Joint Financial Decision Making: How a Google Sheets Document Can Simulate Your Future
“Retirement”. Ah, the sweet sound of finally having a little time for yourself! No more early mornings, no more long commutes, and no more meetings, meetings, meetings. But, before you start daydreaming about all the lounging you’ll be doing, there’s one little thing you need to take care of — retirement planning.
Yup, it’s time to get serious and make sure that you’ll have enough money to actually do all that lounging! But don’t worry, we’ve got your back! You don’t have to be a financial wizard to plan for your retirement.
In fact, all you need is the Couple’s Financial Planner on Google Sheets and some simple organization.
That’s right, you can use a customized Google Sheets document to help you keep track of your finances, set your goals, and stay organized. And the best part? You don’t have to be a spreadsheet expert! In this guide to exploring your financial lives as a couple,, we’ll take you through everything you need to know. We’ll explore your current financial situation, how the future looks, and provide an opportunity to tune your financial life positively.
By the end of this blog, you’ll have deep insights into your financial lives and be well on your way to a comfortable and carefree retirement. So, let’s get started and have a little fun while we’re at it!
Understanding Your Financial Situation (Step 1)
Understanding your financial situation is a crucial first step in retirement planning. It’s like going on a road trip — you can’t just get up and drive without proper planning first. So, grab your significant other, sit down with a coffee or tea, and let’s get to work!
First things first, let’s track your income and expenses. This will give you a clear picture of how much money is coming in and where it’s going out. You’ll be surprised at how much money you’re spending on things like lattes and takeout! Trust us, tracking your expenses is a real eye-opener.
Our planner has allocated spaces for all your expenses, including rent, medical expenses, groceries and more. Simply enter your estimated values to get started.
Next, it’s time to calculate your current net worth. This is simply the sum of all your assets minus all your liabilities. It’s like weighing yourself on the scale — you need to know where you stand to know how much further you have to go.
Our customized financial planner streamlines the process for you, with pre-populated columns ready for you to simply input your current financial information.
Once you have that value, you can input it on the sheet planner.
Adjusting Your Future Forecasts (Step 2 & 3)
Moving to Step 2 and 3.
In Step 1, you’ll estimate how much you spend monthly on essential living costs. Then, in Step 2, the Couple’s Financial Planner takes those estimates and uses them to project how much you’ll spend monthly and annually for up to 20 years. These values are your fundamental needs, like food, rent, medical expenses and more.
Let’s take groceries as an example. Maybe you estimate that you currently spend around $500 per month on food for the two of you. The CFP will take that estimate and project how much you’ll spend on food each month and year for the next 20 years. It takes into account factors like inflation and changes in your spending habits over time.
This feature is incredibly helpful for planning your retirement because it allows you to see how your spending habits will impact your finances in the long term. Maybe you’re shocked to see that your projected groceries spending within the next 3 years is much higher than you expected. This gives you the opportunity to adjust your current spending habits now to ensure you’re on track to meet your retirement goals.
Plus, it’s just plain fun to play around with the projections and see how different scenarios could impact your finances. Maybe you decide to cut back on eating out for a couple of years to save some extra cash. You can input that change into the Google Sheets template and see how it affects your overall financial picture.
Note: Step 2 is for the first partner to fill out and Step 3 is for the other partner. Both pages contain the same values to be filled out.
Adding on Major Future Plans (Step 4)
In Step 4 of the Couple’s Financial Planner, you’ll find a section dedicated to major life events. This could be anything from having children to purchasing a yacht or even a private island — basically, any big-ticket item that is likely to require a substantial investment of your hard-earned cash.
This section of the Couple’s Financial Planner allows you to input the estimated cost of each event and the year in which you plan to make the purchase.
The CFP then automatically adjusts your total net worth calculation in the summary section based on these inputs. For example, let’s say you plan to buy a car in 2029 for $48,000. After inputting this purchase in Step 4, you’ll notice that your net worth at retirement takes a significant hit.
This is because the template factors in the cost of the car purchase and adjusts your projected finances accordingly. Similarly, if you’re planning to have children, the CFP includes a section that calculates the estimated cost of raising kids from birth to age 17. This gives you a rough idea of what it will cost to have children and how it will impact your net worth at retirement.
Likewise you can add in any major purchases you intend to make and the financial planner will calculate your net worth accordingly.
Reviewing and Understanding your Financial Results
After step 4, you will get access to a financial model and a summary page. The financial model shows your annual income, expenses, net worth and more, all year by year. These estimates are based on the values you inputted in step 1,2 and 3. The financial model shows how your net worth grows yearly, and also how your expenses grow as each year passes by.
On the other hand, the summary shows a quick and summarized view of all the work you put into the Couple Financial Planner. It showcases your net worth at any year of your choosing and at retirement. The summary page also boasts of various insightful pie charts and graphs showcasing and comparing your partner’s financial situation and yours.
Creating a Plan for Retirement by Using the CFP
Now that you have all these insights at your disposal, it’s in you and your partner’s best interest to use it wisely. The Couple’s Financial Planner is a powerful tool that gives you so much information on your financial life. By using the CFP, you can analyze and plan for the years leading up to retirement.
Financial freedom is something everyone desires. By using this planner, you can easily plan and track your finances right from the palm of your hands. Now you can set your goals based on the projections from the planner. Do you need to increase your income? Or get a remote job so that you can cut down on commuting costs? The choice is all yours.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, retirement planning doesn’t have to be complicated or stressful. With a little organization and the right tools, you can have a comfortable and carefree retirement. By understanding your financial situation, setting realistic goals, using the Couple Financial Planner to track your progress, investing in the right places, and staying on track, you’ll be well on your way to a happy and secure retirement.
You must be curious to have the Couple Financial Planner right away. Luckily, you don’t have to wait till you’re turning grey, you can start planning right away! Here’s a link to your Couple Financial Planner.
So, grab your partner, put on a smile, and start planning for an amazing future together.
