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Show HN: Investment Calculator – A simple retirement calculator

investmentcalculator.io

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Re: Show HN: Investment Calculator – A simple retirement calculator

#131

Post by pedro_hab »

jonwachob91 wrote: post #42
pedro_hab wrote: post #7

I'd like to know what aggressive/conservative means, and also be able change it, aggressive in the US might be different than in other countries.

>>> "What do Aggressive and Conservative mean? The Investment Calculator uses two investment strategies that typically produce two different retirement scenarios. Aggressive investing indicates a higher financial risk with a higher potential reward, while conservative investing offers a lower financial risk with a more moderate potential reward. Aggressive investing typically means that you will invest in more stocks…

I meant to know what percentages he used, conservative/aggressive is relative.

In the US the FED Interest Rate was about ~.25-.55 a couple years ago where the Brazilian was ~14%

Re: Show HN: Investment Calculator – A simple retirement calculator

#132

Post by teej »

jonknee wrote: post #120
piracykills wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, that's pretty crazy - ~5% bonds for conservative and ~7-8% for aggressive would have been more appropriate in my opinion. And I feel even those numbers may be a little optimistic. Currently it's more like "what if you have a great market year every year until you retire" or "what if you can reliably beat the market" - neither of which is likely to happen.

To be fair the total annualized return of the S&P 500 over long periods is roughly 10%. You don't have to reliably beat the market to reach those numbers. It's interesting to play around with: https://dqydj.com/sp-500-return-calculator/

I think you forgot to click the “inflation adjusted” checkbox. The real rate of return is closer to ~7%. Also caveat emptor - past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Re: Show HN: Investment Calculator – A simple retirement calculator

#133

Post by peterangular »

AustinGrandt wrote: post #125
thetwentyone wrote: post #39

Be careful with this: The projections are gross (ie not inflation-adjusted) and the advice buried in the explanatory text below does not sufficiently discuss this issue. It says you can do a "simple" calculation by applying one year's worth of inflation versus a compounded rate of return. Assuming historical inflation rates, the value of the savings it projects will be significantly eroded compared to what it shows.…

I agree with this. Inflation is a huge factor and needs to be considered with any retirement calculator because you can't assume that your $100K today is worth $100K in 20 years. I actually built a calculator myself to better accommodate for inflation and have the ability to tweak the numbers just a bit more. If you're interested: https://www.financialtoolbelt.com/calculators/financial-inde...

Huh. Crazy how close it is to my implementation - https://modelinvesting.com/retirement-calculator/

You have a UI bug on your tooltips on advanced fields. They show up way above where they should be =)

Re: Show HN: Investment Calculator – A simple retirement calculator

#134

Post by AustinGrandt »

peterangular wrote: post #133
AustinGrandt wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with this. Inflation is a huge factor and needs to be considered with any retirement calculator because you can't assume that your $100K today is worth $100K in 20 years. I actually built a calculator myself to better accommodate for inflation and have the ability to tweak the numbers just a bit more. If you're interested: https://www.financialtoolbelt.com/calculators/financial-inde...

Huh. Crazy how close it is to my implementation - https://modelinvesting.com/retirement-calculator/ You have a UI bug on your tooltips on advanced fields. They show up way above where they should be =)

Awesome tool! I honestly feel like the more of these there are in the world, the better. So many opportunities to help people learn more about investing, saving, etc.

I know that's a bug I need to fix, something with bootstrap. Thanks for pointing it out and hopefully will have a fix tonight!

Re: Show HN: Investment Calculator – A simple retirement calculator

#135

Post by cryoshon »

Veelox wrote: post #108
ryandrake wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no straightforward risk-less formula, unfortunately. You can follow all the textbook advice, have a budget, max your 401k, pay down your debt, buy a house, blah blah blah, and after 20 years still only have 1x or 1.5x your salary in total savings [ask me how I know] due to bad luck, unfortunate market timing, lack of skill in investing, emergencies, etc. I hate all this simplified, incomplete advice. If succ…

If you start at 25, saving 10% of your salary into a 401k and never get divorced, spend > If successfully saving for retirement was so straightforward and deterministic, there wouldn’t be an entire industry, with consultants and books, built up around trying to help people hopelessly navigate it. There is a full industry. Saving money (for people with incomes above the median), like losing weight is simple. Yet there…

>saving 10% of your salary

impossible for most people

>spend impossible for many (most?) places with jobs

>don't borrow to spend more than you make 90% of the time

this factor is indeed entirely up to individuals and a perpetual point of failure... but refusing to borrow and cutting minor expenses is not a road to any kind of wealth for most people. it's a road to retiring poor. most people are on that road.

Re: Show HN: Investment Calculator – A simple retirement calculator

#136

Post by cryoshon »

makalumhenders wrote: post #107

For those interested in learning the fundamentals behind that calculator, I wrote a book that can be read in an hour, and received praise from Derek Sivers, David Heinemeier Hansson, and many others. You can read it for free online, or download the PDF (also free). https://moneyforsomething.org If you like it, I just ask that you help spread the word. Starting investing when your young is so, so important. And unfort…

>Starting investing when your young is so, so important

this is why student loans have made perpetual paupers out of the better part of an entire generation.

Re: Show HN: Investment Calculator – A simple retirement calculator

#137

Post by asaph »

peterangular wrote: post #133
AustinGrandt wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with this. Inflation is a huge factor and needs to be considered with any retirement calculator because you can't assume that your $100K today is worth $100K in 20 years. I actually built a calculator myself to better accommodate for inflation and have the ability to tweak the numbers just a bit more. If you're interested: https://www.financialtoolbelt.com/calculators/financial-inde...

Huh. Crazy how close it is to my implementation - https://modelinvesting.com/retirement-calculator/ You have a UI bug on your tooltips on advanced fields. They show up way above where they should be =)

Hey Folkhack. Nice to see you on this thread. I posted a link to my retirement calculator here too. It was always fun discussing design with you.

Re: Show HN: Investment Calculator – A simple retirement calculator

#138

Post by Nokinside »

cecilpl2 wrote: post #117
ryandrake wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yowzers! Please tell me what this magical investment is where I can expect an average rate of return of 9% (let alone 12%). That is off the charts optimistic.

Assuming dividend reinvestment, the S&P 500 has returned an annual average of 10% nominally (7% real), over the last 100 years or so.

It's important to remember that it's average return over long term. There can be long dry periods.

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/^SP500TR/chart?p=^SP500TR

SP500TR annualized return between 1998 - 2011 was just 2% (before inflation)

If you bought AMZN (Amazon) in 2000, you had to wait until 2010 before the price recovered.

It's important to save over long time and reduce risk before retirement.

Re: Show HN: Investment Calculator – A simple retirement calculator

#140

Post by jonknee »

teej wrote: post #132
jonknee wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair the total annualized return of the S&P 500 over long periods is roughly 10%. You don't have to reliably beat the market to reach those numbers. It's interesting to play around with: https://dqydj.com/sp-500-return-calculator/

I think you forgot to click the “inflation adjusted” checkbox. The real rate of return is closer to ~7%. Also caveat emptor - past performance is no guarantee of future results.

But the calculator you're criticizing does not adjust for inflation...
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