I value the input and opinions of others, making me an effective team player, while also possessing the independence and initiative to work autonomously. I firmly believe that these qualities will contribute to my success as a finance analyst and enable me to excel academically.

Looking toward the future, I aspire to establish a reputable financial consulting firm in my home country, Nigeria. This firm would provide a range of financial services to both companies and public institutions. I recognise that achieving this goal will require years of experience, cultivating the right connections, and personal determination. Pursuing an MSc in Finance from LSE will better equip me to manage corporate, strategic, and financial opportunities, while also providing the opportunity to learn from talented professors and compete with exceptional graduates. I am convinced that this course is a crucial step toward realizing my long-term aspirations.

The increasingly evident impact of financial risk on our world has captivated my interest like never before. The interplay between the financial sector, government, and the general public dominates news stories, emphasizing the significance of understanding the industry. With my passion for finance nurtured from an early age, I have dedicated myself to attaining a comprehensive understanding of both the theoretical and practical aspects of global finance through high-level studies and extensive work experience in diverse industrial and international contexts.

Currently, in my fourth year of a degree in Finance, Risk, and Investment at Caledonian University, I have developed a strong foundation of knowledge in the field. Moreover, I have delved deeper into specific areas

Finance Personal Statement Example

Since my early years, extensive international travel has shaped my perspective on the world, particularly the stark economic contrasts between the ‘Third World’ and the ‘Western World.’ Having the privilege of experiencing different cultures and economies through my parents, who have lived in Africa, Europe, and the USA, I have developed a deep curiosity about the mechanisms that drive global economies. This curiosity has led me to pursue Economics at A Level, as I believe it is at the core of world discussions and can provide a comprehensive understanding of current news articles and their correlation to the subject.

Through my readings, such as Tim Harford’s ‘The Undercover Economist,’ I have come to appreciate the analogy that economics is like engineering, offering insights into how things work and the consequences of changing them. I see economics as an intricate puzzle, requiring economists to integrate economic theories with government policies to solve complex economic problems. Attending conferences at prestigious institutions like the University of Warwick and Oxbridge has broadened my perspective on economics, with theories like Freakonomics intriguing me and sparking a desire to explore the unexpected links between seemingly unrelated phenomena.

My passion for economics is complemented by a strong affinity for mathematics , which has been nurtured since my childhood. From playing mental maths games to tackling complex problem-solving at A Level, I have developed analytical abilities that were put to the test during a taster day at Cass Business School. Through quick thinking and effective teamwork, I excelled in a trading shares simulation, resulting in my group being the most profitable. Furthermore, my participation in a business management enterprise day at the University of the West of England allowed me to showcase my skills, leading to the recognition of the ‘Best Business Idea.’

To gain practical experience in the finance sector, I sought work opportunities that would provide me with invaluable insights. My time at Britannia Building Society exposed me to the inner workings of retail banking, allowing me to shadow the branch manager, work closely with financial planning advisors, and handle transactions at the tills. This experience introduced me to financial assets, including options for investing in bonds, shares, and increasing savings. Additionally, working at Harrison’s Accountancy and Insolvency Agency gave me valuable knowledge about liquidations and insolvencies of businesses, further solidifying my interest in pursuing a career in finance.

Staying updated with current financial affairs is crucial to me, and I regularly read the economy sections of reputable sources such as the BBC website and The Economist. Subscribing to a weekly update from RBS provides me with topical developments in the financial markets. Alongside my commitment to academic and professional pursuits, I have also developed essential skills through my job at O2 Retail. This experience has sharpened my interpersonal skills and honed my ability to negotiate mutually beneficial deals for both customers and the company. As a captain of my football team, I have learned the value of leadership, motivation, and maintaining high team morale, skills that have translated into success in class debates and the trading shares simulation at Cass Business School.

During a recent trip to Switzerland, I had the opportunity to meet with the assistant vice president at Credit Suisse, who shared insights into exchange rate processes within a leading investment bank. These conversations further solidified my understanding of the close relationship between economics and the finance sector.

Through a comprehensive study of Level Economics and practical experiences, I have been able to bridge the gap between theory and real-world situations. Engaging with professionals in the field has deepened my appreciation for the vital connection between economics and finance. I am confident that pursuing a university education will equip me with the necessary knowledge and skills to navigate the dynamic and fast-paced world of financial markets.

My passion for finance and economics was sparked by the Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy and the subsequent financial crisis when I was 21 years old. The events of that

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Finance and Investment Personal Statement

Studying finance has always been a goal for me as it consists of elements which I believe pertains to my current skills. Dealing with finances interests me and I’m keen on finding ways to make money go further. Calculating profits and losses are important parts of finance on my course and I have enjoyed making sure this is done accurately. Originally, I took AS level subjects at college but due to extreme health conditions, I was unable to complete them. This didn’t deter me from pursuing my educational aspirations, I transferred to BTEC Level 3 which was more structured towards my goals.

This course has several units which have helped me to realise that I want to study finance at a degree level, units such as unit 3 and unit 5. These units deal with personal finance and business finance on a national and international scale, they are very interesting to me and are easy to understand. Within unit 3, I particularly enjoyed: forecasting cash flows for businesses, learning about break even analysis, analysing statements of comprehensive income and financial positions. The creating and reviewing of these documents developed my enthusiasm for the topic and convinced me that finance was a field that I would want to be involved in. During my educational studies I have acquired important skills which would help me in higher education. For a lot of our presentations we had to work together to contribute to the final work. These skills are applicable to higher education as we will be presented with many group presentations and we will have to work together to be successful. Also for coursework subjects I have been provided with information I have had to evaluate and use to help me analyse a company’s position and recommend improvements. This can be transferred to higher education as there will be considerable information I will come across and have to analyse independently.

This eagerness to study finance led me to carry out work experience in Barclays Bank PLC. As a supervisors assistant I was able to shadow the branch’s head supervisor in his daily dealings such as: sorting out customers queries, transferring money from accounts, cashing up tills and several more things. From my time at Barclays, certain skills were taught to me and others were further developed. When dealing with customers we had to cater for their needs whilst following company regulations, this often required critical thinking as we had to analyse the issue in order to diagnose it. This skill will prepare me for the often demanding thought process which has to be applied when it comes to a degree in finance. I gained employment at Schuh kids at the beginning of the summer of 2017 and here I was thrown into a more independent role where there were financial targets set out for me to reach as an individual. I developed a numerous skills such as time management. As the store was very busy we had to make sure that we provide speedy service whilst still maintain quality service. This skill will be applicable on a degree level as a lot of work will be handed out so I will be able to keep on top of it and make sure it is of a good quality.

During my college experience, I was one of the dance leaders for the dance society and we were tasked with creating routines for the members to learn to perform at school events. This role instilled in me leadership and organisational skills as I had to make sure everyone was aware of the routines and comfortable with them. This skill can be transferred unto degree level as I will be able to take leadership in my studies and group activities, making sure all work is done successfully.

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Understanding Personal Financial Statements: A Comprehensive Guide

Table of content, what’s in this guide, personal balance sheet, how to create a personal balance sheet, calculating and interpreting your net worth, pros of creating a personal balance sheet, personal balance sheet limitations, pro tips on creating and maintaining a personal balance sheet, personal cash flow statement, how to create a personal cash flow statement, calculating and interpreting your net cash flow, pros of creating a personal cash flow statement, personal cash flow statement limitations, pro tips on creating and maintaining a personal cash flow statement, personal balance sheet case study, personal cash flow statement case study, grab your free personal financial statement template here, the bottom line.

Financial literacy isn’t just a skill; it’s a necessity in our complex modern economy. Our financial landscape is filled with many challenges—from managing debt and investments to planning for retirement. A personal financial statement is one key financial document that makes navigating these challenges easy.

Personal financial statements, which comprise a balance sheet and cash flow statement, provide a snapshot of your financial health, allowing you to evaluate your current financial condition, track changes over time, and plan for the future. Imagine seeing, at a glance, areas where you can reduce spending, if your net worth is increasing or decreasing, or if you are on track to meet your financial goals.

That’s the kind of clarity these statements provide. They don’t just contain numbers; they provide insights into your financial health, facilitating better decisions and effective long-term planning. For example, a cash flow statement can reveal if you are spending too much on non-essential items, while a balance sheet can show if your debt is becoming unmanageable.

Additionally, analyzing these statements together provides a broad view of your financial situation, helping you identify potential issues before they become significant problems. For instance, if your cash flow statement shows a consistent surplus, but your balance sheet reveals increasing debt, that might be a sign that you are not using your surplus efficiently to pay down debt.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the two common types of personal financial statements: the personal balance sheet and the personal cash flow statement. We’ll explain each statement, their typical line items, the benefits of creating them, and their limitations.

Finally, we’ll share some pro tips on creating and maintaining each statement, and we’ll examine two case studies that illustrate how each statement can help individuals make better financial choices. At the end of the guide, you will be able to download a free template to get you started on monitoring your finances.

Let’s dive right in.

In a hurry and can’t read this guide in one go? Download the free PDF version to read whenever you have the chance!

Download Link:  Understanding Personal Financial Statements: A Comprehensive Guide

A personal balance sheet provides a snapshot of your financial position at a specific period, typically a month or a year. It outlines what you own (assets), what you owe (liabilities), and the difference between the two, known as your net worth. Assets include your house, car, investments, and savings, while liabilities encompass debts such as your mortgage, car loan, and credit card balances.

For instance, say your assets include a $350,000 house, a $30,000 car, $80,000 in investments, $30,000 in savings, and $10,000 in other assets, totaling $500,000. On the other hand, your liabilities include a $150,000 mortgage, $20,000 car loan, $10,000 credit card debt, $15,000 student loan, and $5,000 in other debts totaling $200,000. In this scenario, your net worth would be $500,000 (Total Assets) – $200,000 (Total Liabilities) = $300,000.

Understanding, creating, and maintaining a personal balance sheet helps you make informed decisions about investments, loans, and other financial matters. For example, by knowing your net worth, you can determine how much debt you can afford for a new home or car, how much you can reasonably invest, or whether you need to focus on paying down existing debt.

A personal balance sheet consists of two major categories: assets and liabilities. You can further divide these categories into subcategories that outline what you own and owe. Let’s briefly examine the typical structure of a personal balance sheet.

“Assets” is the first section on a personal balance sheet, and it covers everything you own that has a monetary value. These include tangible items like your home, car, and personal belongings, as well as intangible items like investments and savings accounts. Essentially, anything you could sell or cash in for money is considered an asset.

Assets are typically categorized into two groups: liquid and non-liquid assets. Let’s briefly examine the types of assets that fall under each group.

Liqui d Assets

“Liquid Assets” is the first category under the “Assets” section. It includes all assets that can be quickly and easily converted into cash without losing much value. Such assets include the following: 

• Cash and Cash Equivalents: This subcategory accounts for physical cash, checking accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and money market accounts, which are investments easily convertible to cash, making them as liquid as cash.
• Liquid Investments: This subcategory covers stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and other liquid investment assets. You can convert these assets to cash relatively quickly without losing much value.

Non-Liq uid Assets

“Non-Liquid Assets” is the second category under the “Assets” section. This subcategory covers all assets that cannot be easily converted into cash or would lose value in the process. Such assets include the following:

• Retirement Accounts: This subcategory includes all forms of retirement funds you have. While the assets within a retirement account (like a 401(k) or an IRA) may be liquid, there are often penalties and tax consequences for withdrawing funds before a certain age. This is why it is usually classified as a non-liquid asset.
• Real Estate: This subcategory covers the market value of your home, rental properties, or any other real estate properties you own.
• Personal Property:   This subcategory includes the value of tangible assets such as cars, jewelry, furniture, electronics, collectibles, and other personal belongings. Note that these items should be valued at what they could be sold for now, not what was initially paid for them, as the value of many items depreciates over time, and overvaluing your assets can result in an inflated net worth. 
• Business Ownership: If you own a business, the value of your ownership stake is an asset and should be recorded under this subcategory.
• Other Assets: This subcategory accounts for any other assets not included in the preceding subcategories, such as loans you have given to others, tax refunds expected, etc.

Liabilities

“Liabilities” is the second section on your personal balance sheet, and it represents all debts and financial obligations. These can include various forms of debt, such as mortgages, car loans, credit card balances, and personal loans. Essentially, anything you need to pay back to others, whether to a bank, a credit card company, or a friend, is considered a liability.

Just as with assets, liabilities are also usually categorized into two groups: short-term and long-term liabilities. Let’s briefly examine the types of liabilities that fall under each group.

Shor t-Term Liabilities

“Short-Term Liabilities” is the first category under the “Liabilities” section. It includes all debts that are due within a year. Such liabilities include the following:

• Credit Card Balances: This subcategory highlights all you owe to credit card companies.
• Utility Bills: This subcategory covers all your utility bills, such as electricity, water, gas, and internet.
• Medical Bills: This subcategory includes any outstanding bills you owe for medical services or treatments. This can include doctor’s visits, hospital stays, and prescription medications. 
• Personal Loans: This subcategory accounts for any loan you take out for personal reasons, such as to cover unexpected expenses or to consolidate debt, and are due within a year.
• Payday Loans: This subcategory covers all short-term loans typically due on your next payday. 
• Overdrafts: This subcategory highlights the amount by which withdrawals from your bank account exceed the available balance.
• Taxes Due: This subcategory includes everything you owe to the government in taxes. This can include income, property, and any other taxes due within a year.
• Other Short-Term Liabilities: This subcategory accounts for every other bill or money you owe and is due within a year, such as insurance premiums, subscription services, gym memberships, and contingent liabilities, which are potential liabilities that depend on a future event.

Long-Term Liabil ities

“Long-Term Liabilities” is the second category under the “Liabilities” section. It includes all debts that are due in more than a year. Such liabilities include the following:

• Mortgage: This subcategory covers every mortgage you’ve taken on your home. It is typically the most significant liability for most people and is paid off over many years, often 15 to 30 years.
• Auto Loan: This subcategory includes any car loans you’ve taken out. These loans are typically paid off over a period of 3 to 7 years.
• Student Loans: This subcategory highlights any student loans you’ve taken out, which typically have a 10- to 30-year repayment period.
• Personal Loans: This subcategory accounts for any loan you take out for personal reasons, such as to cover unexpected expenses or to consolidate debt, and are due after a year.
• Pension Liabilities: This subcategory spotlights the amount you owe to your pension plan if you have borrowed against it.
• Long-Term Lease Obligations: This subcategory includes the amount you owe on any long-term lease, such as a car or equipment lease.
• Other Long-Term Liabilities: This subcategory covers any other long-term obligations that do not fit the preceding categories, such as a lawsuit settlement being paid off over time.

“Net Worth” is the final figure on a personal balance sheet. This figure is a clear indicator of your financial health, and you can calculate it using the following formula:

• Net Worth = Total Assets – Total Liabilities

For instance, let’s assume you own a house valued at $350,000, have a car worth $20,000, a retirement account with $50,000, and a savings account with $10,000, putting your total assets at $430,000. Let’s further assume you have a mortgage balance of $200,000 and a car loan of $15,000, putting your total liabilities at $215,000. In this scenario, your net worth would be:

• Net Worth = $430,000 (Total Assets) – $215,000 (Total Liabilities) = $215,000

This positive net worth of $215,000 implies that you own more than you owe, which is the ideal financial position to be in. Suppose your liabilities had exceeded your assets in the preceding scenario. In that case, you’d have a negative net worth, meaning you owe more than you own. 

