Do you have a process for regular financial reviews? If not, you aren’t alone – many people are unsure about how to calculate their net worth and keep their personal finances on track. In this episode, Eric and Jason share their simple pre- and post-FI review processes for net worth tracking, portfolio review, setting savings and budget goals, and more. Check the show notes for all the details.
Show notes may be found below the video
Show Notes
Essential Background:
- Did you know we previously released a free downloadable rebalancing calculator that’s both powerful and easy to use? In this video, we walk through the features of the tool, demonstrate several examples of how to use it, and describe how you can download your own free copy.
- Asset allocation is a topic that has come up often on Two Sides of FI – and our portfolios have indeed changed over time. For more on our history there, don’t miss our two-part series from 2021. The show notes for “Getting Your FIRE Asset Allocation Right. Here’s Ours (Part 1)” are a great collection of resources on this topic; and here’s Part 2: “Comparing our FIRE Portfolios + Asset Allocations”
- For more on asset allocation decisions, don’t miss how Eric decided to move from a 100% stock allocation and added bonds to his portfolio. We have a two-part series: “I Rebalanced My FI/RE Portfolio and I Hate It!” (Part 1) and “Buying Bonds. Still Not Convinced I’m Doing the Right Thing!” (Part 2). As you’ll note, this decision was made prior to the market downturn in 2022. As a bonus, check out the conversation with Eric + his wife Laura, “FI-nancial Decisions – Transitioning to FI with Laura + Eric”, for a behind the scenes look at how they decided on their revised asset allocation.
In this episode, Eric mentioned Empower (formerly Personal Capital) for summarizing his portfolio performance as a part of rebalancing. We both use and really like this free tool for tracking investment accounts, understanding asset allocation + rebalancing opportunities, and monitoring net worth. Empower employs a simple account linking process to make it a more automated experience. Give it a try risk-free! (affiliate link; free program )
In this episode, Jason mentioned that he uses the software called YNAB to budget. What is YNAB? You Need a Budget is a popular budgeting tool for many in the FIRE community. If manual spreadsheets aren’t your thing or you’ve struggled with budgeting in the past, this may be a good solution. YNAB has a generous, free 34-day trial so you can see how well it works to help you understand and control spending. (affiliate link; no credit card needed for trial )
Are you interested in tracking net worth, income, FIRE progress, and your budget all in one convenient tool? This popular Reddit post by Redditor u/BloomingFinances outlines a free and powerful way that you can do just that.
You can find information on the tools we mention in each episode along with additional information in the Resources section of this site.
- Eric’s business: 30X40 Design Workshop
- Eric’s YouTube Channel
- Our podcast