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ForecastYourMoney

What this is

Forecast Your Money answers one question: will your money last?

Not whether you hit a particular number, but whether the money lasts to the end of your plan. That is what the gauge on the Simulations tab measures.

The same projection answers two related questions along the way. Under a given set of simulated market conditions, it shows the year the money is projected to run out. Or, if it lasts, what is projected to be left at the end, which for those planning their legacy is the number that mattered all along.

It takes what you have, what you earn, what you spend, and what you owe, then walks forward one year at a time to the end of your plan. Every year it works out the taxes you would owe, sells from the right accounts in the right order when you need cash, and grows what is left. Then it does that again, 500 times, against 500 different possible futures for the market.

What you get back is not a number. It is a range, and a percentage.

What it is not

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It helps to be blunt about this early, because several of these are things people reasonably expect from a financial app:

  • Not a budgeting app. It never asks where last month’s money went.
  • Not a net worth tracker. Your house and your car are not in the projection. (Here is why, and what to do instead.)
  • Not an account aggregator. It never asks for bank credentials and cannot connect to your accounts. You type in the balances.
  • Not tax software. The tax numbers are planning estimates, not a return.
  • Not financial advice. Nothing here is a recommendation. See the disclaimer.

Who it is for

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Anyone within twenty years or so of leaving work, or already there, who wants to stress-test a plan rather than admire it. It is built for the awkward questions. What if the market drops in my first year of retirement? What if I stop working five years earlier? What does that new roof actually cost me in 2050?

It is a poor fit if you are an active investor tracking positions, or if most of your wealth is in rental property. In the second case, some of it still works (rental income belongs under Income), but net worth is the more interesting number for you, and this tool does not track net worth.

Two things that will not change

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Your plan data stays in your browser. There is no account to create, nothing is sent to a server, and there is no way for us to see your numbers even if we wanted to. If syncing across devices is ever offered, it will be something you opt into, and staying anonymous will remain a supported way to use this.

The forecaster is free, and stays free. If this is ever monetized it would be through extras or referrals, not by putting a wall around what is already here.

Start here

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