Your net worth is a crucial measure of your financial stability. A high positive net worth implies that you are in a strong financial position and have effectively managed your income, savings, investments, and debts. A negative net worth, on the other hand, signals the need to reevaluate your financial habits to reduce debts and increase assets to avoid financial insolvency.

Understanding your financial situation is crucial for making informed decisions about your future. A personal balance sheet is a valuable tool for gaining this understanding. Here are some key benefits of creating and maintaining this financial statement:

Increased Financial Awareness

Regularly creating and reviewing your balance sheet increases your awareness of your financial situation. This heightened awareness can lead to better financial decisions, such as avoiding unnecessary debt and expenses, making better investment choices, and being more disciplined with savings.

For instance, if you notice that a large portion of your income is spent on dining out and entertainment, this awareness could lead you to make more disciplined spending choices, such as cooking at home or choosing free entertainment options.

Moreover, understanding your financial situation can also lead to psychological benefits. For example, knowing that you have a manageable level of debt and a solid savings plan reduces financial anxiety and increases confidence in your ability to achieve your financial goals. Additionally, this awareness fosters a sense of control over your finances, encourages a more disciplined approach to spending and saving, and promotes a more positive and proactive outlook towards your financial future.

Snapshot of Financial Health

A balance sheet provides a quick, overall view of your financial health by showing your assets and liabilities at a glance, making it easier to identify financial strengths and weaknesses. For example, if your balance sheet reveals that your credit card debt is more than 50% of your total assets, it’s a clear sign that you need to focus on debt reduction. Ignoring this signal could lead to escalating debt, higher interest payments, and a lower credit score.

Conversely, if your balance sheet shows that your assets are three times greater than your liabilities, that implies positive financial strength. You could leverage this strength by investing in higher-yield assets or taking on manageable debt to invest in opportunities with a high return on investment.

However, it is crucial to approach this cautiously and consider the potential risks involved. Do thorough research or consult a financial advisor before making significant financial decisions.

Wealth Tracking

Creating and updating your personal balance sheet regularly helps you monitor your wealth over time. This ongoing tracking lets you see if you’re progressing toward your financial goals and pinpoint areas needing improvement.

For example, if you observe that the value of your stock portfolio has decreased significantly over the past year, this might indicate that your investment strategy needs to be reevaluated. Failing to take action could result in further losses, considerably reducing your overall wealth.

It’s important to factor in economic variables like inflation when assessing your financial growth. A nominal increase in wealth doesn’t always equate to an actual increase in financial well-being. For instance, a 3% increase in your wealth over the past year may seem positive, but if the inflation rate is 5%, your real wealth has actually decreased by 2%. It’s great to see your wealth grow year after year, but it’s essential to ask yourself: does the growth rate outpace or at least keep up with inflation?

Financial Planning

A personal balance sheet is an effective tool for planning financial goals. By knowing your net worth, you can devise better strategies for saving, investing, or debt repayment, helping you make informed decisions to achieve your financial goals. Let’s say you notice that your net worth is decreasing; it might be time to cut expenses, pay down debt, or reconsider large purchases or investments.

For example, if your net worth has decreased by 10% over the past year, you might decide to sell non-essential assets, reduce discretionary spending, or refinance your debt to lower interest rates. Doing a mix of the preceding will help you increase your net worth.

Additionally, a personal balance sheet can help you create a clear and detailed financial plan. For example, by knowing your net worth, you can set realistic savings and investment goals for the next year.

Remember, it is necessary to regularly revisit and adjust your financial plan and goals as your financial situation changes. Factors that may necessitate a change in your plan include a change in income, unexpected expenses, or changes in your financial goals. For example, if you receive a promotion and a salary increase, you may want to adjust your savings and investment goals accordingly. Similarly, if you incur unexpected medical expenses, you may need to adjust your budget and debt repayment plan .

Advanced Financial Analytics

Creating and maintaining a personal balance sheet makes it easier to calculate and track important personal financial ratios like the debt-to-asset ratio and capitalization ratio. These ratios are crucial for assessing your financial health and stability. For example, the debt-to-asset ratio helps you understand how much of your assets are financed by debt. In contrast, the capitalization ratio helps you understand your financial structure by showing the proportion of debt owed relative to equity owned.

While a personal balance sheet is an indispensable tool for understanding your financial health, planning your financial future, and making informed financial decisions, it’s also important to recognize its limitations. Knowing them helps you better interpret the information your balance sheet provides and understand what additional steps you may need to take to neutralize each limitation. Here are some key limitations of a personal balance sheet:

Doesn't Show Cash Flow

A balance sheet provides a snapshot of your financial situation at a specific point in time but doesn’t show cash flow. A cash flow statement provides a dynamic view of how money is earned and spent over a specific period. This can highlight issues not immediately apparent from the balance sheet, such as a negative cash flow despite a positive net worth. For example, someone might have a high net worth and still have cash flow problems because most of their assets are illiquid (e.g., real estate, long-term investments, etc.). Creating and maintaining a balance sheet and a cash flow statement is a great way to overcome this limitation.

Fluctuating Values

The values of assets and liabilities can fluctuate over time, making the balance sheet a snapshot accurate only at the moment it’s prepared. And this variability can significantly impact your financial planning and decision-making. For example, if you intend to sell some of your stocks, the value of those stocks when preparing the balance sheet may differ from the value at the time of the sale. This discrepancy could result in overestimating or underestimating the sale proceeds in your budget, each having distinct repercussions.

Consider a scenario where you plan to use the sale proceeds to repay debt. If the actual proceeds are lower than anticipated, you may find yourself unable to cover the debt fully, leading to additional interest charges or penalties. For this reason, it’s crucial to update your balance sheet frequently and exercise caution when making financial decisions based on it.

Subjective Asset Valuation

Some assets, like jewelry, art, or antiques, can be difficult to value accurately, making it challenging to create an accurate personal balance sheet. For instance, valuing a piece of art at $12,000 when it’s actually worth $5,000 will inflate your net worth and potentially mislead your financial planning. It’s advisable to consult a professional appraiser for items of significant value to mitigate this limitation.

Dependency on Accurate Data

The effectiveness of a balance sheet depends on the accuracy of the data inputted. Even minor errors in asset or liability values can lead to incorrect conclusions about your financial health. For example, an underestimation of debt by $1000 may seem inconsequential, but when interest is taken into account, the actual value of that debt could be significantly higher over time. This could lead to understating the time and money required to repay that debt.

Creating a personal balance sheet is crucial for anyone interested in managing their finances responsibly. However, the real benefit of a personal balance sheet lies not just in its creation but in regularly updating and using it wisely. Here are some pro tips to help you make the most of your personal balance sheet:

Start with Accurate Information

Gather all your financial documents, such as bank statements, mortgage statements, and credit card bills, before creating your balance sheet. Doing so will help ensure you don’t miss any assets or liabilities.

Categorize Your Assets and Liabilities

Break down your assets and liabilities into categories such as liquid assets (cash, savings), non-liquid assets (real estate, investments), short-term liabilities (credit card debt, other debts due within a year), and long-term liabilities (mortgage, student loans).

Consider Future Liabilities

Include expected future liabilities, such as a child’s college education, a planned home renovation, or future taxes, in your personal balance sheet. Doing so will help make your financial planning more accurate and effective.

For example, let’s say you’re planning for your child’s college education. You can estimate this future liability by researching the current tuition fees of the college your child might attend and its historical growth rate.

Suppose the current tuition fee is $30,000 per year, and historically, the tuition fee has increased by 5% annually. You can estimate that in 10 years, the tuition fee would be approximately $48,890 per year ($30,000 × (1 + 0.05)^10). This estimation will help you plan and save accordingly.

Use Conservative Values

Be conservative when estimating the value of your assets. This means using the lower end of an estimated value range and being cautious when including assets whose value is highly uncertain. Overestimating the value of your assets provides a false sense of financial security and leaves you unprepared for unexpected financial downturns.

Be Thorough

Being conservative matters a lot in creating an accurate personal statement, but so does being thorough. Ensure you include all your assets and liabilities, even if they seem insignificant. Small amounts can add up over time and may affect your financial health more than you realize. Assets and liabilities commonly overlooked include:

• Digital assets like cryptocurrency;
• Intellectual property (e.g., copyrighted material, patents);
• Collectibles (e.g., rare coins, stamps); and 
• Prepaid expenses (e.g., prepaid insurance, prepaid rent).

Liabilities: 

• Outstanding medical bills;
• Unpaid taxes;
• Personal loans from friends or family; and 
• Any accrued interest on existing loans.

Update Regularly

Update your balance sheet at least every quarter or when there is a significant change in your assets or liabilities, such as receiving an inheritance, buying a house, and paying off or incurring a debt. Recording changes in your assets and liabilities is the best way to spot trends you would have otherwise missed. Moreover, doing so helps make your balance sheet more accurate.

Review Past Balance Sheets

While you should update your personal balance sheet at least four times a year, it’s a good idea to monitor it regularly. Set a schedule for reviewing your personal balance sheet, such as monthly or quarterly. Regularly reviewing past balance sheets can help you identify trends, understand how your financial situation has changed, and make more informed decisions about the future.

Use Alongside A Cash Flow Statement

To better understand your financial health, use your personal balance sheet together with a personal cash flow statement. While the balance sheet provides a snapshot of your financial health at a specific point in time, the cash flow statement shows how you earned your money or spent it over a specific period. Using both financial statements will help you identify trends, gain more insights, and make more informed financial decisions.

Take Advantage of Tools and Templates

There are various tools and templates available online, such as Microsoft Excel templates, personal finance apps, or online budgeting tools that offer personal balance sheet templates. You can start with a basic template from Microsoft Excel and customize it to include categories specific to your financial situation, like adding a section for digital assets or future liabilities.

Reflect and Act

After creating your balance sheet, reflect on your financial situation. Are you meeting your financial goals? Do you need to adjust your spending or saving habits? Use your balance sheet as a tool for making informed financial decisions.

Seek Professional Help

If you are dealing with a complex financial situation, such as managing investments across multiple platforms, dealing with significant debt, or planning for retirement, it might be beneficial to seek advice from a certified financial planner or wealth manager. A financial planner can help you create a comprehensive financial plan, while a wealth manager can help you manage your investments and optimize for tax efficiency.

A personal cash flow statement tracks how much cash you’re earning and where it’s being spent over a specific period, typically a month or a year. This statement provides valuable insights into how you are managing your cash resources, enabling you to understand your spending patterns and make better financial decisions.

A personal cash flow statement records cash inflows and outflows during a specific period. Think of it as a story of your personal finances from a cash perspective, showing you where your money came from (inflows), where it went (outflows), and the net difference between the two. If your inflows exceed your outflows, then you’ll have a positive cash flow. Conversely, if your outflows exceed your inflows, then you’ll have a negative cash flow.

For example, let’s say your monthly cash inflows (salary, freelance work, etc.) are $5,000, and cash outflows (rent, utilities, groceries, etc.) amount to $3,200. In this scenario, your personal cash flow statement for that month would show a surplus of $1800, money you can put towards savings, investment, or other financial goals.

A personal cash flow statement typically consists of two main sections: cash inflows and cash outflows, which can be further divided into various categories and subcategories.

When creating a personal cash flow statement, it is essential to break down your cash inflows and outflows into different line items that track your income sources and expenditures. This detailed breakdown provides a clearer view of your financial situation, helping you identify potential areas for savings or producing additional income.

Let’s briefly examine the typical structure of a personal cash flow statement.

Cash Inflows

“Cash inflows” is the first section on a personal cash flow statement; it covers all the money that comes into your possession during a specific period, usually monthly or yearly. These inflows can include your salary, bonuses, dividends from investments, rental income, money received from selling assets, gifts, or any other sources of income. Essentially, any money you receive or earn is a cash inflow.

Cash Inflows are typically grouped into three categories: earned income, passive income, and other income. Let’s briefly examine the types of cash inflows that fall under each category.

Earned Income

“Earned Income” is the first category under the “Cash Inflows” category. It covers any money you earn by providing a service, working a job, or running a business. 

Common types of income under this category include the following:

• Salary/Wages: This line item covers your primary income source, typically earned through employment or self-employment. This is generally the largest portion of your income.
• Bonus/Commissions: This line item includes any additional income from your primary employment beyond your salary or wages.
• Business Income: If you have a side business or gig, such as freelance work or a small online business, include the gross income (i.e., income after business-related expenses are deducted) under this subcategory. For example, if you have a freelance business and earn $10,000 monthly but have $2,000 in business-related expenses (such as advertising, supplies, etc.), you would record $8,000 ($10,000 – $2,000) under this subcategory.

Passiv e Income

“Passive Income” is the second category under the “Cash Inflows” section, and it highlights any cash you earn without active, ongoing effort after the initial groundwork or setup. This category typically contains the following subcategories:

• Investment Income: This subcategory accounts for stock dividends, bond interest payments, rental property income, or any other income you earn from your investments. For example, if you own 100 shares in a company that pays $1 in dividends per share quarterly, you would receive $100 every quarter. This $100 would be recorded under this subcategory.
• Non-Investment Passive Income: This subcategory covers any income from passive ventures or endeavors where capital investment isn’t the primary driver, such as royalties from intellectual property and ad revenue from websites, blogs, or YouTube channels.

Oth er Income

“Other Income” is the third category under the “Cash Inflows” section, and it includes any other money you receive that doesn’t fall under the categories of earned or passive income. Typical subcategories under this category include the following:

• Asset Sales: If you’ve sold any assets like cars, furniture, investments, etc., the cash generated from these sales would be recorded under this subcategory. For example, if you sold a car for $10,000, this amount would be recorded under the “Sale of Assets” subcategory. Similarly, if you sold shares of stock for a total of $5,000, this amount would also be recorded here.
• Miscellaneous Income: This subcategory tracks all miscellaneous income sources like alimony, child support, social security income, lottery winnings, gifts, and inheritance. For example, if you received $500 as a reimbursement from your employer for work-related expenses, $200 as a refund from a returned purchase, and $50 as cashback from your credit card, you would record these amounts under this subcategory.

Cash Outflows

“Cash outflows” is the second section on a personal cash flow statement, and it represents all the money you spend during a specified period, typically monthly or yearly. These outflows include expenses such as rent or mortgage payments, utility bills, groceries, transportation costs, loan repayments, and entertainment. 

Essentially, any money you spend is a cash outflow, and unlike cash inflows, which increase your available funds, cash outflows reduce them. Let’s briefly examine the types of cash outflows that fall under this section.

Ess ential Expenses

“Essential Expenses” is the first category under the “Cash Outflows” section. It tracks all necessary costs you incur to maintain your basic standard of living. In other words, this category covers every cash you spend on needs rather than wants. Another way to think about essential expenses is that they are cash you need to spend to survive and function in society. Common types of expenses under this category include the following:

• Housing: This subcategory covers your mortgage or rent payments, maintenance, property tax, and renters’ insurance, among other housing-related costs. If you own a home, you will have property tax expenses; if you rent, you may have renters’ insurance. Accounting for these variations makes your cash outflows more accurate.
• Utilities: This subcategory accounts for basic services vital to everyday living, such as electricity, gas, water, sewer, trash, internet service, and phone bills.
• Food: This subcategory typically includes groceries and other essential food-related expenses, like school lunches for children or meals for elderly family members.
• Transportation: This subcategory highlights car payments, gas, insurance, maintenance, public transit, ride-share costs, vehicle registration, tolls, parking, and all other transportation-related expenses. 
• Healthcare: This subcategory covers health insurance premiums, out-of-pocket medical costs, prescriptions, alternative therapies, health supplements, and all other healthcare-related expenses. 
• Education: This subcategory includes tuition, textbooks, online courses, professional development, workshops, seminars, conferences, school supplies for kids, tutoring, educational software, and other education-related expenses. 
• Essential Personal Care: This subcategory includes clothing, personal grooming, dental care, cosmetics, skincare, and other personal care-related expenses. 
• Child Care/Support: This subcategory covers child care costs, school fees, child support payments, and other related expenses. 
• Insurance: This subcategory spotlights life insurance, disability insurance, and other insurance-related expenses. 
• Taxes Paid: This subcategory covers any additional tax payments you may make, such as estimated tax payments, that are not automatically deducted from your income. 
• Miscellaneous Essential Expenses: This subcategory covers essential expenses that don’t fit into the preceding subcategories. These include prescription glasses or contacts, special dietary needs, home safety equipment, professional licensing or certification fees, alimony payments, bank fees, etc.

