Assessment 3: A Personal Financial Analysis
Questions
- Explain why you chose the particular graphs or charts that you did. How do the graphs or charts you created help someone understand the financial information from your personal financial analysis? Why are they better than other graphs you considered creating?: Assessment 3: A Personal Financial Analysis.
[I chose a pie chart to represent expenditures because it effectively visualizes proportional spending, allowing viewers to quickly understand how income is allocated across various categories. This format is better suited for comparing percentages than a bar chart, which would focus more on absolute values (Martineau & Cochin, 2003). The circular layout of a pie chart emphasizes the relative importance of each expenditure, highlighting areas of higher spending, such as transportation and housing, which could impact financial goals. By breaking down expenses into easily digestible segments, the chart simplifies complex financial data and supports clearer decision-making for budgeting and saving.]
- Explain the results of your financial analysis, including overall progress toward savings goals, potential changes in your budget that can be made in the future, and possible economic or life impacts that may affect your budget in the coming year.
[The financial analysis shows steady progress toward achieving the savings goals, with consistent allocations for savings and essential expenses. Over time, increased income and reduced moving expenses free up funds to accelerate savings. Potential future changes include adjusting discretionary spending or reallocating resources to manage unexpected costs, such as healthcare or inflation-related increases (Dathe et al., 2020).
Other external or internal occurrences, for instance, fluctuations in the general inflation rate, alterations in the tax rates, and new responsibilities at work or in the family circle, may compel the need for further amendment of the budget. Staying adaptable and monitoring financial trends will be crucial to maintaining and exceeding savings goals.]
- Project how your financial analysis will look in one year. Take into account economic concepts and trends.
- What economic concepts might be relevant (income growth, inflation, consumer prices, et cetera)?
- What economic trends might you want try to account for when making your projection?
- How could you try to plan for unexpected expenses when making your projection?
[In one year, my financial analysis will reflect adjustments for income growth, anticipated inflation, and changes in consumer prices. Higher wages from career progression may offset rising living costs, while inflation could impact discretionary spending categories like transportation and healthcare (Hourcade, et al., 2021). Economic trends, such as changes in the real estate market or alteration of tax rates, will call for a change in the savings strategies.
An unexpected expense will be catered for by an emergency fund allocation within the proposed budget, and flexibility will be adopted for discretionary expenditure. Economic forecasts like inflation and interest rates help upgrade financial forecasts and maintain progress toward achievements.]
References
Dathe, A., Jaekel, J., Franzel, J., Hoehn, T., Felderhoff-Mueser, U., & Huening, B. M. (2020). Visual perception, fine motor, and visual-motor skills in very preterm and term-born children before school entry–Observational cohort study. Children, 7(12), 276. https://doi.org/10.3390/children7120276
Hourcade, J. C., Dasgupta, D., & Ghersi, F. (2021). Accelerating the speed and scale of climate finance in the post-pandemic context. Climate Policy, 21(10), 1383-1397. https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2021.1977599
Martineau, J., & Cochin, S. (2003). Visual perception in children: Human, animal and virtual movement activates different cortical areas. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 51(1), 37–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0167-8760(03)00151-x
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Question
Complete a financial analysis by creating three monthly budgets, tracking your progress toward your financial goal, and creating graphs to illustrate your budgets and savings progress. Explain why you chose those visualizations and present the findings of your financial analysis.
Introduction
Note: Assessment 3 builds on Assessment 2; you are therefore strongly advised to complete Assessment 2 before you begin this assessment.
Working for Your Future
It’s never too early to work toward the future you want to create. That means not only planning for your professional future but for what comes after. The sooner you become familiar with the best ways to save for retirement and start putting funds aside, the easier it will be to determine when you stop working and ensure you have the means to live comfortably. A financial analysis can help you track and plan your current and future investments.
This assessment you will leverage your technology and problem-solving skills to visualize data and convey solutions from your personal financial analysis. You can use these same skills to help others visualize and understand data at home, work, and school. You may be surprised to discover just how much of your future depends on the decisions you make today.
Time Is Money
Even though he lived over 200 years ago, odds are that Benjamin Franklin would be fascinated by how today’s financial habits have created an economy that supports the value of time. For example, instead of spending time shopping at a store, you can order almost anything on Amazon and have it delivered to your door in just a few days. Franklin might also agree that not all time is of equal value.
The time you spend with your family, for example, may be more valuable to you than the time you spend doing laundry. And because your time is a finite resource, it is perhaps the most important resource to use wisely throughout your life.
Understanding the value of your time can help you build your productivity skill. For example, creating an appropriate savings and investment plan can help you manage your time and reach your goals. When you apply the correct strategies to the right plan, you save yourself time and other resources, which makes you more productive.
Data Visualization
Have you ever heard the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words”?
In the case of data representation, it’s true. Raw data are abstract and often difficult to interpret. By using charts and graphs to represent complex financial information, you’ll give your data a structure that’s easier to understand and work with. Using a visual representation for data makes scientific sense too. The way human beings process information is mostly visual; charts and graphs enable us to visualize data and act on it more effectively than do spreadsheets (Martineau & Cochin, 2003).
Imagine that you need to share your plan to increase your retirement contributions with your family, show your boss how a team member has improved their performance in sales, or show how many cookies your daughter’s Girl Scout troop has sold each year. No matter the situation, it’s more effective to present this information graphically rather than in tabular format. By learning how to analyze and represent your financial data effectively, you’ll help yourself and others quickly grasp the most important takeaway from any data set.
Data visualizations such as charts or graphs can also help you harness the power of imagery to simplify your financial story and give you a clearer sense of where you want to go. Graphs can quickly show you monthly or yearly spending trends. Charts are great if you want to look at how different pieces of information fit together, like which candidates are most popular among certain voters.
Assessment 3: A Personal Financial Analysis
To make your financial analysis work for you, you must think critically and rely on your problem-solving skill to determine what you’re trying to achieve. Then you can apply your technology skill to identify the best way to visualize that information.
Whether looking for answers about how to save for your future or just making sure you’re staying on track at work, using your problem-solving skill to visualize data and convey the right information will help you ensure your decisions add up to the life you want to create.
Reference
- Martineau, J., & Cochin, S. (2003). Visual perception in children: Human, animal, and virtual movement activates different cortical areas. International Journal of Psychology, 51(1), 37–44. https://doi.org/10.
1016/S0167-8760(03)00151-X
Note: Assessments 2 and 3 build on each other. Please complete Assessment 2 before completing Assessment 3.