Frequently asked questions

Short answers to the questions people actually ask. Each links to the fuller explanation.

Why is my Monte Carlo (odds of success) 0%?

Because your plan already runs out of money in the normal projection — so nearly every randomized run runs out too. A 0% isn't a glitch; it means you're spending more than income plus savings can support, and better market luck can't close a large, permanent gap. The fix is more income and/or less spending, not more simulations. See Odds of success.

Why do the spending numbers look different in different places?

Because the same category is measured several ways — your Plan (what you expect, today's dollars), the Projected future figure, this month's Actual, your Target, and the trailing average. Each carries a small badge telling you which is which. Full walkthrough: Understanding your numbers.

My credit-card purchases imported as income — why?

It's a sign problem. On a bank statement, spending is negative and deposits are positive. On many credit-card exports it's flipped — purchases show as positive numbers. If you import a card file as if it were a bank file, purchases can land on the wrong side and look like income.

The fix: re-import the file and, on the import screen, toggle the Purchases are positive amounts checkbox (checking or unchecking it) so the signs read correctly. Preview the rows before confirming — spending should show as spending.

Why did my run-out date get earlier after I turned on taxes?

Because taxes are a real expense the plan wasn't counting before. With tax modeling on, some of your withdrawals and income go to taxes instead of covering living costs, so your savings drain a little faster and the run-out date moves earlier. That's the plan getting more realistic, not a mistake. See the glossary for tax terms.

How is my spending averaged?

Over the last 12 complete calendar months. The current, still-running month is deliberately left out — otherwise a recurring bill that hasn't posted yet would drag the average down and make you look thriftier than you are. That's the trailing average; see Understanding your numbers.

My spending looks doubled — what happened?

You're almost certainly double-counting a credit card. If you import both your card purchases *and* the bank payment that pays off the card, the same money is counted twice — once as the purchases, once as the payment.

The fix: exclude the card payments. Mark those payment transactions as Excluded / transfer so they drop out of the math, leaving just the real purchases. See the glossary entry on Excluded / transfer.

Is this financial advice?

No. Retirement Forecast is an educational estimate to help you think through your own numbers. It isn't financial, tax, or investment advice, and it isn't a substitute for a qualified professional. For decisions that matter, talk to one. See Privacy and security.

Where is my data, and is it safe?

If you have an account, your data is stored privately to that account and synced; passwords are kept hashed (never in plain text); your financial figures aren't sold or shared; and the team keeps secure, regularly-tested backups. In local mode (no account), your data lives only in your browser. Full details: Privacy and security and Accounts and billing.

How do I fix a bad import?

Use Undo on the import. Each import comes in as a batch, so you can undo the whole batch, correct the file or the import settings (like the Purchases are positive amounts checkbox), and import again cleanly. Because of duplicate detection, re-importing a corrected file won't create doubles of rows the app already has.

Don't see your question? The glossary defines every term, and the stress-test overview covers the analysis tools.