Non-Essential Expenses

“Non-Essential Expenses” is the second category under the “Cash Outflows” section. All expenses that aren’t necessary for your survival or basic comfort but contribute to your lifestyle and happiness fall under this category. These expenses are typically optional and can be reduced or eliminated if necessary. Common types of non-essential expenses under this category include the following:

• Dining and Entertainment: This subcategory covers cash spent on meals, snacks, and beverages from restaurants, cafes, takeout, and delivery services.
• Luxuries: This subcategory includes any cash spent on things like jewelry, high-end electronics, designer clothing, etc.
• Non-Essential Personal Care: This subcategory accounts for expenses that are not necessary for maintaining basic health and hygiene. These expenses include spa and massage treatments, luxury cosmetics and skincare, tanning, etc.
• Leisure and Entertainment: This subcategory includes a wide range of expenses like gym memberships, subscriptions (like Netflix, Spotify, club memberships, etc.), hobbies, vacations, cultural events, theater, concerts, etc. 
• Miscellaneous Non-Essential Expenses: This subcategory accounts for all the expenses that are not crucial for your survival, basic comfort, or regular lifestyle but don’t fit into any existing non-essential expenses subcategories. These include gifts, donations, decor, special occasions, pet-related expenses, books, magazines, etc.

Non-Recurring Expenses

“Non-Recurring Expenses” is the third category under the “Cash Outflows” section. It accounts for essential or non-essential expenses that don’t occur regularly or predictably and don’t fit under preceding categories and subcategories. For example, acquisition of assets, legal fees, or any unexpected expenses like family emergencies. Common types of non-recurring expenses under this category include the following:

• Assets Acquisition: If you’ve bought assets like property, vehicles, or other large purchases, the cash used for these acquisitions would be recorded under this subcategory. 
• Property Loss: Expenses related to replacing lost or stolen property not covered by insurance, such as replacing stolen electronics, furniture, or other valuable items, can be recorded here.
• Family Emergencies: Expenses related to unexpected family emergencies, such as travel costs for a family member’s funeral or medical emergency, can be recorded here.

Debt Payments

“Debt Payments” is the fourth category under the “Cash Outflows” section. Any money used to repay the principal and interest on your debts is recorded under this category.

“Savings” is the fifth category under the “Cash Outflows” section. It tracks whatever income is set aside for future use, such as an emergency fund, retirement, or specific financial goals. Common line items under this category include goal-specific savings, emergency funds, retirement accounts, etc.

Investments

“Investments” is the sixth category under the “Cash Outflows” section. It covers any money used to purchase assets with the expectation that they will generate a return in the future. Line items commonly recorded under this category include stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, start-up investments, etc.

Calculating your net cash flow is the final step in creating your personal cash flow statement. Net cash flow is the figure you get after subtracting your total cash outflows from your total cash inflows. It’s a vital indicator of your financial liquidity. You can calculate this figure using the following formula: 

• Net Cash Flow = Total Cash Inflows – Total Cash Outflows

To illustrate how to calculate net cash flow, let’s consider the following example. Assume your total cash inflows, which include your salary of $4,000, investment income of $500, and other income sources of $500, come to $5,000 per month. And your total cash outflows, encompassing costs such as housing ($1,500), food ($500), transportation ($400), personal expenses ($400), and debt repayments ($900), sum up to $3,700 per month. In this case, your net cash flow would be:

• Net Cash Flow = $5,000 (Inflows) – $3,700 (Outflows) = $1,300

Your net cash flow is $1,300 in this scenario, indicating a positive cash flow. This means you earn more than you spend, leaving you with excess cash that can be used for savings, investments, or reducing debt.

Interpreting your net cash flow involves understanding what the number means for your financial health. A positive net cash flow indicates a healthy financial situation where you live within your means and have leftover income to allocate towards savings, investments, or debt repayments. This is generally an ideal financial position to be in.

Conversely, if your net cash flow is negative, you spend more than you earn. A negative net cash flow could be due to one-time large expenses or indicate a pattern of overspending. If it’s the former, this may not pose a long-term issue, but if it’s the latter, you may need to reassess your budget and spending habits. Creating a detailed budget, tracking your expenses, and identifying areas where you can cut back or increase your income can help turn a negative net cash flow into a positive one.

To summarize, your net cash flow reveals whether you’re living within your means or overspending. It can serve as a wake-up call to adjust your spending habits or as a green light that you’re on track with your financial plans.

Creating a personal cash flow statement is more than just a financial exercise; it can help you develop a roadmap to your financial freedom. Whether you’re struggling with budgeting, debt, or planning for the future, a personal cash flow statement can provide invaluable insights. Here are some of the key benefits you unlock when you create a personal cash flow statement:

Regularly updating and reviewing your personal cash flow statement not only helps you keep tabs on your financial situation but also increases your awareness of your spending habits. For example, regularly reviewing your personal cash flow statement might help you notice that you’re consistently spending $100 monthly on takeout. Noting this pattern is the first step toward deciding whether this is an area where you can and should cut back.

Interestingly, as you regularly review your personal cash statement, you will become more conscious of your spending decisions in real time, not just when you review your statement.

Enhanced Budgeting

A personal cash flow statement can help you create a more detailed and practical budget by identifying exactly where your money is going. And with a comprehensive cash flow statement, you can easily spot areas where you may need to cut back on your expenses or allocate more funds.

For instance, let’s say you notice that your grocery bill has increased significantly over the last six months. You can delve deeper to understand why and adjust your budget or behavior accordingly. You may decide to allocate more funds to your grocery budget for the following months or find ways to reduce grocery expenses. This real-time feedback loop is invaluable for effective budget management.

Set Achievable Financial Goals

By highlighting your disposable income or the money left over after all cash outflows have been accounted for, a personal cash flow statement can help you set realistic financial goals, both short-term and long-term. This way, you’re not just aiming mindlessly but setting achievable targets.

For instance, if your cash flow statement reveals that you have $300 left each month after essential expenses, setting a goal to save $500 a month would be unrealistic and could leave you frustrated. On the other hand, a realistic goal based on your actual disposable income, such as saving 20% ($60) monthly, can improve your financial self-esteem and encourage you to maintain or improve your financial habits.

Evidently, setting achievable goals not only improves your financial self-esteem but also leads to a sense of accomplishment that motivates you to set and achieve more financial goals.

Effective Debt Management

Effective debt management is critical to eliminating liabilities within the shortest possible time to avoid unnecessary interest payments. A well-structured cash flow statement can reveal non-essential expenses you could cut back on or eliminate to free up funds to fast-track your debt repayment.

Consider this scenario: After creating a monthly cash flow statement, you notice spending $200 on gourmet coffee and $150 on streaming services. Making coffee at home and canceling a few subscriptions could free up $350 monthly or $4,200 annually!

When redirected to your credit card debt, this surplus can significantly reduce your outstanding balance and the interest you’d otherwise accrue, fast-tracking your path to being debt-free. Similar savings can be spotted in areas like dining out, unused gym memberships, or impulse online purchases.

Remember, staying disciplined with your repayment strategy is vital to managing and eliminating debt. Timely repayments free you from debt faster and improve your credit score, opening doors for better financial opportunities in the future.

Deeper Financial Analysis

The insights a personal cash flow statement provides are not limited to tracking income and expenses. By using your cash flow data, you can easily calculate key personal financial ratios. An example of these ratios is the debt-to-income ratio, calculated by dividing total monthly debt payments by total income.

Personal financial ratios are more than just numbers. Despite popular misconceptions, they are performance indicators that can help anyone gauge their financial health and make informed decisions. For example, lenders consider a debt-to-income ratio higher than 0.36 as a red flag. Your ratio exceeding this threshold may result in higher interest rates on loans or make it challenging to secure credit. In such a situation, it’s prudent, therefore, to reduce existing debt before attempting to take on additional debt.

By creating and regularly updating your cash flow statement, you can actively monitor these ratios, spot trends, and make adjustments to reach financial goals more effectively.

While a personal cash flow statement is invaluable for understanding your finances, it has limitations, which, when recognized, can lead to a more accurate interpretation of your data. Here are a few limitations to remember when analyzing a personal cash flow statement.

Doesn't Reflect Future Commitments

A cash flow statement primarily captures present transactions and doesn’t account for upcoming financial obligations like loan repayments or planned investments. For instance, if you’ve recently agreed to a car lease or plan to enroll in a long-term course next year, these commitments won’t appear in your current statement, potentially underestimating future expenses. You can neutralize this limitation by creating a forward-looking budget alongside your cash flow statement.

Doesn't Reflect Total Wealth

A cash flow statement won’t reflect the value of assets such as your home, car, investments, or savings, thus not fully representing your wealth. A balance sheet, on the other hand, provides a snapshot of your assets, liabilities, and net worth, offering a comprehensive view of your overall wealth. As such, it’s important to use your cash flow statement together with a balance sheet to get a complete picture of your current financial health.

Potential for Missed Expenditures

It’s easy to overlook some expenses, especially smaller or infrequent ones, which can make your cash flow statement inaccurate. One way to mitigate this limitation is by meticulously tracking all cash outflows, no matter how small. You can do this by using an expense tracking app, keeping all receipts, or reviewing bank statements.

Provide a Snapshot of a Specific Period

A personal cash flow statement only provides a snapshot of your cash inflows and outflows for a specific period, typically a month or a year. It does not reflect changes in your financial situation over time. For instance, if you faced a significant medical expense in January and then maintained a strict budget for the next few months, a cash flow statement for April might not reflect the financial strain you experienced at the start of the year. To track your financial progress, you need to regularly update and review your cash flow statement and compare it with previous periods.

Understanding your cash flow is essential for managing your finances effectively. A personal cash flow statement enables you to identify patterns, plan for the future, and make informed financial decisions. However, to get the most out of your personal cash flow statement, you need to be diligent in its creation and usage. Here are some pro tips for creating and using a personal cash flow statement effectively:

Record Everything

Record all inflows and outflows, no matter how small, to make your cash flow as accurate as possible. Even minor discrepancies can lead to an inaccurate picture of your financial health. For example, small expenses like daily coffee or occasional parking fees are often overlooked. However, a $5 daily coffee adds up to $150 monthly and $1,825 yearly. Assuming your yearly expenses amount to $36,000, you underreport your expenses by ~5% every year.

Use Accurate Time Frames

Make sure the time frame for your cash flow statement matches the time frame for your budget and financial goals. A monthly cash flow statement is appropriate for most people because many expenses and income sources occur on a monthly basis. However, if you have significant irregular expenses or variable income, you may need to review and update your cash flow statement more frequently, such as weekly or bi-weekly.

Be Specific

When noting your expenses, avoid grouping them into overly broad categories to understand your spending patterns better. For example, instead of vaguely listing $150 for “utilities,” you could break it down: $50 for “electricity,” $40 for “water,” $30 for “internet,” and $30 for “gas.” Such granularity can reveal surprising spending habits, like unusually high water cost that prompts leak checks or water conservation efforts.

However, it’s also crucial not to overwhelm your cash flow statement with excessive detail. Excessive details can clutter your statement, making it harder to identify overall trends or patterns quickly. For example, instead of listing “Netflix,” “Hulu,” and “Disney+” separately, group them under “Streaming Services”. The goal is to find a categorization balance that ensures your cash flow statement remains streamlined yet insightful, setting the stage for well-informed financial decisions.

Distinguish Between Essential and Non-Essential Expenses

Distinguishing between essential and non-essential expenses helps you identify areas to cut costs. Essential expenses are the basic costs incurred to maintain a safe and healthy living standard; they cover the fundamental needs required to live and work in modern society. Such expenses include groceries, housing, healthcare, utilities, and transportation. On the other hand, non-essential expenses are costs that enhance your life but aren’t vital for your basic survival. Dining out, vacations, luxury shopping, streaming services, etc., are non-essential expenses.

Note that essential expenses can differ based on individual circumstances and lifestyles. For example, if you work from home, high-speed internet becomes a necessity, whereas someone without remote work might view it as a luxury. It’s essential to recognize that what’s necessary for one person might be a luxury for another. Tailor your cash flow statement to reflect your unique needs and priorities.

Plan for Emergencies

Always ensure that you maintain a financial buffer for emergencies and unexpected expenses. Aim to set aside at least 3-6 months’ worth of living expenses in an easily accessible account. This duration is often optimal as it provides adequate coverage for scenarios like unexpected job losses, sudden medical bills, or major home repairs.

Keep your emergency fund in a high-yield savings account, where your money remains readily accessible and earns interest. You might also consider diversifying your emergency fund by putting a portion in money market accounts or short-term certificates of deposit for potentially higher returns.

Review and Adjust Regularly

Your cash flow statement is a dynamic document that should be reviewed and updated regularly. Regular updates help you stay on top of your finances and make necessary adjustments promptly. Update your cash flow statement as regularly as possible. Monthly updates are standard, but you may want to update more infrequently if your inflows and outflows rarely change.

Identify Areas for Cost Reduction

Make it a habit to regularly review your cash flow statement to pinpoint areas where you can trim expenses. If, for instance, you notice a significant portion of your money goes into dining out, consider cooking at home more often to reduce costs. Similarly, evaluate monthly subscriptions to see if there are any you no longer utilize, or consider cheaper alternatives to recurring expenses, ensuring every dollar is spent wisely.

Identify Opportunities to Increase Income

Review your cash flow statement regularly to identify opportunities for increasing your income. This could include asking for a raise, starting a side hustle, or investing in income-generating assets. For instance, if you have a skill like graphic design, you could begin freelancing and taking on small projects in your free time. Alternatively, investing in income-generating assets like dividend stocks or real estate can also increase your income.

Set Realistic Goals

Setting achievable goals for savings, investments, and debt repayment is crucial. For example, if your monthly income is $3,000, setting a goal to save $1,500 monthly may be unrealistic after accounting for all other expenses. Always consider all your essential expenses before setting aside a savings goal.

Use Technology

Using a financial tracking app or software can help you keep track of expenses and minimize omissions. Many apps like Mint, YNAB, Spendee, and PocketGuard offer features that can help you track your expenses, set budgets, and monitor your investments. Look for an app that allows you to categorize your expenses, set alerts for overspending, and provide a visual representation of your financial health.

Pair With Balance Sheet

Your personal cash flow statement is one part of your financial profile. Pairing it with a balance sheet provides more accurate insights into your financial status, allowing you to identify areas of vulnerability, such as looming debts, and opportunities, like potential investments.

By tracking your monthly net cash flow statement from the cash flow statement and your net worth from the balance sheet, you can strategically plan for future investments, debt repayments, and savings. For instance, if your cash flow statement shows a consistent surplus each month, but your balance sheet reveals high-interest debt, it might be wise to allocate some surplus towards that debt reduction.

