Walkthrough: Load a Sample Plan and Read the Chart in 5 Minutes

The app starts blank. Nothing is soft-loaded when you hit /app.html. On first run you get a short guided wizard — progress Own → Save → Goal — with a Skip to full app escape and Or pick a sample: chips if you want a full chart in one click. This walkthrough takes the sample path, then teaches three things: the net worth line, the years controls, and What-If. It also repeats the honest limit: sample return rates are planning assumptions you (or the demo) typed — not forecasts.

Hypothetical examples only. Not advice. A free projection is not a substitute for a paid planner who knows your taxes, benefits, and risk tolerance.

Minute 0–1: Open blank, then pick one sample

1. Open the main app. Expect a blank workspace — current net worth at $0, empty projection area.
2. On first run, find the guided wizard with muted progress Own → Save → Goal:
   • Own — “What do you own?” → Add an account or No balance yet
   • Save — “What can you save?” → Add income or spending, or No income / I don’t know yet / Use $0 for now
   • Goal — “What is your goal?” → Add a goal, Set a year instead, or None
3. You do not have to finish the wizard for this tour. Tap Skip to full app, or stay on the wizard and use the chips under Or pick a sample:. Prefer Retired at 52 (drawdown / “will the nest egg last?”). Prefer Dual-income 30s FIRE only if you want a brief accumulation alternate — same chart skills.
4. Other entry points: empty chart cards (“Or explore a hypothetical scenario”) or a direct ?sample= link. Same plans.

After load, a demo banner appears:

Dismiss hides that banner when you are done reading it. Samples are demos. Edit anything.

Sample behavior (important): loading a sample archives your current plan first and opens the demo as a separate named plan. It does not wipe or replace your workspace in place. Switch back anytime from Saved plans in the header (or Export/Share). That matches the in-app Guide tab language.

After you finish Own → Save → Goal or tap Skip to full app, three quick-start bubbles stay on the Dashboard: Add asset/debt, Add income/expense, Add goal. Useful when you build your own plan after the tour — not required to read a sample chart.

In-app detail: Guide → Getting started. This post stays on the five-minute read.

Direct links (skip the blank screen if you want)

• Open Retired at 52
• Open Dual-income 30s FIRE
• Open blank app

Minute 1–2: Orient on KPIs, then the net worth line

With Retired at 52 loaded, glance at the three KPI cards, then the main chart.

Current Net Worth should read $1,240,000 — the sum of the sample accounts (not a live bank feed; we do not link banks):

Account	Balance	Assumed return (input, not a forecast)
IRA / 401(k) (stocks)	$500,000	7%
Taxable Brokerage (stocks)	$340,000	7%
Bond Index	$360,000	4%
Emergency Fund (HYSA)	$40,000	4.5%
Total	$1,240,000	—

Projected Future is one path at the sample’s horizon — labeled in product copy as one possible path based on your choices. The sample sets 40 projection years and a goal named Portfolio Lasts 40 Years with $100,000 remaining in year 40. Meeting (or missing) that goal on the straight line is not insurance.

Cash flow in this sample (what actually loads):

• Living Expenses: $6,000/month from brokerage
• Cash Buffer Spending: $1,200/month from the HYSA
  → about $7,200/month leaving the plan (~$86,400/year). Against $1.24M that is roughly ~7% in year one — arithmetic on the demo, not a recommended withdrawal rate.
• Bond → brokerage transfer: $1,800/month
• IRA/401(k) → brokerage: $5,500/month starting in year + 8 (the sample delays that transfer; it does not model taxes, penalties, or RMDs)
• Annual rebalancing is on
• No paycheck. No Social Security. No tax modeling.

How to read the Net Worth Projection line

The main chart title is Net Worth Projection. The line is a linear projection: each year applies the return rates on the accounts, plus/minus the events on the plan, for the number of years you set.

Read it in this order:

1. Start — year 0 / today matches current net worth (~$1.24M here).
2. Slope — up means growth and/or surplus; down or flatter means spending and transfers are winning relative to assumed growth. On Retired at 52 you are watching a drawdown story, not a savings-rate climb.
3. End — where the line sits at the horizon versus the $100,000 leftover goal. The goal marker is a target on the demo, not a promise.
4. Shape changes — look for kinks when events start or stop (for example the year-8 IRA/401(k) → brokerage transfer). The table under Projection Detailed Breakdown (Year / Net Worth / Growth / Events) is the same story in numbers if the line is hard to eyeball.

If you briefly open Dual-income 30s FIRE instead: same chart skills, different slope — two earners, $60,000 starting assets, $1,500,000 FIRE target in year+15, 35 projection years, sample stock returns 7% and cash 4.5%. Read when the line crosses the goal; still do not treat those returns as a market forecast.

Either sample: the smooth line is one path under the rates typed into the plan. It is not a Monte Carlo fan chart and not a historical replay.

Minute 2–3: Change the years (same plan, different window)

Years are part of reading the chart — not a separate product.

On the Projected Future card you get quick period buttons (10Y / 20Y / 30Y) and editable projection years. The Retired at 52 sample itself is built as a 40-year plan — after load, confirm the horizon matches the question you care about (40 years of spending), not only the 30Y shortcut.

Try this once:

1. Leave spending and returns alone.
2. Flip 10Y → 20Y → 30Y (and, for this sample, keep or restore the 40-year horizon when you want the full leftover-goal story).
3. Watch the end of the net worth line and the Projected Future KPI move with the window.

Shorter windows can look calmer; longer windows show more of the drawdown (or accumulation) path. Changing years does not change the honesty of the return assumptions — it only changes how much of the same linear path you display.

