Here’s the beginning of a collection of tools I’ve created (and will create) to help myself and others plan and make decisions. There’s a little magic here — but the real magic is in making these work for you and your facts. That’s the heart of the practice of law (which I define as applying knowledge [of the law] to your personal situation), and it’s where I provide real value across the board (for example, see my Tools for Startups page). These tools will obviously be more about the “knowledge” side than the application side – you’re the one who knows you, and I don’t presume to. But I know about math, decisiveness, planning, and execution — and I know how to make tools that support your special situation in each of these worlds.
Some of my friends and colleagues wonder why I publish these kinds of resources. Wouldn’t it be better to keep them “secret” and try to find ways to charge for this knowledge? My answer is always that other smart people already know these things, and people that don’t get it won’t get it right no matter what I put in front of them. As for people who read these posts and use these tools, whether they’re prospective clients or not, I think they like me because I’m the kind of person who can and does build these materials from scratch and deeply understands the deep financial concepts, and the math used to express them, inherent in the financial tools or the principles embodied in the other tools. You can also see my post on “Why I write.”
Savings Rate Calculations
This spreadsheet to calculate the amount you need to save to hit a retirement goal (broken down into daily/monthly/annual amounts) will help you look at different saving and investing scenarios as well as begin to understand how retirement math works. You can plug in your age and resources, set a goal, and see how different investing returns affect your savings rate. And then you can work backwards and figure out where you’re headed. Knowledge is power.