Feel free to seek assistance from a financial advisor or planner if creating and managing your cash flow statement seems overwhelming. While a financial advisor can be helpful for anyone, it is especially beneficial for those with more complex financial situations, such as multiple income streams, significant debts, or an extensive investment portfolio. For example, if you have $20,000 in credit card debt, a financial planner can help you develop a plan to pay it off within a realistic timeframe.

Meet Sarah, a 24-year-old recent graduate who has just started her first job as a graphic designer in a reputable advertising agency. Now, with a steady income and eager to start on the right financial footing, she has decided to create a personal balance sheet to gain insight into her financial health.

Sarah has some student loans, a personal loan she took for a family emergency, has been using a credit card for daily expenses, and is living in a rented apartment. Although she had saved some money from part-time jobs during college, she’s unsure how her assets measure up against her debts. She aims to clear her debts, invest more, and contribute more to her retirement fund.

After reading this comprehensive guide on personal financial statements, Sarah decided to create a personal balance sheet to understand her financial status clearly and develop a financial plan.

Creating the Personal Balance Sheet

Sarah sets aside a weekend to organize her financial documents, online accounts, and other financial information to compile a comprehensive list of her assets and liabilities. She then begins by listing all her assets and liabilities meticulously.

LIQUID ASSETS

• Checking Account: $3,200
• Savings Account: $5,500
• Total Liquid Assets: $9,000

NON-LIQUID ASSETS

• Retirement Account (401k): $1,000 (from her new job)
• Investment Portfolio (a diversified set of index funds): $2,700 
• Car: $10,000 (current market value)
• Total Non-Liquid Assets: $13,700
• Total Assets: $22,700

LIABILITIES

SHORT-TERM LIABILITIES

• Credit Card Debt (20.93% annual percentage rate): $2,500
• Utility Bills (monthly): $200
• Personal Loan from a Friend (to be repaid within a year): $1,000
• Total Short-Term Liabilities: $3,700

LONG-TERM LIABILITIES

• Student Loans (10-year loan term; 6% fixed interest rate): $25,000
• Car Loan (7-year loan term; 9% annual percentage rate): $8,000
• Total Long-Term Liabilities = $33,000
• Total Liabilities = $36,700
• Net Worth = -$14,000

Interpretation and Action

Upon analyzing her Personal Balance Sheet, Sarah finds herself with a negative net worth, largely because of her student and car loans. She decides to take the following actions:

• Credit Card Payoff: Prioritize paying off her credit card debt first, as it has the highest interest rate (20.93%), and then pay off the car loan next, since it has the second-highest interest rate (9%). To achieve this, she decided to allocate 60% more of her monthly disposable income towards paying off the credit card debt. 
• Student Loan: Since her student loan has a low single-digit interest rate, Sarah figures there’s no pressing need to rush clearing her student loan. Maintaining her current monthly payment is more financially prudent, especially since student loan interest payments are tax deductible. However, she also knows paying off the loan earlier can save her some interest payments. For that reason, she plans to increase her student loan payments if she gets a chance to do so.
• Emergency Savings: Sarah understands the importance of having an emergency fund. Hence, she decides to save 20% of her disposable income each month until she accumulates a year’s worth of living expenses.
• Retirement Planning: Continue contributing to her 401k to take advantage of her employer’s match and the power of compound interest. 
• Investing: Sarah decides to postpone increasing her investment allocation until she has paid off her credit card debt. She understands that it will be challenging to generate real investment returns, seeing as the interest rate on credit card debt exceeds her portfolio’s annualized return.
• Cash Flow Statement: Create a detailed personal cash flow statement to monitor her income and expenses. Doing so will help her identify expenses she can cut back on and allocate more funds toward her debt repayment and savings goals.

Benefits Sarah Gained from Creating a Personal Balance Sheet

• Increased Financial Awareness: By creating her personal balance sheet, Sarah became more aware of her financial situation, which helped her to make informed financial decisions. She decided to prioritize paying off her credit card debt, postpone increasing her investment allocation until her high-interest debts were paid off, and start building an emergency fund. This heightened awareness also reduced her anxiety about her finances and increased her confidence in achieving her financial goals.
• Snapshot of Financial Health: The balance sheet provided Sarah with an overall view of her financial status, revealing that her liabilities significantly exceeded her assets. Her negative net worth was a clear signal that she needed to focus on debt reduction and savings. Identifying this financial weakness allowed her to create a targeted plan to improve her financial health.
• Financial Progress Tracking: By regularly updating her personal balance sheet, Sarah can monitor her wealth over time and see if she is progressing toward her financial goals. For example, as she pays off her debts, she will see a reduction in her liabilities and an increase in her net worth.
• Financial Planning: Creating the personal balance sheet enabled Sarah to begin creating a financial plan. She was able to set realistic goals for saving and debt repayment, giving her a structured path forward. 
• Advanced Financial Analytics: Creating a personal balance sheet made it easier for Sarah to calculate and track important personal financial ratios. For example, she could calculate her debt-to-asset ratio and use this information to make informed decisions about debt repayment and borrowing.

Limitations Sarah Overcame

• Doesn’t Show Cash Flow: While the personal balance sheet provided a snapshot of her financial situation, it did not show her cash flow. Recognizing this limitation, Sarah decided to create a detailed personal cash flow statement to monitor her income and expenses. Doing so would help her identify areas where she could cut back and allocate more funds toward her debt repayment and savings goals.
• Fluctuating Values: Sarah understood that the values of assets and liabilities could fluctuate over time. To mitigate this limitation, she decided to update her balance sheet every quarter to ensure that it always reflected her current financial situation. 
• Dependency on Accurate Data: Any oversights or inaccuracies could paint an incomplete picture of Sarah’s financial status, potentially leading her to make ill-informed decisions. To overcome this limitation, she meticulously included every asset and liability, no matter how small, and validated the values by checking her bank statements, credit card statements, investment account statements, and other financial records. Additionally, she used financial management apps to automatically pull and consolidate data, further enhancing the accuracy of her balance sheet.
• Subjective Asset Valuation: Knowing that misvaluing her assets can make her balance sheet inaccurate, Sarah used the current market value for her car and checked the most recent statements for her savings and investment accounts.

Pro Tips Sarah Followed

• Regular Updates: Sarah set a reminder to update her Personal Balance Sheet every quarter to track her financial growth and to recalibrate her plans as needed.
• Be Thorough: Sarah included all her assets and liabilities, no matter how small, to ensure her balance sheet was comprehensive.
• Accurate Valuation: As mentioned earlier, Sarah made sure to use the current market value for her car and checked the most recent statements for her savings and investment accounts.

Creating a personal balance sheet was a transformative experience for Sarah. The exercise gave her the information and motivation she needed to take control of her financial future. It provided her with a clear and comprehensive view of her financial situation, enabling her to create a targeted plan to improve her financial health.

Before creating her balance sheet, Sarah often felt overwhelmed by the abstract notion of “net worth” and “financial health.” But after this exercise, these abstract worries solidified into tangible numbers and action points.

Though she started with a negative net worth, Sarah now has a roadmap for eliminating debts and increasing her assets. With a clear roadmap in place, she is now confident in her ability to manage her finances effectively and work towards a secure financial future. This is all thanks to the simple yet enlightening exercise of creating and maintaining her personal balance sheet.

Having already evaluated her net worth via her Personal Balance Sheet, Sarah recognized the importance of tracking her monthly income and expenses. She knows that understanding her cash flows will help her stay on course with her financial goals.

As a recent graduate thrust into the real world with her first job, Sarah was determined not to succumb to the all-too-familiar pitfalls of unchecked spending and minimal savings. Earning a consistent paycheck ($4,500) and living by herself means she has inflows and outflows to monitor closely. And with goals like repaying debts, building an emergency fund, and future investments in mind, it became clear to Sarah that she needed a comprehensive tool to keep tabs on her money.

Creating the Personal Cash Flow Statement

Taking another weekend, Sarah organizes her bank statements, pay stubs, bills, expense-tracking app printouts, and receipts she has accumulated over the past month to compile an accurate cash flow statement. She then begins listing down all sources of cash inflow and outflow.

CASH INFLOWS

• Base Salary from Advertising Agency: $3,420 (after a 24% tax deduction)

FREELANCE INCOME

• Graphic Design Projects: $996

INVESTMENT RETURNS

• Dividends from Index Funds: $35

NON-INVESTMENT PASSIVE INCOME

• Affiliate Marketing from Personal Design Blog: $236
• Ad Revenue from Personal Design Blog: $112
• Sale of Old Laptop: $300
• Total Cash Inflows: $5,099

CASH OUTFLOWS

ESSENTIAL EXPENSES

• Rent: $1,200
• Groceries: $300
• Utilities: $200 (including electricity, water, and internet)
• Gas (for transportation): $120
• Health Insurance (deducted from her salary): $120
• Car Insurance: $90
• Personal Care (haircuts, toiletries): $60
• Public Transportation: $50
• Total Essential Expenses: $2,140

NON-ESSENTIAL EXPENSES

• Dining Out: $250
• Miscellaneous Purchases: $100
• Gym Membership: $50
• Streaming Services (Netflix, Spotify): $25
• Total Non-Essential Expenses: $475

DEBT PAYMENTS

• Student Loan Repayment: $300
• Car Loan Payment: $200
• Credit Card Minimum Payment: $100
• Personal Loan from a Friend: $100
• Total Debt Payments: $700
• Savings Account Contribution: $500
• 401k Contribution: $225 (5% of her gross salary)
• Total Savings: $775
• Investment into Index Funds: $200
• Total Investments: $200
• Total Cash Outflows: $4,140
• Net Cash Flow: $959

Upon completing her personal cash flow statement, Sarah is relieved to see a positive net cash flow of $959. This positive net cash flow means she’s living within her means and has a surplus after paying all monthly obligations.

However, she recognized that $300 of the surplus was from a one-time sale of her old laptop—an irregular form of income. This meant that her consistent net cash flow was actually $659—give or take a couple of dollars due to the unpredictable nature of her non-investment passive income.

With this in mind, she decided to further allocate her net cash flow towards:

• Caution with Irregular Income: She decided not to rely on her asset sale for recurring monthly expenses. Instead, she’d treat such irregular income as a bonus. 
• Debt Acceleration: In a bid to reduce high-interest liabilities faster, Sarah allocated an additional $395.40 (or 60% of her monthly disposable income) from her regular surplus towards her credit card debt, increasing the monthly payments to $495.40. By so doing, she will pay off the debt within five months, as long as she doesn’t incur any more credit card debt.
• Emergency Fund Boost: After accounting for the credit card payment, she decides to save an extra $131.80 (20% of $659) from her regular surplus to her emergency fund, bolstering her financial safety net. 
• Personal Loan Payoff Strategy: Remembering the personal loan she took for a family emergency, she committed to allocating 20% of her monthly disposable income to repay it faster. This would amount to $131.80 (20% of $659) every month, in addition to the $100 she currently pays, taking the total monthly payment to $231.80. Sticking to this payment strategy will help her pay off the loan within five months, as opposed to the initial ten.
• Non-Essential Expenditures Review: Sarah observed that her dining out expenses were relatively high. So, she decided to reduce it by $100 (40%) and divert that amount towards her student loan repayment. Doing so will help her pay off the loan three years earlier and save $2,868 in interest payments.
• Car Loan: Sarah realized that by paying $200 monthly, she was already on track to pay off her car loan within four years, three years earlier than her loan term, saving $1,270 in potential interest payments.
• Passive Income : Seeing the success of her personal design blog, Sarah considered investing more time to increase her advertising and affiliate marketing income.

Benefits Sarah Gained From Creating a Personal Cash Flow Statement

• Enhanced Financial Awareness: Sarah better understood her financial status after creating her cash flow statement. This exercise helped her spot patterns, such as her monthly takeout habit, making her reconsider her spending decisions.
• Precise Goal Setting: Sarah found it easier to set financial targets once she knew her disposable income. This ensured she wasn’t setting herself up for failure but creating realistic and achievable financial objectives.
• Effective Debt Management: Completing the cash flow statement, Sarah was better poised to manage her multiple debts. Recognizing the prudence of paying off high-interest debts first, she drafted a strategic repayment plan, saving herself from additional interest accumulation.
• Temporary Snapshot: Sarah understands that the cash flow statement provides data for a specific period. Thus, she plans to review and update hers regularly to monitor financial changes over time.
• Wealth Indication: Aware that the cash flow statement doesn’t reflect total wealth, Sarah complements it with a personal balance sheet to gauge her overall financial health.
• Expenditure Accuracy: Sarah addresses the challenge of overlooked expenses by meticulously tracking every penny, often using financial tracking apps for accuracy.
• Regular Review: Sarah plans to diligently review her cash flow statement every month to ensure it’s updated and reflective of her current financial state. 
• Digital Assistance: Sarah uses expense-tracking apps to automatically categorize and track her inflows and outflows to streamline the process.
• Emergency Preparedness: Sarah maintains an emergency fund, understanding the unpredictability of life events.

Creating a personal cash flow statement was yet another financial eye-opener for Sarah. Just as the personal balance sheet had given her insight into her net worth, the cash flow statement offered her a clear view of her monthly financial activities. She could see where her money came from and where it was going, ensuring she wasn’t merely flying blind when managing her monthly expenses and income.

Sarah’s positive net cash flow is encouraging, and her decisions to accelerate debt repayment and consistently increase her savings demonstrate both proactiveness and foresight. Armed with the insights from her cash flow statement, she is now even more committed to fortifying her financial resilience, ensuring she is not just living for the present but is also well-prepared for the future.

Want a hassle-free way to monitor your finances? Download our free personal financial statement template. Easy to use and fully customizable—it’s everything you need to keep track of your assets, liabilities, and cash movements.

DOWNLOAD: Personal Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement Template

How to Use the Template

The template is a view-only file and can’t be edited. To use, click on “File” and then select “Make a copy.” This will get you a copy of the template that can be modified.

Don’t request edit access, please.

In today’s complex economy, tools like a personal balance sheet and a cash flow statement aren’t just nice to have—they’re essential for understanding and navigating your finances.

Think of the balance sheet as a still photo, capturing your assets and liabilities in one snapshot. It allows you to calculate your net worth and can highlight areas for improvement. In contrast, the cash flow statement is like a movie, illustrating the dynamic movement of your funds and providing insights into your liquidity and spending habits.

Individually, these statements offer valuable insights, such as revealing if you’re splurging too much on non-essentials or if debts are becoming unmanageable. Yet, when combined, they paint a comprehensive picture of your financial standing and habits. This dual perspective ensures you know your financial status and how your habits shape it.

As illustrated by the case studies, creating these financial statements is simple, especially with the templates provided in this guide. These templates simplify the process of creating these statements with their auto-calculating fields and intuitive categories. They guide you through the process, minimizing errors. Remember, keeping these statements updated is vital to ensuring you’re on track with your financial goals, be it budgeting, retirement planning, or merely gauging your fiscal health.

Feel free to work with a financial planner or advisor if you find it challenging to decipher and leverage insights from your financial statements. Not only can they assist you in understanding these statements, but they can also offer personalized strategies tailored to your unique financial situation. Beyond helping you interpret these statements, they can also advise on investments, tax planning, and other aspects of financial management that might be outside your comfort zone.

By understanding, creating, and maintaining these personal financial statements, you’ll have the tools to navigate your financial journey, align your financial habits with your goals, and build a secure financial future.

Remember, maintaining and reviewing these statements regularly is as important as their initial creation. As your financial situation evolves—like with a new job, added expenses, or changes in investments—your statements should reflect those shifts to offer accurate insights. So, watch those numbers, make wise choices, and remember—you’ve got this!

