Paper ID: 2403.06011

Reinforcement Learning Paycheck Optimization for Multivariate Financial Goals

Melda Alaluf, Giulia Crippa, Sinong Geng, Zijian Jing, Nikhil Krishnan, Sanjeev Kulkarni, Wyatt Navarro, Ronnie Sircar, Jonathan Tang

We study paycheck optimization, which examines how to allocate income in order to achieve several competing financial goals. For paycheck optimization, a quantitative methodology is missing, due to a lack of a suitable problem formulation. To deal with this issue, we formulate the problem as a utility maximization problem. The proposed formulation is able to (i) unify different financial goals; (ii) incorporate user preferences regarding the goals; (iii) handle stochastic interest rates. The proposed formulation also facilitates an end-to-end reinforcement learning solution, which is implemented on a variety of problem settings.

Submitted: Mar 9, 2024