# Case: a one-page financial plan and the yearly review > Dana's year in numbers: plan against actual, saving rate, net worth and the cushion, then a one-page personal financial plan for the next year. - Course: [Personal Finance: Budget, Safety Cushion, Debt and Investing](https://productovi.com/courses/personal-finance.md) - Module: What am I saving for? - Lesson 32/32, ~31 min - Source: https://productovi.com/courses/personal-finance/money-plan-case ## A year later **Alex Tutor:** Back to Dana for the course's last case: you're still helping her, and it's time for her yearly review. **Dana:** It's September 2028, a year since I wrote my goals. The laptop is on my desk, I saw my sister, and the kitchen work starts next month. And still I feel I failed somewhere. **Alex Tutor:** Then let's swap the feeling for two tables: what you planned against what happened, and what you own minus what you owe. That's the whole yearly review. **Dataset (CSV):** [Dana's year: plan and actual, October 2027 – September 2028](https://productovi.com/datasets/personal-finance/money-plan-case/dana-plan-vs-actual.csv) UAH for the whole year. Income is after the single tax, the military levy and the social contribution. Saving lines are money set aside, including goal pots that were later spent (laptop, trip). - `line`: Line of the plan - `kind`: income, spending or saving - `planned_uah`: Planned for the year, UAH - `actual_uah`: What actually happened, UAH **Sofia:** Income beat the plan: 394,800 instead of 380,400. But spending is above plan too. **Alex Tutor:** So look at the **saving rate**: the share of income not spent on essentials or flexible spending. Planned: (380,400 − 302,400) ÷ 380,400 = 20.50%. Now the actual. **Dana:** Essentials 262,800 and flexible 61,200. I'm almost afraid to divide. **Alex Tutor:** Divide anyway. A number is easier to fix than a feeling. > **Exercise:** From the dataset: income was 394,800 UAH, essentials 262,800 and flexible spending 61,200. What was Dana's **actual saving rate**? In %, rounded to two decimals. ## Where the gap came from **Dana:** 17.93%. Lower than planned, although I earned more. **Alex Tutor:** Flexible spending ran 13,200 over, 27.5% above plan, while essentials were only 3.3% over. And retirement got 6,000 less than planned. **Dana:** Summer was thin, as always. I paused retirement for three months rather than dip into the buffer. **Alex Tutor:** A reasonable call, as long as it was a decision, not drift. The flexible line is the one to watch: a monthly limit and a mid-month check catch that kind of creep. **Sofia:** And the flat pot got 6,000 instead of 10,000. > **Exercise:** Which lines of Dana's year came out **worse than planned**? Select all that apply. ## How to calculate net worth: the scoreboard **Alex Tutor:** Now the second table. **Net worth** is what you own minus what you owe: money and savings minus debts, counted on one day. Dana counts it on the first and the last day of the year, and the change is the year's score. **Dataset (CSV):** [Dana's net worth, 1 October 2027 and 30 September 2028](https://productovi.com/datasets/personal-finance/money-plan-case/dana-net-worth.csv) Money, savings and debts in UAH. The kitchen pot is the money set aside for the renovation. Things she uses, such as the laptop, are left out. - `item`: Account, pot or debt - `kind`: asset or debt - `oct_2027_uah`: Balance on 1 October 2027, UAH - `sep_2028_uah`: Balance on 30 September 2028, UAH **Dana:** The laptop isn't in it? It cost 27,000. **Alex Tutor:** Things you use lose value and are hard to sell at a fair price, so a simple net worth leaves them out. Money, savings and debts only. **Sofia:** At the start: 9,400 + 140,000 + 172,434 + 1,000 − 4,800 = 318,034. **Alex Tutor:** Right. Now the end of the year, and the change. > **Exercise:** Net worth was 318,034 UAH on 1 October 2027. Using the 30 September 2028 column (assets minus debts), by **how much** did it change over the year? In UAH. ## What the number hides **Dana:** Up 69,455. That's almost 22%! **Alex Tutor:** A good year. Read it honestly, though: 32,855 came from interest and returns, mostly the kitchen pot, and 36,600 from money you put in. Prices rose too: the kitchen pot earned about 15%, about 6.5% after 8% inflation. **Alex Tutor:** The cushion is 152,600: about 7 months of this year's essentials, 21,900 a month. Six months would be 131,400, so it's 21,200 above. **Sofia:** So the 500 a month for the cushion can go to the flat. Though to make 2033, the flat would need about 13,100 a month. > **Exercise:** Dana asks: “Did I fail?” Answer her in 3–4 sentences with numbers from the review: one thing that went well, one thing to fix, and one decision for next year. ## One page, once a year **Alex Tutor:** All of this goes onto one page, the **money plan**, a personal financial plan: goals with dates, the monthly plan, the cushion, debts, protection, savings and investing, and the date of the next review. **Dana:** One page I'll actually read, not a spreadsheet I'll avoid. **Sofia:** And the review is the steps we just went through, in order. **Alex Tutor:** Exactly. Facts change too: rates, taxes, the minimum contribution, pension rules. Every number with an “as of” date gets checked again. > **Exercise:** Put the steps of a yearly money review in order. ## Next year on one page **Dana:** Write my page for next year. What worked, what to fix, the numbers, and what we do about the flat. **Alex Tutor:** Use the review: the saving rate, the flexible creep, a cushion that's full, retirement back on track, the flat decision and the next review date. **Sofia:** And protection: Dana's income is her biggest asset, and she works alone. **Alex Tutor:** Good point. And the rule from the whole course: education, not personal advice. Check current rates, rules and your own situation. > **Exercise:** Write Dana's one-page money plan for next year. > **Key ideas** > > - A yearly review compares plan and actual line by line, then updates net worth, the cushion and the goals. > - **Saving rate** = (income − essentials − flexible) ÷ income. Dana: 20.50% planned, **17.93%** actual, although income beat the plan: flexible spending ran 27.5% over. > - **Net worth** = money and savings minus debts, without things you use: 318,034 → 387,489, **+69,455**, of which 32,855 came from returns. In real terms the gains are smaller. > - The cushion (152,600) covers about 7 months of essentials, above the six-month 131,400. The flat would need about 13,100 a month for 2033: move the date or the amount. > - A **money plan** fits on one page: goals with dates, the monthly plan, cushion, debts, protection, savings and investing, the next review date. Re-check every “as of” fact. **Alex Tutor:** That's the course: see where money goes, keep a cushion, price your debts, live with lumpy income, choose where savings live, invest without illusions, protect what you have, and plan the long run. One page, once a year. - Previous lesson: [Money and a partner: joint, separate or both](https://productovi.com/courses/personal-finance/money-in-a-couple.md) --- Productovi Learning. Free, no sign-up needed to read.