About the Author

Abolade Akinfenwa is a multi-certified finance professional. He’s certified as a Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA)®, Capital Markets & Securities Analyst (CMSA)®, Commercial Banking & Credit Analyst (CBCA)®, Financial Planning & Wealth Management Professional (FPWM)™, and FinTech Industry Professional (FTIP)™. With over three years of experience as a Financial Writer, Abolade specializes in helping finance professionals build authority and generate qualified leads for their services. Interested in collaborating or seeking insights? Connect with Abolade via LinkedIn or Twitter , or email him at [email protected] .

Recommended reading

• Assessing Your Financial Health: Top 22 Personal Financial Ratios
• How to Plan Your Finances Using the 50-30-20 Budgeting Rule (Plus Case Study and Free Template)

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Personal Statement of Purpose Finance and Accounting MSc

• Sample personal statement

28 July, 2022

Personal statement of purpose finance and accounting msc share.

• 12 May, 2013

With my deep interest, I want to pursue the course Finance and Accounting MSc at the University of Brighton because this course has access to modern computing facilities and specialist computing packages. And this course will provide me with the skills to make these investment decisions across various business areas. This degree will give me develop an in-depth knowledge of financial theory and practice, research methods, financial markets, financial accounting and management accounting. Moreover, I found this Finance and Accounting MSc will help me to specialise and meet the growing demand for finance professionals with strong research skills. I can also progress with or continue by studying for a Ph.D. I want to develop my career in this sector and the accounting and financial services sectors require a high level of understanding of theory and practice. And this MSc course can make me professional. I believe that this course will help me become professional and proficient in my future career.

Following my Intermediate and Secondary education from the Business Studies group, I completed my Bachelor’s degree major in Accounting in February 2022 from National University, Gazipur, Bangladesh. In my home country, there are many open places to develop a career in accountancy but they require a professional applicant. From this MSc course, I can meet the growing demand for finance professionals with strong research skills. So, I decided to complete my further higher studies by choosing this Finance and Accounting MSc at the University of Brighton. While studying, I was involved in various co- curricular activities to enrich my knowledge and skills. Attended and organized different types of seminars and workshops, participated in different voluntary services and activities, and actively participated. From my last education qualification, I have realized that I need to gain knowledge about business accounting and finance part as well as I want to grow my career in this area. I also have my English language concern and I attend a UKVI IELTS test where my overall band score is 6.0. I think I should gain more knowledge in the field so I decided to continue my further studies with this course. I am confident that my professional goal makes me a suitable candidate for the course.

By reviewing the university website, I have seen the course Finance and Accounting MSc at the University of Brighton is ideal preparation for continuing my studies at MPhil or Ph.D. level, also I will be able to work as a professional researcher in finance. The course will prepare me for a specific level of accounting and financial roles, accountancy firms, consultancies and finance departments in the private and public sectors. Studying in a simulated business environment will teach me to explore business practices from regulatory and risk management issues to how financial markets operate and what makes them crash. This course has been designed to help me develop the necessary skills to solve the financial accounting standards, complex business problems in recent facing situations. Modules on the course involve both taught sessions and guided independent study. The core module units include Economics of Financial Markets, Financial Theory and Practice, Research Methods for Finance and Economics, Dissertation or Work Placement Project. Mandatory specialism modules are- Contemporary Issues in Accounting, International Investment and Trading, Economics of Money, Interest Rates, Banking and Financial Institutions. Completion of my dissertation will teach me the undertake research leading to practicable recommendations based on sound analysis and judgment. All of these modules will help me to broaden my knowledge of accountancy understanding in an international context which will prepare me for my employment in an increasingly internationalized business world. Hopefully, I have been able to clear the purpose of my admission to the university. Moreover, during times of crisis, accountancy is seen as a stable profession. By completing this course, I will be able to work with reputed organisations in my home country ranging from accountancy, banking, financial management, and management consultancy. So, I believe this course will be the right choice for my career plans and objectives.

UK’s academic reputation is globally renowned and it is known that having a graduate degree from a UK university will definitely propel one’s career to a significant level. However, the study environment in my country follows the theoretical system of education which is quite different and no soft skills are acquired. The UK maintains a quality management system with high standards in all fields. In recent years, all companies in Bangladesh are emphasizing hiring of Bangladeshi graduates with degrees from abroad, as they see the transferrable skills carried forward from the international education will play a key role in transforming their approach to the business and believe these graduates are capable of doing so. The transferable skills from the UK are key to advancing graduates through organizational growth and gaining a competitive advantage. This reason attracted me to pursue a degree in the UK. A recent survey of International Graduation Results in 2019 produced by iGraduate by Universities UK International shows that 82% of international graduates say their UK degree is valuable for financial investment and a similar number of graduates say they are satisfied or very satisfied with their careers. About 83% think a UK degree has helped them get a job. These aspects have driven my ambition to get a degree from a UK institution.

University of Brighton is one of the re-known top universities in the UK. As my study destination is the UK and I wish to study at the University of Brighton, because it offers an experience that goes way beyond the classroom. Their core values are part of a dynamic, diverse and creative community that embraces partnership working and that makes a positive difference to society. From there, I will be able to gain real-world knowledge and transferable skills that employers look for in graduate recruits. And by the time I graduate, I’ll feel confident and fully prepared to start my career anywhere in the world. The university won a Silver Award in Teaching Excellence Framework, which means that the learning environment and the teaching I will receive are consistently better than the national requirements for UK Higher Education. The university has around 18,000 students and 2,400 staff studying and working at four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne. Also, according to Destination Leavers from Higher Education 2017-2018, 94% of University of Brighton graduates get engaged in work or further study within the first 6 months. I will also be able to make connections with local, national and international companies, as the university has links with over 1800 businesses, including Fujitsu, BT, Sky, Boots, IBM, and the NHS, while the university educates professionals from 90% of FTSE 100 companies. The university puts students on a fast track that is designed to get a postgraduate degree into faster employment with excellent career opportunities. Moreover, the University brings the workplace into classrooms so it will be beneficial for me to attain my personal career objectives by practicing in this type of learning environment. I am looking forward to studying and wish to experience all the opportunities the University of Brighton has to offer.

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Finance and Investment, Personal Statement Example

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The rapidly growing global economy is quickly evolving into a complex facet of the human race. It is has become essential that each and every country develops expertise and an in-depth comprehension of financial factors and aspects that play an integral part in the development and integration of a country’s economy into the globalized world economy. It has become essential for industrialized and growing economies to take into account the need for financial and economics in the management of government business and operations. This become more apparent with the advent of the most recent economic downturn and credit crunch that affected the entire world. The current nature and volatility of the financial markets has intrigued me as I seek to learn the workings of the financial markets and develop ways to read and predict movements of these markets. It is for this reason that I am applying for the undergraduate program in finance at Blank University . I seek the knowledge and skills on financial markets and instruments.

I have a rich educational background that include 9 grades of Russian middle school. During this time, I had a particular liking for numbers. This liking would soon develop into curiosity when I joined high school. I joined a Russian musical high school that taught its students to strive for excellence in all fields, in essence not only creating citizens, but flexible citizens who could fit into any area of expertise. After graduating from high school, I soon started HL Economics in IB as my curiosity in finance and economics grew.

I have also had experience in the financial field, a fete that I am particularly proud of. During one summer break, for a month I joined Sberbank. I was posted in the credit department where I was exposed to a number of tasks that amplified my interest in Finance. Some of the tasks included:

• analysis of financial reports of various contractor and groups of companies;
• drawing up of office memorandums for cases to be submitted to specialists of the Support Department
• calculation credit rating of companies using “AC”CRM – Corporate” software;
• preparation of requests of the credit division for fixing of credit limit to borrowers with the objective to hedge currency risks
• preparation of presentations for the credit committee together with the credit officer

Though my interest in Finance dates back to my time in high school when I had a knack for understanding the economics of savings and investments. The understanding of when and how to save came to intrigue me during my time with Sberbank. This is when I sought out literature by well renowned writers on financial issues. There were two books that most fascinated me.

The first book, “ Financial accounting for decision makers” by Peter Atrill and E J Mclaney gave me a comprehensive introduction in the manner and forms through which financial information and financial statements can be employed to enhance the decision making process for a company and/or government. The book uses MyAccountingLab to develop a companion guide that is friendly to the student, an online assessment and tutorial that is gaining popularity with scholars in the field of finance. The book helped learn ways to solve financial problems given different case scenarios, some of which utilized real-life information.

The other book, “ How the City of London Works: An introduction to Financial Markets ” by William M Clarke was particularly eye opening. While the first book looked at how financial information can be used to make good financial information, this book revealed the workings of financial institutions that exist in London’s financial markets. The book critically delves into the complexities of recent financial and economic developments like infrastructure and the Euro currency launch, looking at the financial implications and forces behind such developments.

Reading these books, I finally understood that finance was not only a liking but a passion that I had discovered. I believe that the field of finance is where I belong for it is in-line with my personality, interests and goal in life; to understand and develop mechanisms that would help understand the global financial market comprehensively.

I believe to graduate at Blank University to be challenging, demanding and in the long run, rewarding. I anticipate a rich and diverse intellectual and social experience that will allow me to grow as an individual and financial analyst. I hope I will be given the opportunity to accomplish this at Blank University .

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Sample Personal Statement of Investment Banking

by Talha Omer, MBA, M.Eng., Harvard & Cornell Grad

In personal statement samples by field.

The following personal statement is written by an applicant who got accepted to several top business schools in investment banking. Variations of this PS got accepted at U Chicago, UPenn and Columbia. Read this essay to understand what a top personal statement in investment banking should look like.

Example Personal Statement of Investment Banking

Through his  Hierarchy of Needs , Maslow delineates human desire and struggle to attain a state where one realizes maximum potential; for some, this maximum may not have any limit. Fulfillment of basic needs drives a desire to meet advanced needs. My parents contributed significantly to fulfilling my basic physiological and security requirements. Educational accomplishments became a source of boosting my self-esteem, and two years of professional experience filled with numerous learning opportunities added to it. So far, I have mostly been at the receiving end. Moving further, I want to give back to society. For this purpose, I need to equip myself better and broaden my exposure, and there cannot be a better way of doing so than through the medium of education.

In Brazil, SMEs employ 80 percent of the total non-agricultural labor force and contribute 40 percent of the country’s real GDP. However, financial constraints on SMEs, such as low access to formal financial sources, result in suboptimal utilization. SMEs need to realize their maximum growth potential. Despite efforts to increase this sector’s financial accessibility, only 6% of the SMEs in the country get their financing requirements through traditional sources. This forces them to resort to informal but exploitative means of finance. This bankrupt credit system of Brazil is ripe for some creative disruption, and that’s what I plan to do after my Master’s.

Four years of experience in the banking industry has exposed me to its major functions. While working for the credit department of a commercial bank, I was acquainted with the skewed distribution of loans. This, in turn, results in the financial exclusion of some essential country segments. The corporate sector’s share in the credit is 66% compared to a mere 8% for SMEs; this is ironic since these enterprises represent 90 percent of the total firms operating in the country. High transaction costs, broken regulatory frameworks, and information asymmetries are some factors that increase the associated risk, resulting in indifference toward SMEs by financial institutions. Innovation in financial products and the development of risk mitigation strategies can help enhance this sector’s financial inclusion.

The financial markets in Brazil need more depth, specifically for SMEs, as banks are this sector’s primary formal source of finance. Alternative financing options in the form of equity markets, venture capital, crowdfunding, etc., are either nonexistent or at a nascent stage. Thus, there is significant room for innovation in designing financing solutions for SMEs in Brazil. In addition, enhanced financial inclusion is accompanied by a greater risk to financial stability. The associated risks must be identified and managed to maintain a balance between the two. To contribute towards this area, I need to pursue a finance degree focusing on Financial Markets/Portfolio & Risk Management. An advanced education will help me explore various financial models and tools available and familiarize myself with a risk evaluation and mitigation strategies.

Using my four years of banking experience, I can grasp advanced knowledge from the perspective of the challenges faced by Brazil. Upon my return home, I want to be part of the institutions continuously working on developing and improving the financial system for the country’s underserved sectors. Therefore, I will resume my job with my current employer, where my upgraded knowledge will help me design better policies based on market demand and international best practices. In addition, different multilateral institutions like ADB and WB are closely coordinating with Brazil’s central bank to improve the country’s financial inclusion. Therefore, my qualifications could be utilized effectively in these institutions as well.

Limited access to finance by SMEs is also a constraint in the US, specifically post the financial crisis of 2008. However, the US offers relatively greater financing avenues for SMEs as these entities are not entirely reliant on banking credit. Moreover, the US has adopted higher risk management and supervisory standards since the financial crisis has made it costly and less attractive for the banking industry to lend to this sector. In this regard, offering financing solutions to SMEs while maintaining financial stability is one of the challenges. Moreover, developing new optimal financing models to improve the flow of credit to SMEs is considered an important area in the US.

In addition, the cultural exposure I would gain through this experience would allow me to grow as a person and explore and appreciate a lifestyle different from my own. This training would prepare me for new experiences, opinions, and viewpoints – crucial to my area of interest. Developing financial markets for SMEs requires acknowledging this sector to be different from the conventional corporate credit market.

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Personal Statement for Msc Finance

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Hi guys, can anyone give me some advice on how to write a good personal statement and what do they look for?

Masters In Finance Personal Statement

Your personal statement for your Masters in Finance should tell a story. People relate to stories and remember them. It needs to be a story that shows you in a good light and displays your strengths. It must not be dull. You want to find a way to make it stand out while keeping it simple.

User @IlliniProgrammer suggests:

How did you get where you are now? Why do you want to study finance? What do you bring to the table at XYZ University? What do you need at XYZ University? Now that you've answered the questions honestly, remember that your personal statement is a marketing document. You need to the tell the truth and nothing but the truth, but you don't need to tell the whole truth, and you should present things in the best light possible while still being mostly honest.

Watch the video below to learn more about personal statements from Wordvice

Remember that being honest can sometimes feel like you’re being arrogant and while you don’t want to self-aggrandize or go over the top, remember that making yourself small is not the point of this exercise.

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This is going to sound jack ass, but make it personal. This is where you write about how a MSc will benefit you, why such a specialized degree, why finance, etc. Simple as that.

making it personal is a good idea. It was a winning bet in my case.

You've gotta tell a story. A story that makes you look strong and shows you in a good light.

How did you get where you are now? Why do you want to study finance? What do you bring to the table at XYZ University? What do you need at XYZ University? Now that you've answered the questions honestly, remember that your personal statement is a marketing document. You need to the tell the truth and nothing but the truth, but you don't need to tell the whole truth, and you should present things in the best light possible while still being mostly honest.

Bear in mind that honest doesn't mean humble, modest, or whatever. If you write a good essay, it might feel arrogant or self-aggrandizing. But if your parents and friends like it, it might be a good essay to submit.

It doesn't have to be all great and insightful. Make it personal, keep it simple, and outline your goals clearly and ways the program will help you towards your goals. I don't think European schools care too much about you're innate desires. But just make sure it's not a deal breaker.

MSF Personal Statement Tips ( Originally Posted: 12/10/2014 )

Getting ready to put together my apps and I was wondering what schools are looking for in the personal statement. Do they want you to prove you're motivated? Prove you're smart? Just tell them why you want to go there?

Also, is it advisable to use the optional essay to explain a bad grade or two? I had a loss of a loved one the day before two finals last semester, and bombed an economics exam. I got a C in the class -- would it be too personal to explain why I got such a bad grade in the optional essay?

