Like any tool, it is one thing to have it; it is another to use it.

Here are some tips for using your personal financial statement.

1. All items which are an expense are listed as expense items.

Over the following pages we will build a sample Personal Financial Statement.

2. An expense item could have a negative capital value.

For example, if you have a mortgage of $200,000, and you are paying $20,000 per year in repayments then your mortgage has a capital value of -$200,000 and cashflow of -$20,000 per year.