Dashboard - Personal Finance

Context

We often understand the importance of controlling expenses and planning investments, but everyday practice doesn't always match the theory. With this challenge in mind, I developed this Personal Finance dashboard using Power BI, a project that combines data analysis, clear visualization, and continuous monitoring tools.

The main idea behind this project was to create a practical solution that could be used by anyone interested in better understanding their financial life. To access it, click the image or this link.

Understanding the problem

It's common for people to organize their finances in spreadsheets, but most of the time, they simply record the amounts, without transforming this data into visual analyses that reveal patterns, trends, and opportunities for improvement.

Based on this reality, this project was built from a simple table, similar to how many record their financial data. It includes:

• The first column shows the type of entry (income, expenses, or investments);

• The second column details the type of entry;

• The remaining columns show the corresponding amounts for each period.

An important point to highlight is that many people, when organizing their finances in spreadsheets, end up structuring periods (months/years) as columns. This can be seen in column "C" in the image below. This model is quite common because it facilitates direct visualization in Excel, but it poses a modeling flaw: it hinders deeper analysis, increases the need for maintenance, and fails to take full advantage of tools like Power BI or SQL.

Development

In my project, I chose to use Power Query to transform the data into the ideal format (rows per period), ensuring scalability, integration with calendar tables, and greater flexibility for generating indicators. Now, each column represents a variable.

In addition to data processing using Power Query, I used DAX measures to obtain information such as the total value and percentage of expenses, investments, and revenues. The dashboard's background was created in Figma.

Dashboard

Right on the home page, you can view consolidated figures for Revenue, Expenses, and Investments. This comprehensive overview helps you quickly answer the question: "Am I managing to balance income and expenses over time?"

• Average Amount by Type: Shows the ratio between income, expenses, and investment contributions.

• Expenses by Category: Allows you to identify which areas weigh most heavily on your budget, such as rent, food, maintenance, and healthcare.

• Investment Goal: Compares the amount invested so far with the established goal, making it easier to track progress.

Another highlight is the short- and medium-term projections. The Total Revenue, Expenses, and Investment Forecast panels display future trends based on history, supporting preventive decisions before imbalances occur.

The second tab of the dashboard, Revenue vs. Expenses, further deepens the analysis. The graph compares total income and expenses month by month, in addition to showing the percentage of expenses as a percentage of income. This approach allows for the identification of seasonality, periods of higher spending, and months in which savings were possible.

The side filters, in turn, allow you to navigate between the years 2018 and 2021, offering a comparative analysis of financial evolution over time.

Conclusion

This project, which I developed during my postgraduate studies in data analysis at the Data Science Academy, demonstrates how data visualization can transform records that were previously just isolated numbers into a broader context. In addition to providing insight into what has already happened, the dashboard allows you to assess whether current performance is on track to achieve defined goals. By revealing behavioral patterns, it supports more informed decisions, whether to cut costs, set priorities, or maintain disciplined investments.

By analyzing the Expenses by Category chart, for example, it becomes clear that housing and food expenses are the biggest budget drains, indicating where adjustments would have the greatest impact.

The Income vs. Expenses dashboard shows months in which expenses exceeded income, signaling a deficit and the need to review spending habits during these periods.

The Investment Goals section reveals how far you still need to go to reach the planned amount, allowing you to monitor whether the pace of investments is sufficient or if more discipline is needed.

Furthermore, income and expense forecasts help predict future trends, such as gradual revenue growth or the maintenance of expenses at a certain level, supporting more strategic planning.

In this way, the dashboard not only organizes financial data but also transforms it into concrete information, capable of guiding everything from small day-to-day decisions to medium- and long-term choices.