I would say the best thing you could do is think about the perspective of the admission committee (they mostly care about employability). @"Esuric" has an excellent post on this.

The Stranger: I would say the best thing you could do is think about the perspective of the admission committee (they mostly care about employability). @Esuric has an excellent post on this.

Any idea where the post is?

I feel that most statements ask for the same thing: Why MSF , why our program, why now? Long/short term goals and how you think this program will help you achieve them.

I'm sure they also look at how you write -- your thought process, ability to convey thoughts effectively, grammar, etc.

http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/how-to-nail-your-msf-interview

You want to articulate why you are seeking a masters in finance and how it will help you achieve your career goals. I've seen and done countless of these and they are all essentially the same.

Grad school personal statement ( Originally Posted: 01/15/2010 )

I'm thinking of grad school and im in some serious need of examples of "personal statement of education objectives". I've been doing some researching and everything is totally different. If anyone has some examples - please let me know! Thank you all!

I don't know how to sell myself on the letter of intent /purpose of study/personal statement ( Originally Posted: 11/14/2015 )

Hey guys I have trouble coming up with a good purpose of study letter. To be honest I have no idea how I should approach this letter. I wrote about the school and program and why I wish to study there but at the same time I also sound kind of repetitive since I will be applying to multiple programs that belong to the same University. My problem is I don't know how to sell myself. I don't know how to paint myself as a confident person because usually I am pretty humble( or that's what I think). I want them to know is what they read is what they get.

I'm talking about graduate programs by the way.

+SB for genuine advice.

Think along these lines: SOP = Movie Initial Paragraph = Your story = Stuff before interval So what happens when you watch a boring/dull/story-less movie? You walk out. (auto-ding) Keep re-writing it till you get your story in order. It should be something related to your program of choice.

After you get this, also focus on your strengths (skills) and how they could be utilized to their full potential while studying for this program.

P.S. - 'since childhood' kind of stuff = auto-ding

yea it's fundamentally wrong to write about the school too much - they know themselves and need not to have you tell them.

You want to project yourself like someone they want to have, someone that fits in, and someone who does great jobs in the past and have big goals for future.

I want to mention the programs I am applying to are pre-experience master programs since I don't really have any work experience.

Focus: How did you get interested in this field/program? (The First para aka Story) What are your skills? (subsequent paras) Have you participated in competitions/research/projects? (subsequent paras) Why do you want to join this university/program? (Last para. Keep it very brief and focus on main points only)

Overall: Keep it crisp and concise Cheers

I would like some more advice please. This is really important for me since I have graduated this year, and I would really like to have a really stellar letter of intent/purpose of study/personal statement that I can use now and for my future applications.

Explain what kind of programs you're applying to first. The "multiple programs by the same university" thing throws me off a little. MSF and Masters in Management or...?

Well I am applying programs related to finance or economics such MSF , MA Economics or MS financial economics .

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Keep these 10 financial documents forever. Scan and shred the rest.

Always hold onto birth certificates and Social Security cards, but it’s okay to cast off those old bank statements

No matter how digital we’ve become, we’re still a paper nation.

Are your financial documents stuffed in a closet, files, shopping bags or stacked up on the floor?

Get Michelle’s advice free in your inbox

You may prefer to view it as organized chaos. But isn’t it really just a manifestation of your inability to discern what you need and what you should let go?

When I look at the piles of paper in my office accumulated throughout the past year, I know it’s time for another document dump. It’s part of my spring cleaning ritual .

Sometimes we hold onto all that paper because we aren’t sure what to keep and what to toss. Here’s a rundown of what should be retained.

Forever documents

Certain papers should be kept in a safe location where they are protected from damage, loss and theft. Such original documents, which may be hard or costly to replace, include:

• Birth certificates and adoption papers
• Death certificates
• Marriage and divorce records
• Social Security cards. Yes, you know the number, but there may be an occasion where you have to produce the actual card.
• Military service records, including discharge documents. An honorably discharged service member is eligible to receive funeral and burial benefits.
• Loan payoff statements. Here’s something important: If you negotiated to pay less than what you owed on a debt, keep the original agreement in perpetuity. Often when debt is sold to debt collectors for pennies on the dollar, the sale doesn’t include a lot of information, including documentation proving a payoff.
• Year-end pay stubs. If a company goes out of business you may not be able to track down the information should you need it later.
• Retirement or pension records. Be sure to keep the records from previous jobs.
• Estate documents
• Funeral programs. Although many funeral homes will post an obituary online, they are often shortened versions of the program you might receive at the service. I have a folder of programs because they contain a wealth of information that can be helpful in estate planning, including maiden names and other family history you might need. (In this case, I like keeping the originals rather than a scanned version.)

Loan documents: Keep original loan documents and statements until you have paid off the loan. Then, save the paperwork verifying the balance was paid in full. My husband and I are coming up on one year of paying off our home . I may be a little paranoid, but I’m keeping the original documentation.

Vehicle title: Keep the original as long as you own the vehicle.

Receipts for big-ticket items: For insurance purposes, in case of fire or theft, save receipts for big-screen TVs, computers and other major purchases. Hold on to each receipt as long as you own the item. Personally, I like to keep the original, but a scanned copy should be fine.

Home improvement purchase orders, receipts, canceled checks: Keep proof of any upgrades until you sell the home. If you have a capital gain from selling your primary home, you may qualify to exclude as much as $250,000 from your income or as much as $500,000 if you file a joint return with your spouse.

If you exceed these limits, here’s where having proof of the capital improvements helps your tax situation: “When you make a home improvement, such as installing central air conditioning or replacing the roof, you can’t deduct the cost in the year you spend the money,” according to TurboTax. “But, if you keep track of those expenses, they may help you reduce your taxes in the year you sell your house.”

Investment statements: If they are available online, you do not need paper copies. The most important reason to maintain these records would be to establish your cost basis when selling an asset to make sure you claim the proper capital gain or loss on your tax return.

3 to 7 years

Tax records: Record-keeping guidelines are tied to statutes of limitations. That’s generally three years, but it’s seven years for worthless securities and bad debts, according to IRS spokesman Eric Smith.

“For most people, the tax-related statute of limitations is pretty straightforward,” he said.

But there are special circumstances that extend that time. For example, getting a tax-filing extension, serving in a combat zone, qualifying for a disaster-area deadline postponement or a financial disability.

You must keep records, such as receipts, canceled checks and other documents that support an item of income, a deduction or a credit appearing on a return, according to the IRS.

But it doesn’t have to be an original. Scan and shred. The agency will accept a legible digital copy of a document.

“Electronic storage is also fine, as long as they can be retrieved, if needed,” Smith said.

Why keep even a scanned version after several years?

Your past returns contain your financial history — employment, investments and charitable giving choices.

But you won’t have to worry about having a scanned copy if you have an IRS online account. With an account, you can access a transcript of your return.

Maintaining years of tax returns can help if you ever need to research payments made into Social Security .

Medical bills: If you paid a medical expense with your health savings or flexible spending account, keep the receipt for three years. Consider it a tax-related document.

If you want more personal finance advice that's timeless, order your copy of Michelle Singletary's Money Milestones.

Credit card statements: Companies will provide you with a year-end statement that categorizes all expenses. If that works for you, shred the monthly statements you may have been getting in the mail.

And if you’re still getting paper statements, stop. Get them e-delivered. I still scan and save statements in case I close an account and no longer have online access.

Less than a year

There is no need to keep all those ATM or retail receipts. Once you get your statements, you can shred and toss.

Word of caution

I’ve mentioned this before, but be sure to research online services that will backup your scanned documents. By the way, an external hard drive attached to your computer is still vulnerable to hackers.

Make sure you also regularly update your computer software. The Washington Post’s Help Desk is a great source to help secure information.

B.O.M. — The best of Michelle Singletary on personal finance

If you have a personal finance question for Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary, please call 1-855-ASK-POST (1-855-275-7678).

My mortgage payoff story: My husband and I paid off the house in the spring of 2023 thanks to making extra payments and taking advantage of a mortgage recast . Even though it lowered my perfect 850 credit score and my column about it sparked some serious debate with readers, it was one of the best financial decisions I’ve made.

Credit card debt: If you’re in the habit of carrying credit card debt, stop. It’s just a myth that it will boost your credit score. For those looking to get out of credit card debt, see if a balance transfer is right for you.

Money moves for life: For a more sweeping overview of my timeless money advice, see Michelle Singletary’s Money Milestones . The interactive package offers guidance for every life stage, whether you’re just starting out in your career or planning for retirement. You can also purchase a copy for yourself or as a gift.

Test yourself: Not rich and wondering what it’ll take to build your wealth? Take this quiz for my wealth-building tips.

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What Is Personal Finance?

The importance of personal finance, areas of personal finance, personal finance services, personal finance strategies, personal finance skills, personal finance education.

• What Classes Can't Teach

Breaking Personal Finance Rules

Frequently asked questions, the bottom line.

• Personal Finance

What Is Personal Finance, and Why Is It Important?

Investopedia / Sydney Saporito

Personal finance is a term that covers managing your money as well as saving and investing. It encompasses budgeting, banking, insurance, mortgages, investments, and retirement, tax, and estate planning. The term often refers to the entire industry that provides financial services to individuals and households and advises them about financial and investment opportunities.

Individual goals and desires—and a plan to fulfill those needs within your financial constraints—also impact how you approach the above items. To make the most of your income and savings, it’s essential to become financially savvy—it will help you distinguish between good and bad advice and make intelligent financial decisions.

Key Takeaways

• Few schools have courses on managing your money, so it is important to learn how through free online articles, courses, blogs, podcasts, or books.
• The core areas of managing personal finance include income, spending, savings, investments, and protection.
• Smart personal finance involves developing strategies that include budgeting, creating an emergency fund, paying off debt, using credit cards wisely, saving for retirement, and much more.
• Being disciplined is important, but it’s also good to know when you shouldn't adhere to the guidelines.

Personal finance is about meeting your personal financial goals. These goals could be anything—having enough for short-term financial needs, planning for retirement, or saving for your child’s college education. It depends on your income, spending, saving, investing, and personal protection (insurance and estate planning).

Not understanding how to manage finances or be financially disciplined has led Americans to accumulate enormous debt. In February 2024, the Federal Reserve Bank reported household debt had increased by $3.4 trillion since December 2019, prior to the recession. In addition, the following balances increased from the third quarter of 2023 to the fourth:

• Credit card balances : Up by $50 billion
• Auto loans : Up by $12 billion
• Consumer loans and store cards : Up by $25 billion
• Total non-housing : Up by $89 billion
• Mortgages : Up by $112 billion

Student loans remained unchanged, at about $1.6 trillion.

Americans are taking on an ever-increasing amount of debt to finance purchases, making managing personal finances more critical than ever, especially when inflation is eating away at purchasing power and prices are rising.

The five areas of personal finance are income, saving, spending, investing, and protection.

Income is the starting point of personal finance. It is the entire amount of cash inflow that you receive and can allocate to expenses, savings, investments, and protection. Income is all the money you bring in. This includes salaries, wages, dividends, and other sources of cash inflow.

Spending is an outflow of cash and typically where the bulk of income goes. Spending is whatever an individual uses their income to buy. This includes rent, mortgage, groceries, hobbies, eating out, home furnishings, home repairs, travel, and entertainment.

Being able to manage spending is a critical aspect of personal finance. Individuals must ensure their spending is less than their income; otherwise, they won't have enough money to cover their expenses or will fall into debt. Debt can be devastating financially, particularly with the high-interest rates credit cards charge.

Savings is the income left over after spending. Everyone should aim to have savings to cover large expenses or emergencies. However, this means not using all your income, which can be difficult. Regardless of the difficulty, everyone should strive to have at least a portion of savings to meet any fluctuations in income and spending—somewhere between three and 12 months of expenses.

Beyond that, cash idling in a savings account becomes wasteful because it loses purchasing power to inflation over time. Instead, cash not tied up in an emergency or spending account should be placed in something that will help it maintain its value or grow, such as investments.

Investing involves purchasing assets, usually stocks and bonds, to earn a return on the money invested. Investing aims to increase an individual's wealth beyond the amount they invested. Investing does come with risks, as not all assets appreciate and can incur a loss.

Investing can be difficult for those unfamiliar with it—it helps to dedicate some time to gain an understanding through readings and studying. If you don't have time, you might benefit from hiring a professional to help you invest your money.

Protection refers to the methods people take to protect themselves from unexpected events, such as illnesses or accidents, and as a means to preserve wealth. Protection includes life and health insurance and estate and retirement planning.

Several financial planning services fall under one or more of the five areas. You're likely to find many businesses that provide these services to clients to help them plan and manage their finances. These services include:

• Wealth Management
• Loans and Debt
• Risk Management
• Estate Planning
• Investments
• Credit Cards
• Home and Mortgage

The sooner you start financial planning , the better, but it’s never too late to create financial goals to give yourself and your family financial security and freedom. Here are the best practices and tips for personal finance.

The 2022 Investopedia Financial Literacy Survey surveyed 4,000 adults and found that most Americans are concerned about personal finance basics, retirement funding, and investing in crypto.

1. Know Your income

It's all for nothing if you don't know how much you bring home after taxes and withholding. So before deciding anything, ensure you know exactly how much take-home pay you receive.

2. Devise a Budget

A budget is essential to living within your means and saving enough to meet your long-term goals. The 50/30/20 budgeting method offers a great framework. It breaks down like this:

• Fifty percent of your take-home pay or net income (after taxes) goes toward living essentials, such as rent, utilities , groceries, and transport.
• Thirty percent is allocated to discretionary expenses, such as dining out and shopping for clothes. Giving to charity can go here as well.
• Twenty percent goes toward the future—paying down debt and saving for retirement and emergencies.

It’s never been easier to manage money, thanks to a growing number of smartphone personal budgeting apps that put day-to-day finances in the palm of your hand. Here are just two examples:

• YNAB (an acronym for You Need a Budget) helps you track and adjust your spending to control every dollar you spend.
• Mint streamlines cash flow, budgets, credit cards, bills, and investment tracking from one place. It automatically updates and categorizes your financial data as information comes in, so you always know where you stand financially. The app will even dish out custom tips and advice.

3. Pay Yourself First

It’s important to “pay yourself first” to ensure money is set aside for unexpected expenses, such as medical bills, a significant car repair, day-to-day expenses if you get laid off, and more. The ideal safety net is three to 12 months of living expenses.

Financial experts generally recommend putting away 20% of each paycheck every month. Once you’ve filled up your emergency fund , don’t stop. Continue funneling the monthly 20% toward other financial goals, such as a retirement fund or a down payment on a home .

4. Limit and Reduce Debt

It sounds simple enough: Don't spend more than you earn to keep debt from getting out of hand. But, of course, most people have to borrow from time to time, and sometimes going into debt can be advantageous—for example, if it leads to acquiring an asset . Taking out a mortgage to buy a house might be one such case. Still, leasing sometimes can be more economical than buying outright, whether renting a property, leasing a car, or even getting a subscription to computer software.

On the other hand, minimizing repayments (to interest only, for instance) can free up income to invest elsewhere or put into retirement savings while you’re young when your nest egg gets the maximum benefit from compounding interest . Some private and federal student loans are even eligible for a rate reduction if the borrower enrolls in auto pay.

Student loans account for $1.59 trillion of consumer debt—if you have an outstanding student loan, you should prioritize it. There are myriad loan repayment plans and payment reduction strategies available. If you’re stuck with a high interest rate, paying off the principal faster can make sense.

