Personal Budget, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement Essay

Personal Budget, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement - Essay Example The assets should be equivalent to the liabilities of the individual. Some examples of assets that are included in the balance sheet include the real estate, the checking accounts, savings accounts, cash value of life insurance, vehicles, money market investments and jewelry. Liabilities represent the obligations of the individual such as consumer debts, student loan debts, car loans and outstanding mortgage repayments. Personal cash flow statement will measure the individual cash inflows and outflows in order to determine the net cash flow for a specific period of time. Personal cash inflow will mainly include the salaries and wages, the interests from savings, the dividends received from invested funds and the capital gains that may be realized from the sale of bonds or common stocks. The expense or cash outflows will include the rent paid like house rent, car rental fees, mortgage repayments, utility bills, the entertainment expenditure, and groceries utilized by the individual fo r the specific period of time. Introduction Below are the personal budget, cash flow statement and balance sheet of Sophia. In order to prepare the above financial statements, it is important that we understand the client age, the spouses, and dependants of the client. It is also important to factor the educational background, the income status of the client and spouse, and the major goals of the client. The objectives of Sophia are to save money for unexpected expenses, provide for long-term expenditure such as retirement, and educate her dependants (Stovall & Maurer, 2011). Another objective is to earn adequate income from her savings in order to be able to subsidize the low income from employment (Stovall & Maurer, 2011). Sophia is married to Peter and both have a two-year-old daughter who is not currently enrolled in any school. Sophia is currently pursuing her bachelor of accounting degree on part-time basis, and she is employed in a local charity organization. Her monthly inco me is $ 1,500 while Ken is a graduate of Finance and is currently working in the hospitality industry with a monthly income of $ 2,000. The two major concerns are to save for retirement and education of their daughter. Below is the monthly personal budget of Sophia The financial goals are to avoid debt and increase the emergency funds so that they can accrue money for their daughter’s education and save for retirement. Amount in dollars (US $) Amount in dollars (US $) Expected income Salary (Sophia and Peter) 3,500 Interest on savings deposits 50 Interest on investments 40 Total monthly expected income 3,590 Projected Fixed monthly expenditure Student loan repayments 150 Car insurance 40 Investment savings 450 Mortgage loan repayments 500 Car loan repayment 90 Student loan 80 Life insurance 50 Total fixed expenditure (1,360) Projected variable monthly expenditure Food 1,000 Telephone, water and electricity 100 Clothing 200 Fuel and car maintenance 250 Entertainment 200 Donati ons and gifts 50 Total projected variable expenditure (1,800) Expected monthly savings 430 From the above personal budget, Sophia will have a net savings of $ 380 that she can utilize in meeting her financial goals and objectives. Below is the balance sheet of Sophia as at the end of the 30th September 2012. Sophia’s personal balance sheet as at 30th September 2012 Amount in US dollars Amount in US doll