Is Your Financial World Feeling Scattered? Let’s Bring It All Together!
Imagine having a single, easy-to-read snapshot of your entire financial life—your goals, income, expenses, and progress—all in one place. Whether you’re saving for a big milestone, managing daily expenses, or planning for the future, a personalized financial dashboard can help you stay on track and make informed decisions with confidence.
In this section, we share how to create and maintain a financial dashboard tailored to your unique needs, helping you simplify your finances and achieve your goals.
Ready to take charge of your financial journey? Continue reading for step-by-step guidance and practical tips!
Steps to Create Your Financial Dashboard
- Start with Your Financial Goals:
What are you aiming for? Maybe it’s paying down debt, buying a house, preparing for retirement, saving for a downpayment on a car, putting away for a well-deserved vacation, or building an emergency fund. Knowing your goals will guide you on what to track and how your dashboard can be a valuable resource.
- Gather Your Financial Information:
Bring together all your assets – like bank accounts, investments, real estate, and even things like cryptocurrency or other assets you want to keep tabs on – as well as your debts, such as loans, credit card balances, and other liabilities. Having a clear view of your total assets makes it easier to see where you’re growing and where you might want to adjust.
- Decide on the Key Financial Metrics You Want to Track:
Some considerations are:
- Income & Cash Flow: Capture all your income sources, like salary or rental income, to see how much is coming in and how much is going out each month.
- Expenses: Track your spending habits by splitting expenses into “essential” (housing, groceries) and “discretionary” (dining out, entertainment) categories. This can reveal opportunities for saving!
- Net Worth: Calculate your assets minus liabilities to see your overall financial health. Regularly tracking net worth helps you monitor your growth over time.
- Savings Rate: See how much of your income you’re saving each month—it’s a key number for reaching goals.
- Investment Performance: Keep an eye on your investments to see how they’re performing over time and make adjustments if needed.
- Credit Score: Don’t forget your credit score! It’s a good measure of your debt management and can even alert you to issues like fraud.
- Financial Independence Number: Knowing how much you’ll need to live comfortably in the future can guide your saving and investing efforts today.
- Build and Maintain Your Dashboard:
You can go the DIY route with a spreadsheet or choose dashboard software that pulls everything in automatically. Keeping it updated regularly will make sure it reflects your current financial situation, so you’re always seeing an accurate snapshot.
DIY vs. Ready-Made Dashboards
Creating your own dashboard lets you fully customize it to fit your needs, but it takes time to set up and maintain. Ready-made options can be a nice shortcut, offering pre-built charts, easy data connections, and regular updates to keep things running smoothly without too much effort.
Staying on Track with Your Goals
Once your dashboard is up and running, check in regularly. Are you still on track for your goals? Do you need to adjust your savings rate or maybe rebalance your investments? Think of it as a way to guide and fine-tune your financial journey.
Building a financial dashboard is like creating a powerful information system for yourself. You’re always in control, and your dashboard is there to keep you informed, helping you make the best choices for your future. Regularly checking in ensures that you stay aligned with your goals and can make adjustments as needed along your financial journey.
Jeremy Zizmor is the founder of Assurance Family Partners, a company whose mission is to assist and empower individuals and families who need help managing their personal day-to-day finances. He is responsible for running all facets of the business.