Flexible federal repayment programs worth checking out include:

• Graduated repayment—progressively increases the monthly payment over 10 years
• Extended repayment—stretches out the loan over a period that can be as long as 25 years
• Income-driven repayment—limits payments to 10% to 15% of your income (based on your income and family size)

5. Only Borrow What You Can Repay

Credit cards can be major debt traps, but it’s unrealistic not to own any in the contemporary world. Furthermore, they have applications beyond buying things. They are crucial to establishing your credit rating and a great way to track spending, which can be a considerable budgeting aid.

Credit needs to be managed correctly , meaning you should pay off your entire balance every month or keep your credit utilization ratio at a minimum (that is, keep your account balances below 30% of your total available credit).

Given the extraordinary reward and incentives offered these days (such as cashback), it makes sense to charge as many purchases as possible—if you can pay your bills in full.

Avoid maxing out credit cards at all costs, and always pay bills on time. One of the fastest ways to ruin your credit score is to constantly pay bills late—or even worse, miss payments.

Using a debit card , which takes money directly from your bank account, is another way to ensure that you will not be paying for accumulated small purchases over an extended period with interest.

6. Monitor Your Credit Score

Credit cards are the primary vehicle through which your credit score is built and maintained, so watching credit spending goes hand in hand with monitoring your credit score. If you ever want to obtain a lease, mortgage, or any other type of financing, then you’ll need a solid credit report . There are a variety of credit scores available, but the most popular one is the FICO score .

Factors that determine your FICO score include:

• Payment history (35%)
• Amounts owed (30%)
• Length of credit history (15%)
• Credit mix (10%)
• New credit (10%)

FICO scores are calculated from 300 to 850. Here’s how your credit is rated:

• Exceptional: 800 to 850
• Very good: 740 to 799
• Good: 670 to 739
• Fair: 580 to 669
• Poor: 579 and below

To pay bills, set up direct debiting where possible (so you never miss a payment) and subscribe to reporting agencies that provide regular credit score updates. In addition, you can detect and address mistakes or fraudulent activity by monitoring your credit report. Federal law allows you to obtain free credit reports once a year from the “Big Three” major credit bureaus : Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

Reports can be obtained directly from each agency, or you can sign up at AnnualCreditReport.com, a federally authorized site sponsored by the Big Three.

Some credit card providers, such as Capital One, will provide customers with complimentary, regular credit score updates, but it may not be your FICO score. Instead, Capital One's CreditWise program offers your VantageScore .

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the three major credit bureaus are providing free credit reports weekly. The program was extended twice in 2022 and it is now permanent.

7. Plan for Your Future

To protect the assets in your estate and ensure that your wishes are followed when you die, be sure you make a will and—depending on your needs—possibly set up one or more trusts . You also should look into insurance and find ways to reduce your premiums, if possible: auto , home , life , disability , and long-term care (LTC) . Periodically review your policy to ensure it meets your family’s needs through life’s major milestones.

Other critical documents include a living will and a healthcare power of attorney . While not all of these documents directly affect you, all of them can save your next of kin considerable time and expense when you fall ill or become otherwise incapacitated.

Retirement may seem like a lifetime away, but it arrives much sooner than expected. Experts suggest that most people will need about 80% of their current salary in retirement. The younger you start, the more you benefit from what advisors call the magic of compounding interest—how small amounts grow over time.

Setting aside money now for your retirement not only allows it to grow over the long term but also can reduce your current income taxes if funds are placed in a tax-advantaged plan, such as an individual retirement account (IRA) , a 401(k) , or a 403(b) .

While your children are young, take the time to teach them about the value of money and how to save, invest, and spend wisely.

If your employer offers a 401(k) or 403(b) plan , start paying into it immediately, especially if your employer matches your contribution. By not doing so, you’re giving up free money. Take time to learn the difference between a Roth 401(k) and a traditional 401(k) if your company offers both.

Investing is only one part of planning for retirement. Other strategies include waiting as long as possible before opting to receive Social Security benefits (which is smart for most people) and converting a term life insurance policy to permanent life .

8. Buy Insurance

As you age, it's natural for you to accumulate many of the same things your parents did—a family, home or apartment, belongings, and health issues. Insurance can be expensive if you wait too long to get it. Health care, long-term care insurance, life insurance; it all increases in cost the older you get. Additionally, you never know what life will send your way. If you're the sole breadwinner for the family, or you and your partner both work to make ends meet, a lot depends on your ability to work.

Insurance can cover most of the hospital bills as you age, leaving your hard-earned savings in your family's hands; medical expenses are one of the leading reasons for debt. If something happens to you, life insurance can give those you leave behind a buffer zone to deal with the loss and get back on their feet financially.

9. Maximize Tax Breaks

Due to an overly complex tax code , many people leave hundreds or even thousands of dollars sitting on the table every year. By maximizing your tax savings, you’ll free up money that can be invested in your reduction of past debts, enjoyment of the present, and plans for the future.

You should start saving receipts and tracking expenditures for all possible tax deductions and tax credits . Many office supply stores sell helpful “tax organizers” that have the main categories already labeled.

After you’re organized, you’ll want to focus on taking advantage of every tax deduction and credit available, as well as deciding between the two when necessary. In short, a tax deduction reduces the amount of income on which you are taxed, whereas a tax credit reduces the amount of tax that you owe. This means that a $1,000 tax credit will save you much more than a $1,000 deduction.

10. Give Yourself a Break

Budgeting and planning can seem full of deprivations. Make sure you reward yourself now and then. Whether it’s a vacation, a purchase, or an occasional night on the town, you need to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Doing so gives you a taste of the financial independence you’re working so hard for.

Last but not least, don’t forget to delegate when needed. Even though you might be competent enough to do your own taxes or manage a portfolio of individual stocks, it doesn’t mean you should. Setting up an account at a brokerage and spending a few hundred dollars on a certified public accountant (CPA) or a financial planner —at least once—might be a good way to jump-start your planning.

The key to getting your finances on the right track is using skills you likely already have. It’s also about understanding that the principles that contribute to success in business and your career work just as well in personal money management. Three key skills are finance prioritization, assessing the costs and benefits, and restraining your spending.

• Finance Prioritization : This means that you can look at your finances, discern what keeps the money flowing in, and make sure that you stay focused on those efforts.
• Assessing the Costs and Benefits : This key skill keeps professionals from spreading themselves too thin. Ambitious individuals always have a list of ideas about other ways that they can hit it big, whether it is a side business or an investment idea. While there is a place and time for taking a flier, running your finances like a business means stepping back and honestly assessing the potential costs and benefits of any new venture.
• Restraining Your Spending : This is the final big-picture skill of successful business management that must be applied to personal finances. Time and again, financial planners sit down with successful people who still manage to spend more than they make. Earning $250,000 a year won’t do you much good if you spend $275,000 annually. Learning to restrain spending on non-wealth-building assets until after you’ve met your monthly savings or debt reduction goals is crucial in building net worth .

Personal money management isn't one of the most popular topics in educational systems. Many college degrees require some financial education, but it isn't geared toward individuals, which means that most of us will need to get our personal finance education from our parents (if we’re lucky) or learn it ourselves.

Fortunately, you don’t have to spend much money to find out how to manage it better. You can learn everything you need to know for free online and in library books. Almost all media publications regularly dole out personal finance advice, too.

Online Blogs

Reading personal finance blogs is a great way to start learning about personal finance. Instead of the general advice you’ll get in personal finance articles, you’ll learn exactly which challenges real people face and how they address them.

Mr. Money Mustache has hundreds of posts full of insights on escaping the rat race and retiring early by making unconventional lifestyle choices. CentSai helps you navigate myriad financial decisions via first-person accounts. Million Mile Secrets and The Points Guy each teach you how to travel for a fraction of the retail price using credit card rewards. These sites often link to other blogs, so you’ll discover more sites as you read.

Of course, we can’t help tooting our own horn in this category. Investopedia offers a wealth of free personal finance education. You might start with our special sections on budgeting , buying a home , and planning for retirement —or the thousands of other articles in our personal finance section.

At the Library

You may need to visit your library in person to get a library card if you don’t already have one, but after that, you can check out personal finance audiobooks and e-books online without leaving home. Some of the following best sellers may be available from your local library: I Will Teach You to Be Rich , The Millionaire Next Door, Your Money or Your Life , and Rich Dad Poor Dad . Personal finance classics such as Personal Finance for Dummies , The Total Money Makeover , The Little Book of Common Sense Investing , and Think and Grow Rich are also available as audiobooks.

Free Online Classes

If you enjoy the structure of lessons and quizzes, try one of these free digital personal finance courses:

• Morningstar Investing Classroom offers a place for beginning and experienced investors alike to learn about stocks, funds, bonds, and portfolios. Some of the courses you’ll find include “Stocks Versus Other Investments,” “Methods for Investing in Mutual Funds,” “Determining Your Asset Mix,” and “Introduction to Government Bonds.” Each course takes about 10 minutes and is followed by a quiz to help you make sure that you understood the lesson.
• EdX is an online learning platform created by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It offers at least three courses that cover personal finance: 'Personal Finance, Part 1: Investing in Yourself" from Wellesley College, “Personal Finance” from Purdue University, and “Finance for Everyone: Smart Tools for Decision-Making” from the University of Michigan. These courses will teach you how credit works, which types of insurance you might want to carry, how to maximize your retirement savings, how to read your credit report, and what the time value of money is.
• “Planning for a Secure Retirement” is an online course from Purdue University. It’s broken up into 10 main modules, and each has four to six sub-modules on topics such as Social Security, 401(k) and 403(b) plans, and IRAs. You’ll learn about your risk tolerance , think about what kind of retirement lifestyle you want, and estimate your retirement expenses.

Personal finance podcasts are a great way to learn how to manage your money if you’re short on free time. While you’re getting ready in the morning, exercising, driving to work, running errands, or preparing for bed, you can listen to expert advice on becoming more financially secure. In addition to “The Investopedia Express with Caleb Silver,” you may find these valuable:

• Freakonomics Radio and NPR’s Planet Money both make economics enjoyable by using it to explain real-world phenomena such as “how we got from mealy, nasty apples to apples that actually taste delicious,” the Wells Fargo fake-accounts scandal, and whether we should still be using cash.
• American Public Media’s Marketplace helps make sense of what’s happening in the business world and the economy.
• So Money with Farnoosh Torabi combines interviews with successful business people, expert advice, and listeners’ personal finance questions.

The most important thing is to find resources that work for your learning style and that you find interesting and engaging. If one blog, book, course, or podcast is dull or difficult to understand, keep trying until you find something that clicks.

Education shouldn’t stop once you learn the basics. The economy changes, and new financial tools like the budgeting apps mentioned earlier are always being developed. Find resources you enjoy and trust, and keep refining your money skills through retirement and beyond.

What Personal Finance Classes Can’t Teach You

Personal finance education is a great idea for consumers, especially people starting out who want to learn investing basics or about credit management; however, understanding the basic concepts is not a guaranteed path to financial sense. Human nature can often derail the best intentions to achieve a perfect credit score or build a substantial retirement nest egg. These three key character traits can help you stay on track:

One of the most important tenets of personal finance is systematic saving. For example, say your net earnings are $60,000 per year, and your monthly living expenses—housing, food, transportation, and the like—amount to $3,200 per month.

There are choices to make surrounding your remaining $1,800 in monthly salary. Ideally, the first step is to establish an emergency fund or perhaps a tax-advantaged health savings account (HSA) .

To be eligible for a health savings account, your health insurance must be a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) .

Establishing an emergency fund takes financial discipline—without it, giving in to the temptation to spend rather than save can have dire consequences. In the event of an emergency, you may not have the money to pay the expenses—leading you to finance them through debt.

Once you have your emergency stash, you'll need to develop investing discipline—it’s not just for institutional money managers who make their living buying and selling stocks. Average retail investors tend to do better by setting an investment target and abiding by it rather than buying and selling stocks trying to time the market.

A Sense of Timing

Timing can be crucial. For instance, imagine you're three years out of college, have established your emergency fund, and want to reward yourself. A Jet Ski costs $3,000, but you want to start investing also. "Investing in growth stocks can wait another year," you say. "I have plenty of time to launch an investment portfolio."

However, putting off investing for one year can have significant consequences. The opportunity cost of buying a personal watercraft can be illustrated through the time value of money.

The $3,000 used to buy the Jet Ski would have amounted to nearly $49,000 in 40 years at 7% interest, a reasonable average annual return for a growth mutual fund over the long haul. Thus, delaying the decision to invest wisely may likewise delay the ability to reach your goal of retiring at age 65.

Doing tomorrow what you could do today also extends to debt payment. If you were to put the Jet Ski on your credit card, the $3,000 credit card balance would take 222 months (18.5 years) to pay off if you only made minimum payments of $75 each month. And don’t forget the interest you’re paying: at an 18% annual percentage rate (APR) , it comes to $3,923 over those months. So, if you were to plunk down the $3,000 to pay the balance rather than let it compound, you'd see substantial savings—nearly $1,000.

Emotional Detachment

Personal finance matters are business, and business should not be personal. A difficult but necessary facet of sound financial decision-making involves removing emotions from a transaction.

Making impulsive purchases feels good but can significantly impact long-term investment goals. So can making unwise loans to family members. Your cousin Fred, who has already burned your brother and sister, will likely not pay you back, either. The smart thing to do is decline his requests for help—you're trying to make ends meet also.

The key to prudent personal financial management is to separate feelings from reason. However, when loved ones are experiencing real trouble, it pays to help if you can—just try not to take it out of your investments and retirement.

Many people have loved ones who always seem to need financial help—it is difficult to refuse to help them. If you include planning to assist them in real emergencies using your emergency fund, it can make the burden easier.

The personal finance realm may have more guidelines and tips to follow than any other. Although these rules are good to know, everyone has their own circumstances. Here are some rules prudent people, especially young adults, are never supposed to break—but can break if necessary.

Saving or Investing a Set Portion of Your Income

An ideal budget includes saving a portion of your paycheck every month for retirement—usually around 10% to 20%. However, while being fiscally responsible is important and thinking about your future is crucial, the general rule of saving a given amount for retirement may not always be the best choice, especially for young people just getting started.

For one thing, many young adults and students need to consider paying for their biggest expenses, such as a new car, home, or postsecondary education. Taking away 10% to 20% of available funds would be a definite setback in making those purchases.

Additionally, saving for retirement doesn’t make much sense if you have credit cards or interest-bearing loans to pay off. The 19% interest rate on your Visa card probably would negate the returns you get from your balanced mutual fund retirement portfolio five times over.

Finally, saving money to travel and experience new places and cultures can be especially rewarding for a young person who’s still unsure about their life path.

Long-term Investing/Investing in Riskier Assets

The rule of thumb for young investors is that they should have a long-term outlook and stick to a buy-and-hold philosophy. This rule is one of the easier ones to justify breaking. Adapting to changing markets can be the difference between making money or limiting your losses and sitting idly by and watching your hard-earned savings shrink. Short-term investing has its advantages at any age.

Common investing logic suggests that because young investors have such a long investment time horizon, they should be investing in higher-risk ventures; after all, they have the rest of their lives to recover from any losses that they may suffer; however, you don’t have to take on undue risk in your short- to medium-term investments if you don’t want to.

The idea of diversification is an important part of creating a strong investment portfolio; this includes both the riskiness of individual stocks and their intended investment horizon .