Minute 3–4: Nudge What-If (still not a forecast)

Open the collapsible What-If Scenarios section on the Dashboard.

Live controls:

• Market Performance — slider from Bear (−5%) to Bull (+5%) relative to the plan’s assumed returns
• Monthly Boost/Expense — roughly −$10k to +$10k per month

Do one move at a time:

1. Reset if needed, then nudge Market Performance toward Bear. Watch the net worth line and projected KPI.
2. Reset, then add a modest monthly expense (or a boost). Watch again.

What-If is a sensitivity tool on top of the same linear engine. It answers “what if returns were a bit worse / I spent a bit more?” It does not turn the sample into a prediction, a Monte Carlo success rate, or a tax-aware plan. Reset when you are done so you do not misread a nudged demo as the baseline sample.

Minute 4–5: Edit one real field — then distrust the sample rates on purpose

The demo banner said every field is editable. Prove it once:

1. Open Living Expenses (or Dual-income’s expense lines) and change the monthly number by a round amount you will remember.
2. Return to the Dashboard chart. The line should move. That is the product: your inputs drive the path.
3. Optionally open an account and change a return rate (for example stocks from 7% to something more conservative). The line moves again.

Then the hard rule for this whole five minutes:

When you are ready for your plan: keep editing the sample, switch back via Saved plans, or start from blank with Own → Save → Goal (or Skip to full app + the Add asset/debt / Add income/expense / Add goal bubbles).

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 1: Expecting a preloaded plan on first open

/app.html opens blank by design. Samples are opt-in via wizard chips, empty-chart cards, or ?sample= links.

Mistake 2: Reading the smooth line as “the market will do this”

The chart applies the rates on the accounts every year. That is readability, not prophecy. Change the rates and the “future” changes with them.

Mistake 3: Copying Retired at 52’s ~7% starting spend as a rule

$86,400 ÷ $1,240,000 is about 7% in year one on this demo. That is faster than classic 4% / 3.5% starting-rate conversations. The sample exists so you can see an aggressive spend on a 40-year clock — not so you adopt 7% as policy. Sizing identity: What is my FIRE number?; rate-vs-horizon: 4% vs 3.5% SWR for early retirees.

Mistake 4: Thinking a sample wipes your work

It does not. The app archives your current plan first and opens the sample as a separate named plan. Use Saved plans in the header to switch back. Do not export in a panic because an old blog said “replace.”

Mistake 5: Mentally adding Social Security, taxes, or a paycheck the sample does not have

Retired at 52 has no paycheck and no SS in the file. This site does not model taxes, Roth conversions, or Medicare. If those matter in your life, they are outside this five-minute demo.

Mistake 6: Skipping years and What-If, then declaring the chart “understood”

Horizon and sensitivity are part of literacy. A 10-year window and a 40-year window are different questions on the same plan. A Bear nudge is not a full stress suite — but it beats trusting one untouched line.

Five-Minute Checklist

1. Open blank app — confirm blank + Own → Save → Goal wizard (or Skip to full app).
2. Load Retired at 52 (optional brief peek at Dual-income 30s FIRE).
3. Read the demo banner; note Current Net Worth and Projected Future. Know you can return via Saved plans.
4. Trace the Net Worth Projection line: start → slope → end vs goal → event kinks.
5. Change years (10Y/20Y/30Y and the sample’s own horizon).
6. Nudge What-If once; reset.
7. Edit one expense or return; watch the line move. Remember: sample rates ≠ forecasts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the calculator start with a sample?

No. Opening /app.html lands on a blank workspace. Use Own → Save → Goal, Skip to full app, tap a sample chip, or use a ?sample= link when you want a filled demo.

What is Own → Save → Goal?

The first-run guided wizard on a blank Dashboard: What do you own? → What can you save? → What is your goal? — plus Or pick a sample chips and Skip to full app. After finish or Skip, three quick-start bubbles remain: Add asset/debt, Add income/expense, Add goal.

Which sample should I load for this walkthrough?

Retired at 52 for a no-paycheck, 40-year drawdown chart. Dual-income 30s FIRE only if you want a two-earner path toward a $1.5M goal with live $60k starting assets. Same chart-reading skills; pick the story you care about.

Will loading a sample erase what I entered?

No. Picking a sample opens it as a separate named plan and keeps the plan you were already editing (archived first). Switch back from Saved plans in the header or Export/Share. After load, the demo banner reminds you every field is editable.

What does the net worth line actually show?

A year-by-year linear projection from your (or the sample’s) accounts, events, goals, and return inputs over the selected years. One path. Not a guarantee.

Are the 7% / 4% / 4.5% figures predictions?

No. They are editable assumptions inside a labeled hypothetical. Change them. Re-run. Do not outsource your forecast to the demo.

Where do I learn the UI beyond five minutes?

In-app Guide tab (start with Getting started and Dashboard / What-If notes). For runway math after this tour, How long will my money last? For years-to-FI intuition on a savings sample, Years to FI: what a higher savings rate buys.

The Bottom Line

Five minutes is enough to learn the product surface:

• The app starts blank; samples are opt-in and open as separate named plans.
• Retired at 52 (or a brief Dual-income look) fills a real chart you can edit.
• Read start → slope → end on the net worth line; use years and What-If as literacy tools, not as prophecy.
• Sample returns are inputs, not forecasts. Replace the demo numbers with yours before you trust any ending balance.

Open the blank calculator · Load Retired at 52 · Load Dual-income 30s FIRE