Modeling Personal Finances

Do people build granular financial models for their personal finances? Started to build one and realized it's a lot more involved than I originally thought to account for traditional vs. Roth accounts, long-term vs short-term capital gains, extremely variable spending, tax implications as comp grows, etc. Could build it myself but would just take some time. Anyone build a dynamic template they personally use and would like to share?

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Based on the most helpful WSO content, building a granular financial model for personal finances is indeed a common practice among finance professionals. Here are some insights and tips shared by users:

  1. Complexity and Involvement:

    • Building a detailed personal financial model can be complex, involving various factors such as traditional vs. Roth accounts, long-term vs. short-term capital gains, variable spending, and tax implications as compensation grows.
  2. Benefits of a Personal Financial Model:

    • Helps in understanding where money is going, making one feel more comfortable with spending habits.
    • Assists in financial planning and ensuring that one is saving adequately.
  3. Tips for Building a Personal Financial Model:

    • Start Simple: Begin with basic income and expense tracking before adding more complex elements.
    • Use Templates: Utilize available financial modeling templates to save time and ensure accuracy.
    • Regular Updates: Keep the model updated regularly to reflect changes in income, expenses, and financial goals.
    • Seek Professional Advice: Consulting with a financial advisor can provide additional insights and ensure the model is comprehensive.
  4. Resources:

    • WSO offers 27 financial modeling templates that can be used as a starting point for building a personal financial model. These templates can be accessed by signing up with an email address or social account.
  5. Community Insights:

    • Users like "thebrofessor" have shared their experiences and tips on financial planning, emphasizing the importance of living below one's means and saving a high percentage of income to build wealth.

For more detailed discussions and templates, you can visit the WSO forum on "Managing Your Money - Building a Personal Financial Model" https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/managing-your-…</a">here.

Sources: Managing Your Money - Building a Personal Financial Model, Managing Your Money - Building a Personal Financial Model, Should you bring up personal financial problems in an interview?, Is my IB analyst personal budget realistic?, How often do you have a truly differentiated view that no one talks about?

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 

No real template to share but I literally started modelling my personal balance sheet, income and Cash flow statements (ie budget) yesterday... fairly straightforward I do it by quarter with mark to markets for my assets and debt. I also have a detailed comp tracker which tracks sign on bonuses, bonus buyouts, vesting schedules etc for deferred comp, etc. it's not super dynamic and nuanced and doesn't really tie out but it's enough for what I need

 
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No. There are too many unknown variables, and most of them are unknowable.  Career progression, expense progression, etc.

When I did mass-affluent financial planning a lifetime ago what we'd do is massively simplify things.  We'd put in a fixed salary growth rate, savings rate (% of salary) & investment rate of return. Anything else in accumulation would be a one time (or recurring) add-in.  Similar with the decumulation phase: fixed spending with growth rate and one  time or recurring extra expenses or inflows.  At the end we'd show a leftover balance or deficit at your anticipated life expectancy.  The only way to try to optimize would be to re-run it changing a variable each time, which would take forever.

I never did one for myself because I couldn't even guess on most of those variables.

The only difference between Asset Management and Investment Research is assets. I generally see somebody I know on TV on Bloomberg/CNBC etc. once or twice a week. This sounds cool, until I remind myself that I see somebody I know on ESPN five days a week.
 

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