At the other end of the age spectrum, investors near and at retirement are encouraged to cut back to the safest investments—even though these may yield less than inflation —to preserve capital . Taking fewer risks is important as the number of years you have to earn money and recover from bad financial times dwindles, but at age 60 or 65, you could have 20, 30, or even more years to go. Some growth investments could still make sense for you .

Personal finance is the knowledge, instruments, and techniques used to manage your finances. When you understand the principles and concepts behind personal finance, you can manage debt, savings, living expenses, and retirement savings.

What Are the 5 Main Components of Personal Finance?

The five main components are income, spending, savings, investing, and protection.

What Is an Example of Personal Finance?

One of the key ideas behind personal finance is not to spend more than you make. For instance, if you make $50,000 a year but spend $65,000, you'll end up with debt that continues to compound because you'll be spending more than you make to pay for past expenses.

Why Is Personal Finance So Important?

The concepts behind managing your personal finances can guide you in making intelligent financial decisions. In addition, the decisions you make throughout your life on what to buy, sell, hold, or own can affect how you live when you can no longer work.

Personal finance is managing your money to cover expenses and save for the future. It is a topic that covers a broad array of areas, including managing expenses and debt, how to save and invest, and how to plan for retirement. In addition, it can include ways to protect yourself with insurance, build wealth , and ensure wealth is passed on to the people you want it to pass to.

Understanding how to manage your finances is an important life-planning tool that can help set you up for a life without debt; you gain control of financial stresses and have a way to manage the expensive surprises that life can throw at you.

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YNAB. “ Gain Total Control of Your Money .”

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Discover. " Private Student Loans: Automatic Payments & Auto Debit Reward Terms and Conditions ."

Federal Student Aid. " Repaying Student Loans 101 ."

Federal Student Aid. " Repayment Plans ."

myFICO. " What Should My Credit Utilization Ratio Be? "

myFICO. “ What’s the Difference Between FICO Scores and Non-FICO Credit Scores? ”

myFICO. " What's In My FICO Scores? "

myFICO. " What is a FICO Score? "

Federal Trade Commission. “ Understanding Your Credit .”

Capital One. " CreditWise: Get Your Free Credit Report ."

Federal Trade Commission. " You Now Have Permanent Access to Free Weekly Credit Reports ."

Fidelity. " How Much Will You Spend in Retirement? "

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. " Medical Debt Burden in the United States ."

Internal Revenue Service. " Credits and Deductions for Individuals ."

Mr. Money Mustache. “ Mr. Money Mustache: Financial Freedom Through Badassity .”

CentSai. “ Take the Fear Out of Finance .”

Million Mile Secrets. “ Beginner’s Guide to Credit Cards, Miles, and Points .”

The Points Guy. “ TPG Beginner’s Guide: Everything You Need to Know About Points, Miles, Airlines, and Credit Cards .”

Morningstar. “ Morningstar Investing Classroom .”

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EdX. " Catalog ."

Purdue University, College of Agriculture. “ Planning for a Secure Retirement .”

Freakonomics. “ Freakonomics Radio .”

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Internal Revenue Service. " Publication 969, Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans ." Pages 3-4.

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What is WACC?

• Components of WACC 
• Calculating WACC 

The significance of WACC

• Challenges in calculating WACC 
• WACC in different industries 

Understanding Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC)

Paid non-client promotion: Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate investing products to write unbiased product reviews.

• Weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is a key metric that shows a company's cost of capital across its debt and equity.
• If a company's WACC is elevated, the cost of financing for the company is higher, which is usually an indication of greater risk.
• Investors often use WACC to determine whether a company is worth investing in or lending money to.

The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is a financial ratio that measures a company's financing costs. It weighs equity and debt proportionally to its percentage of the total capital structure. A company's executives use WACC in making decisions about how to fund operations or projects, and it helps investors determine the minimum rate of return they're willing to accept on their money.

Companies raise capital from external sources in two main ways: by selling stock or taking on debt in the form of bonds or loans. Understanding the cost of that financing is a crucial part of the decision-making process for managers running the business, and a key metric for investors in choosing whether to invest. If a company has just one type of capital, equity or debt, figuring out the cost is relatively straightforward. WACC is a more complicated measure of the average rate of return required by all of its creditors and investors. 

By reading this article, you can learn more about the impact WACC has on investment analysis. 

Definition and importance of WACC 

WACC determines the rate a company is expected to pay to raise capital from all sources. This includes bonds and other long-term debt, as well as both common and preferred shares of stock. It gives management a view of its overall cost of borrowing and helps determine how much of a return on new projects or operations will be required to justify the cost of financing them. Investors use WACC to decide if the company is worth investing in or lending money to. If the WACC is elevated, the cost of financing for the company is higher, which is usually an indication of greater risk. Conversely, a lower WACC signals relatively low financing cost and less risk. "The formula uses the cost of each of the sources of capital and weighs them relevant to the market value of the business," says Daniel Milan, an investment advisor at Cornerstone Financial Services. "This is important because it gives an analyst an idea of how much interest a company has to pay for each dollar that it finances for its operations or assets. This is critical in the evaluation of the value of an investment."

Components of WACC 

Cost of equity  .

The cost of equity is one component of calculating a company's WACC. The cost of equity is the return that a business pays out to its equity investors. In other words, it is the expense that a company must incur if it uses equity to finance expenditures.  

Equity can refer to a company's common and preferred shares, as well as its retained earnings. 

Cost of debt 

The cost of debt is the interest that a company needs to pay on money that it borrows. This applies to both loans taken out and bonds issued by the organization. The higher the cost of debt is, the greater the return the business needs to generate in order to break even on the funds it borrows. 

Capital structure 

A company's capital structure is its combination of equity and debt. For example, if a company has issued both common shares of stock and also bonds, these are both counted in its capital structure. Businesses use their capital structure to finance operations and growth. 

Calculating WACC 

Formula and step-by-step calculation .

There are a couple of ways to calculate WACC, which is expressed as a percentage. Here's the basic formula:

In essence, you first establish the cost of debt and the cost of equity. Then you multiply each of those by their proportionate weight of market value. Add those two figures together and multiply the result by the business's corporate tax rate.

A more complicated formula can be applied in the event that the company has preferred shares of stock , which are valued differently than common shares because they typically pay out fixed dividends on a regular schedule.

Investment decision making

By evaluating a company's WACC, an investor can get a better sense of how hard, or easy, it is for a business to raise capital. The WACC can serve as a hurdle rate, meaning the bare minimum return that an investment or project must return in order to be justified by the interested parties. 

With this information, an interested party can get a better sense of what expenses a company will need to incur in order to invest in projects that could potentially help it grow its revenue and/or earnings. 

Further, financial analysts can use the WACC to evaluate companies that are being considered for merger and/or acquisition activity. Past that, analysts can use the WACC when evaluating internal investments, as the aforementioned metric provides interested parties with a company's opportunity cost of capital. 

Company valuation

Financial analysts can use the WACC when valuing a company. More specifically, they can use this metric when using an organization's cash flows, which refer to the money that is expected to flow in and out of a business, to determine that company's value. 

In other words, DCF (discounted cash flow) attempts to determine what an investment is worth today based on its future expected cash flows. Interested parties can use DCF when evaluating a potential investment in securities like stocks or bonds, or they can use it to consider internal investments. 

More specifically, this approach uses something called the discount rate, the interest rate used to calculate an investment's present value. The WACC can be used as the discount rate when calculating the value of a company. 

Assessing project risk 

A company can use the WACC to evaluate whether an internal project is worth pursuing or not. Since the aforementioned metric represents a company's cost of capital, it tells you the opportunity cost of devoting money to a particular project or venture. 

The WACC can be weighed against a project's internal rate of return (IRR), which represents the annual return that a particular investment is expected to produce. If the IRR of a project exceeds its WACC, that project is expected to generate a positive return and is worth pursuing. However, if the IRR is below the WACC, the project's return will be insufficient and not worth it. 

Challenges in calculating WACC  

Estimating component costs .

A company's WACC can include many different components, including varying kinds of debt and equity. If an organization's balance sheet is more complex, it can make it more difficult to determine WACC. 

For example, if a company uses different kinds of debt that do not all have the same interest rate, this can make calculating WACC more complicated. 

Changing capital structure 

A company's capital structure can change over time, for example if the cost of using debt becomes more expensive. A lender could easily extend credit to an organization with a variable interest rate that pushes higher if market conditions allow it. 

Another development that can cause a company's capital structure to change is a shift in tax policy. For example, if marginal tax rates increase, it could motivate a business to generate more credit by issuing bonds instead of harnessing private lines of credit from a bank. 

WACC in different industries  

Industry-specific considerations .

It is important to keep in mind that there are significant differences in WACC across industries, meaning that this measure can vary quite a bit based on what sector is being examined. High-tech firms, for example, might rely quite a bit on private investments from sources like venture capital. As a result, using WACC provides the greatest benefit when it is used to look at companies within the same industry. 

Impact of operational risk on WACC  

If operational risk, the risks associated with everyday business activities, increases, it can cause a company's WACC to push higher. If investors perceive a company as riskier, they may need to be compensated with a higher rate of return before putting their money into that organization. 

Further, if a company has a higher WACC, this could be interpreted as signaling greater operational risk in the organization, as it can indicate that investors require greater returns to offer their backing. 

WACC has a wide range of applications, helping interested parties to evaluate potential investments and value companies, by measuring what a company needs to pay for capital. 

You can estimate a company's cost of equity using models like capital asset pricing model, which consider variables like the risk free rate of return, along with an asset's beta (risk relative to the market) and the market's expected return. 

Yes, a company's WACC can change over time, due to shifts in interest rates, market conditions, a company's capital structure or even an increase in an organization's perceived operational risk. 

Debt is a major component of a company's WACC. If a company changes its capital structure to rely more on debt, this will frequently reduce the WACC, as the cost of debt is lower than the cost of equity. Likewise, if the company depends more on equity to finance its operations, this could increase its WACC. 

A lower WACC is usually better, as it means a company is paying less for credit to finance its operations. However, interested parties should use other metrics to evaluate a company's financial health.

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Yahoo Finance

7 surprising money ‘rules’ most people don’t know (but should).

You’ve probably heard common financial advice like keeping a budget and trying not to spend more than you make. But other tips aren’t as well-known that can help you save a lot of money and create a financially healthy life. 

From daily hacks to long-term tips, we talked to financial experts about not-so-obvious money advice they follow. Here’s what to know:

1. Sometimes you have to spend more to save more.

“A low price on a lousy product is actually a terrible deal because you will end up spending more, in the long run, to replace cheaply made items that break easily,” Andrea Woroch , a consumer-finance and budgeting expert, told HuffPost. “Focus on quality and spend more if it means it will last.”  

Woroch tries to save on quality merchandise by shopping second-hand for name brands. For big-ticket items, she recommends taking advantage of retail sales events (like Amazon Prime Day) and buying seasonal items (like patio furniture and winter clothing) at the end of the season. Other tips: Participate in free loyalty programs and search for online coupons before making a purchase.

2.  Don’t be too restrictive with your budget , and don’t try to change it all at once.

“Although a detailed budget keeps you on track to meet your financial goals, one that is too restrictive will actually backfire quickly due to burnout,” Woroch explained. “[And] if you try to change all your spending habits overnight, it will be difficult to stick to the plan.” 

Instead, she suggests making a few small changes to your spending and savings habits — and then building on these once they become routine.

She said it’s also important to make room in your budget for expenses that matter to you. For example, if a dinner date with a friend or partner is a priority, keep this in your budget. Find other ways to cut down on spending, like canceling unused subscriptions and unplugging gadgets to decrease energy bills.

3. Beware of convenient methods of payment, like auto-renew.

“It’s extraordinarily easy now in our society to spend money without thinking about it,” said Anne Lester , author of “ Your Best Financial Life.” “You can sign up for auto-renew … you see something cute on Instagram, you go tap and boom, you bought it.”

But being able to buy things too easily can lead to unconscious spending. Instead, Lester advises slowing yourself down to make spending money more of a conscious decision.

One way she does this is to always create a shopping list before she goes into a store or buys items online. For onli ne shopping, she suggests setting aside a specific time once a week to make purchases. When reviewing your list, ask yourself: Do I really need this? Is there a tangible moment when I know I’ll use this? Just making the list will give you time to reflect on whether the purchase is worthwhile.

For subscriptions, it can be easy to forget ones set to “auto-renew.” Lester suggests doing a “subscription cleanse” periodically, reviewing all your subscriptions and canceling the ones you’re no longer using. 

4. Automate saving money instead of letting it sit in your checking account. 

“You should automate everything you can about saving so that you don’t have to make a conscious decision to do it,” Lester said. “[If you don’t] you set up a conversation … with yourself about what you could be doing with that money, and often you lose because getting stuff is more fun than saving.”

Michael Finke , professor of wealth management at The American College of Financial Services, suggests setting up an automatic transfer to a high-yield savings account. For example, if you get paid at the end of the month, you can set up a transfer on the first day of the next month.

“Money in a checking account can be tempting to spend,” he said. “Making regular transfers to a high-yield savings account can help you build an emergency fund without feeling the pain of writing a check.”

Lester also recommends automatically transferring money to a retirement account. If you work for a company that offers a 401(k) plan, it’s ideal to sign up for the full employer match.

“Not taking advantage of a match is like leaving hundred-dollar bills on the ground,” Finke explained. “Even if you took it out after a year and paid a 10% penalty, you’d still come out way ahead.”

If you don’t have access to a 401(k) plan through work, you can set up an individual retirement account (IRA) and still have money automatically transferred, Lester explained.

5. Pay close attention to even small purchases on your credit card statements.

When reviewing your credit card statements, it’s easy to just focus on the bigger charges. But it’s actually key to also review the smaller line items. 

“Not every fraudulent charge is a four-figure shopping spree,” Sara Rathner , personal finance expert at NerdWallet, told HuffPost. “ Often, thieves test your card out with a few purchases of just a few dollars.”

These purchases are easy to overlook, and if you miss them, bigger fraudulent charges could follow later on.

Rathner advises checking your credit card statements monthly, and if you see something you don’t recognize (even a few-dollar charge), report it to your credit card company immediately. 

6. Have one main investment account and another for short- to mid-term projects.

“[While] most of my clients have at least one long-term [investment] account, I encourage them to consider opening another investment account for mid-term goals,” s aid Elaine King , a certified financial planner and founder of Family and Money Matters . 

Mid-term goals could include buying a home, paying for education, purchasing an investment property or starting a business. 

“When separating investment accounts, we aim to match the portfolio allocation to the specific goals and time horizon and, in the end, save you time and money,” she explained. For example, if buying a home is on the short-term horizon, the “real estate fund” should be invested in short-term assets.

7. Most importantly, know there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach when it comes to personal finances. 

“Personal finances [are] personal and seasonal … [they should be] based on values [and] life circumstances,” said Kara Stevens , founder of The Frugal Feminista and author of “Heal Your Relationship With Money.” Once you understand that other people’s priorities are not the same as yours, “you’ll be able to better identify the tools … that make the most sense for you.”  

Before creating a financial plan, Patrick Yono , founder and CEO of Sure Life Financial, recommends mapping out what’s important to you: What type of home do you want? What type of work-life balance is best for you? What interests do you want to pursue? Once you have the end goal, then you can figure out how to earn the money you need, what type of investments to make, etc. 

Stevens added that we also need to be flexible and responsive to what’s happening in our day-to-day and in the larger world and not feel bound by our financial “rules.”

“There are a lot of rules of thumb out there when it comes to money, but don’t feel pressure to follow them all,” Rathner said. “The best thing you can build into your personal financial plan is the flexibility to make changes as needed.”

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