Introduction

The Investment Calculator helps you plan, project, and track your investments all in one place. Whether you’re saving for early retirement or simply testing different scenarios, it gives you full control over deposits, growth rates, and outcomes — while keeping your data private in your browser.

This guide walks you through every section of the calculator so you can understand how each feature works and make the most of your planning and tracking tools.

Investment Section

The Investment section is the foundation of your plan. Here, you’ll input the key details that shape your projections:

• Starting amount: your current balance or initial investment.
• Recurring deposit: the amount you plan to contribute on a regular basis.
• Rate of return: your expected annual growth percentage.
• Years to save: how long you’ll be investing.
• Start month and start year: when your investment plan begins.

These inputs form the base for all your charts and tables in the Planning view.

Retirement Section

The Retirement section lets you go deeper by separating your savings into retirement and non-retirement accounts. This section must be enabled before use.

• When enabled: You’ll be able to choose between Non-Retirement, Retirement, or Combined views to see tables and graphs for each type.
• Retirement inputs: Starting amount, Recurring deposit, and Rate of return — just like in the main investment form.
• Split calculations: Compare how your retirement and non-retirement accounts grow individually and together.

Custom Deposits

The Custom Deposits section lets you add or adjust contributions for specific months — perfect for bonuses, raises, or one-time increases.

• Fields: Increase month and Increase amount (plus retirement options if that section is enabled).
• Set Amount button: Replaces all values for that selected month and all years — best used early before making manual edits in the table.
• Manual edits: You can fine-tune individual months using the table view for more granular control.

For example, if you set a recurring deposit of $300 and add a $200 increase in January 2026, your new deposit will become $500 going forward. If you later add a $100 increase in March 2026, the total deposit becomes $600 from that point onward.

Safety / Reach Cases

This section helps you visualize best- and worst-case scenarios by testing higher or lower contribution and return rates.

• Deposit difference: The change in your deposit amount for safety and reach comparisons.
• Rate difference: The change in your expected return rate for each case.

If your base plan uses a $300 deposit and 7% return, setting a deposit difference of $100 and rate difference of 1% will calculate your Safety case at $200 with 6% and your Reach case at $400 with 8%. These differences also apply to custom deposits.

Ending Balance and Charts

At the top of the Planning view, you’ll see an Ending Balance banner summarizing your results. It displays:

• Ending balance
• Initial deposit
• Total deposits
• Total market gain

Each value is shown both as an amount and as a percentage of the total, giving you a clear view of how your money grows over time.

A horizontal bar chart also breaks down your Safety, Target, and Reach totals by initial deposit, deposits, and market gain for easy comparison.

Viewing Your Data

Every section — except Custom Deposits — can display your results in multiple ways:

• Charts: Visualize your progress with interactive growth graphs.
• Monthly tables: See every contribution and balance by month.
• Annual tables: Review yearly summaries for a higher-level view.

Actuals View

Once your plan is set, you can switch to the Actuals view to track your real-world progress. Enter your actual balances to compare them with your planned Safety, Target, and Reach scenarios.

• Data entry: Add actual balances directly in the table each month.
• Comparison: See how your progress stacks up against each plan.
• Combined tracking: If your Retirement section is enabled, view data for Non-Retirement, Retirement, and Combined totals.

The Actuals graph plots your real performance in black and automatically projects your Safety, Target, and Reach plans for future months. Combined tracking will show actuals up to the last month where both retirement and non-retirement data exist.

Milestones and Progress Banner

The Actuals view also features a banner summarizing how you’re performing against your plans. It highlights whether you’re ahead or behind your Safety, Target, and Reach projections, lists key milestones, and estimates when you’ll achieve each one.

Your Data, Your Privacy

All data entered into the Investment Calculator is stored directly in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored on external servers. This ensures your information stays private, secure, and fully under your control.

Conclusion

The Investment Calculator is more than just a projection tool — it’s a complete planning and tracking system. It gives you a clear view of your progress, helps you plan confidently, and keeps your financial data safe. With the right setup and consistent updates, you can see exactly how your savings are moving you closer to your goals.