5 Things You Didn’t Know Personal Capital Can Do For You

finances

You probably already knew that you can track the detailed balances and holdings in all of your accounts, including investment, checking, savings, and credit cards with one login.

It should come as no surprise that they also display your investment returns; I used their charts in my quarterly updates for years until I stopped publishing them.

Perhaps you did know this, but for a long time I didn’t. It makes sense since it syncs your data from checking accounts and credit cards. They automatically categorize each transaction and, of course, you have the ability to edit those categories and manually enter cash purchases.

#1: Track Your Spending

They say it’s not what you earn, but what you keep that counts. That’s true when it comes to your personal savings rate, and it’s also true of your investment returns. The more you pay in fees, the lower your total return.

#2 Analyze Your Investment Fees

I use a spreadsheet to track my asset allocation into broad categories: US stocks, international stocks, bonds, and alternatives. While that’s helpful, Personal Capital’s breakdown is far more detailed and more accurate.

#3 Break Down Your Asset Allocation in Detail

For example, did you know that VTSAX is comprised of 3% to 4% REITs? I discovered this when looking Personal Capital’s blockish breakdown of what I’m actually invested in.

I’ve played around with quite a few FIRE calculators, and I’ve found Personal Capital’s to be among the more conservative. I view that as a good thing. A conservative outlook is a safer outlook, and it nudges you to oversave rather than take a risk by retiring with an amount that could have you pinching pennies later on in life.

#4 Track Your Retirement Readiness

Of course, this also assumes that I don’t earn another penny and that I make no adjustments to my spending as I see a poor sequence of returns and an increased risk of running out of money. Neither of those would be true in real life.

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