I've wanted to do this for awhile, partly because I've long had an interest in changeable manual signs -- sports scoreboards, gas station price signs, movie marquees and the like -- and partly out of a simple extension of my obsession with finances in general. I'm also hoping having these numbers to stare at will motivate me to accumulate more wealth and keep my withdrawal rate down: What gets measured gets improved, as Peter Drucker put it. It's not what I call perfect but for now it does the job.
A trip to Walmart got the whiteboard, some index cards for sticking the numbers onto, some plastic holders I cut into a size that will hold the numbers on the board and a binder to keep the unused numbers in. Total cost around $13. I had a few different ideas, such as sticking magnets on the back of the number cards, that weren't implemented. I'll be looking for a better solution to display the numbers such as "tracks" they can be slid into or plastic that holds them more firmly in place. I also put a fair amount of thought into exactly what data I would display and track and how to arrange it.
Any unconventional design choices are probably intentional, including punctuation on some cards and using letter I's for 1's. Having enough digits isn't an issue; I wanted to get a bit creative. This is also why I didn't just simply, you know, write on the whiteboard with markers. I took it outside to photograph because the lighting was better.
Some explanations:
The top row is the current "fiscal" month and my liquid net worth as of the end of the last fiscal month. It includes both taxable and retirement accounts, but not consumable goods (car, personal effects), things that don't have an immediate tangible value (valuables and collectibles, many of which I'm trying to sell) or things I have no immediate ownership of (future promised work, inheritance). I rent so there's no housing value in here. This will be updated at the start of every month.
The "PER MO" number on the second row is the monthly equivalent of a 4% withdrawal rate, or the net worth divided by 300. The "PER DAY" number is the per-month number divided by 30.5. This will be updated with the net worth number.
"INC" and "EXP" are the current month's income and expenditures. Income is everything received during the calendar month. I include stock dividends when they're paid, but not anything reinvested such as bond or mutual fund gains. I also won't include proceeds from stock or bond sales, which would come out of net worth. My reasoning is threefold: (1) Dividends are a recurring cash flow which I use to cover expenses (2) it's always how I've mentally accounted for them and (3) it's my goddamn scoreboard.
Expenses are "fiscal month" expenses, that is, everything that I pay immediately (cash) or will come due at the beginning of the following month (rent, credit cards which cut off during the current month). After about the 16th this number gets locked in. After that all expenses will roll over to the next month. I count everything in the fiscal month they're paid, and don't amortize, for example, car insurance.
"NET" is per-month minus (expenses minus income), or the absolute amount by which I go over or under a 4% withdrawal rate. "WD RT" is the current month's running annualized withdrawal rate, calculated as (expenses minus income) times 12 divided by net worth. If "net" is negative the withdrawal rate will be greater than 4%, and if positive will be less.
The last two rows will update throughout the month, as I receive and spend money. Not sure I'll update them every day, but sometimes I need things to do.
I'm open to ideas to include different metrics or to calculate something differently. The board's full, so something would have to come off, most likely the "per-day" spending amount, if I add something. If you want to criticize my exclusion of dividends in withdrawal rate you can do that too, but I might not listen. If the entire idea is something people like I hope to post periodic updates.
