Life never goes according to plan. So why make one at all?

Life is unpredictable and rarely goes exactly as we expect, so why spend time making a plan?

The answer is simple — planning doesn’t guarantee a perfect outcome, but it gives you direction, structure, and a way to adjust when things change. Without a plan, it’s easy to drift and lose track of whether you’re moving forward toward financial independence.

Think of it like training for a marathon. You wouldn’t show up on race day and hope you can run 26 miles. You break the training into smaller, manageable steps — and your financial journey should work the same way.

Why Big Goals Alone Don’t Work

A big financial dream—like saving $1 million—is exciting, but it’s also overwhelming and feels out of reach. It’s like running a marathon without mile markers: you have no way to measure how far you’ve come and no way of knowing if you’ll ever reach the finish line. That’s where motivation often dies, because the goal feels too distant.

The Power of Monthly Milestones

Breaking a huge goal into smaller checkpoints makes all the difference. When you set monthly or yearly milestones you get clarity, motivation, and the ability to course-correct early.

• Stay motivated: mini wins build momentum.
• Stay clear: you can see if you’re ahead or behind.
• Stay flexible: adjust quickly when life changes.

How the Investment Calculator Helps

The investment calculator on this site is meant to be the bridge between motivation and planning. It’s designed to be flexible so your plan can grow with your life.

Variable Contributions

Instead of forcing fixed contributions forever, the calculator lets you increase contributions by year or by specific months. That makes it easy to allocate raises, bonuses, or seasonal income toward financial independence while preventing lifestyle creep.

Taxable vs Non-Taxable Accounts

You can split your investment plan across account types (taxable and retirement), since they may have different return expectations, limits, and withdrawal rules. This is especially important to model if your goal is to retire early, before you can access retirement accounts without penalties.

Track Your Actual Progress

The calculator also includes an Actuals section, where you can record and track your progress over time and compare it to your plan. This helps you see whether you’re ahead or behind your targets, identify what’s working, and adjust your contributions or assumptions as needed. Instead of starting over when life changes, you can fine-tune your plan based on real performance — turning long-term goals into something you can actively measure and improve.

Safety, Target, and Reach Plans

Build three plans:

1. Safety: conservative assumptions — a fallback if things go wrong.
2. Target: the realistic middle path you expect.
3. Reach: an ambitious but still achievable best-case scenario.

Running all three lets you prepare for setbacks without losing sight of what’s possible.

Strategies for Building Your Three Plans

The following strategies can help you stay motivated with your financial goals. Choose the one that fits you best or create your own approach.

Underestimate Your Normal Plan

Plan to contribute a little less than you believe you can or assume slightly lower return rates than you expect. This gives you a safety buffer and the pleasant surprise of staying ahead of schedule. The result: you may actually reach your finish line sooner than planned, with less stress along the way.

Overestimate Your Plan

If you’re motivated by competition, set a more ambitious target than you think is realistic. This can push you to find extra income streams, take on side projects, or level up your career faster. The risk is that you may miss the goal, but the trade-off is that it can drive you to achieve more than you would have under a conservative plan.

Front-Load Contributions Early

Starting strong by contributing more than planned in the early years builds momentum and creates a cushion that makes later years easier to manage. Even if raises or income increases don’t match your assumptions later on, your early contributions will already be working for you. This approach can also accelerate compounding growth, since larger balances are invested earlier.

A Quick Example: Fifi’s Three Plans

To see how this works in practice, meet Fifi. At 32, Fifi wants to be financially independent by 50. The $1 million goal feels overwhelming, so Fifi breaks it down into three plans.

Safety Plan

Fifi assumes modest returns and smaller contributions. The safety plan shows independence is still possible, but a few years later than hoped. It gives Fifi a conservative fallback to lean on when things get tough.

Target Plan

Fifi sets a realistic middle path: $1,000 per month with a modest annual increase. That path lands Fifi near age 50 — a clear, trackable target to work toward.

Reach Plan

By assuming high contributions and slightly stronger returns, Fifi’s reach plan shows independence at 46. It’s ambitious, but still within sight.

The payoff? Fifi no longer has a vague dream. Instead there’s a clear set of monthly milestones, a safer fallback, and a motivating best-case.

Why Planning Still Matters When Plans Change

No plan will unfold perfectly. Jobs change, markets shift, and unexpected expenses happen. The point of a plan isn’t to predict the future — it’s to give you a framework to respond.

With a plan you can rerun scenarios, reallocate contributions, and keep moving forward. Without it, every change feels like a new start. Change becomes manageable—a shift in direction rather than starting over.