MONEY FINDER · FUTURE QUEST
Money Future Simulator
Explore a possible next 20 years. Change the assumptions, compare paths and see the trade-offs.
Illustrative scenarios, not predictions or financial advice. Returns, income and outcomes are not guaranteed.
Enter income, living expenses and total savings to explore your timeline. Use $0 where appropriate.
Your simulated journey
End-of-year balances. Annual totals describe that year. All figures are hypothetical USD amounts.
Snapshot and goal show the selected path before changes. The green line and difference cards show your what-if changes.
A negative cash figure is a planning shortfall, not an approved loan. Financing costs are not modeled.
Scenario net worth over 20 years
Use the year slider, milestone buttons or click the chart. Lines show scenario net worth, not a guaranteed account value.
What changes at 5, 10, 15 and 20 years?
Compared with the selected path before changes. Positive differences are scenario calculations, not promised gains.
Scenario goal
Based on cash plus investments; ignores debt. This is simulated progress, not real savings.
Year-by-year details
End-of-year balances. Annual totals describe that year. All figures are hypothetical USD amounts.
| Year | Cash / unfunded gap | Investment balance | Debt remaining | Net worth | Net worth in today’s dollars | Annual take-home income | Annual living expenses | Annual cash flow after debt payments | Annual debt payments made | Annual debt interest charged | Cumulative transfers to investments | Cumulative investment withdrawals | Unfunded cash gap | Unpaid scheduled payments this year | New unfunded expenses this year |
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Model & limitations
Balances are tracked in integer cents. Each month: apply the assumed nominal annual investment return ÷ 12 to opening investments; add debt interest at APR ÷ 12; receive take-home income and pay living costs; withdraw investments if needed; pay as much of the scheduled debt payment as assets allow; then transfer available cash to investments. Cash earns 0%, and negative cash never earns a return. Returns and debt interest are rounded to cents monthly, with exact half-cent ties away from zero.
Year 1 uses entered monthly income and living costs. At each later year’s start, multiply each by (1 + its annual growth/inflation rate), rounding to cents. Monthly transfers and debt payments stay fixed. Today’s-dollar net worth = nominal net worth ÷ (1 + expense inflation)^years; the inflation index is carried to 12 decimal places. Negative inflation is allowed. Year 0 is after any funded immediate debt payment.
Debt interest is added monthly before payment. No payment exceeds the amount owed or available cash and investments. Unpaid scheduled payments stay in the debt balance; fees, penalties, minimum-payment rules and new borrowing are excluded. Negative cash records an unfunded living-cost gap without assuming it has been financed. Cumulative transfers are not extra wealth; withdrawals can reverse their effect.
Take-home income is entered after taxes. No further taxes, investment fees, market volatility, sequence risk, benefits, employer matches, life events or financing of cash gaps are modeled. Rates remain constant within each scenario. This model does not establish affordability, eligibility or a suitable investment strategy.
Simple calculation check
With $1,000 monthly take-home income, $800 living costs, $0 starting savings, no debt, no transfers and 0% rates: cash grows by $200 a month. Year 1 = $2,400; year 20 = $48,000. Moving that $200 into investments at 0% leaves the same total balance. These are illustrative inputs only.
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