Wealth Curve user guide

Getting started

Open the app at Launch app. You can use Wealth Curve with local storage only (data stays on this device) or sign in to save and sync models to your account.

Create a new model from the models list. You can start with a blank model or an example model that includes sample income, expenses and two portfolios so you can see how everything works before entering your own numbers.

The app is organized into tabs that walk you through each part of a forecast model. Use the Next button at the bottom of each tab to move forward, or use the sidebar to jump to any tab.

Models list

The models list shows all your forecast models. Each card displays the model name, description, start year/age, projection years, portfolio count, one-off events, adjustment count and created/updated dates.

Use the Create New Forecast Model card to add a model. Click any existing model to open its Overview tab. Use the storage toggle at the top to switch between local storage and cloud (sign-in required for cloud).

Storage and sign-in

With Local storage only, all models are stored in your browser. They will not sync to other devices and may be lost if you clear site data.

Turn off the local-storage toggle and sign in to save models to your account and sync across devices. Sign-in is required to use cloud storage. You can switch between local and cloud storage at any time from the models list.

Passphrase setup & unlocking

When you first sign in and enable cloud storage, Wealth Curve uses end-to-end encryption to protect your financial data. This means your models are encrypted before they leave your device, and only you can decrypt them.

Setting up your passphrase

The first time you enable synced storage, you'll be asked to create a 4-word passphrase. This passphrase is used to encrypt your data:

• Choose 4 words from the provided list. The words are randomly selected from a curated word list.
• You can refresh the word list if you want different options.
• Select your 4 words in order to build your passphrase.
• Copy your passphrase to save it securely (the copy button appears once you've selected all 4 words).
• Confirm that you've written down your passphrase before continuing.

Important: Write down your passphrase and store it securely. If you lose your passphrase, your encrypted data cannot be recovered—we can't decrypt it, and neither can anyone else. This is by design for security.

Unlocking your vault

After setting up your passphrase, or when accessing Wealth Curve on a different device or after clearing your browser cache, you'll need to unlock your vault:

• Enter your 4-word passphrase in the unlock screen.
• You can type the words in any order—the app will automatically move to the next field as you type.
• If you make a mistake, you'll see an error message. Check your words and try again.
• Once unlocked, you'll have access to all your synced models.

If you're using local storage only, you won't need a passphrase—your data stays on your device and isn't encrypted.

Overview tab

The Overview tab is where you configure the basic identity and timeframe for your model:

• Model Name — a descriptive name for this forecast (e.g. "Retirement at 55" or "Base Plan").
• Description — optional notes about what this model represents.
• Starting Age — your current age (used to display age alongside each projection year).
• Starting Year — the first year of the forecast (defaults to the current year for new models).
• Number of Years to Project — how many years to run the forecast (1–100).

Changes auto-save as you type. Use Next to continue to Income & Expenses.

Income & expenses

This tab sets the baseline financial inputs that drive the entire projection:

• Monthly Income Take-Home — your net (after-tax) monthly income. This is the starting value; it grows each year by the income increase rate.
• Monthly Expenses — your total recurring monthly costs. This should include mortgage principal & interest (P&I), insurance, utilities, groceries, subscriptions and other regular spending. The engine does not inflate the mortgage P&I portion: it inflates everything else, then adds P&I back until the mortgage is paid off.
• Inflation Rate — the annual rate applied to expenses each year (e.g. 2.5%). The long-term U.S. average is approximately 3%.
• Income Increase Rate — the annual rate applied to income each year (e.g. 3%). The long-term average is approximately 3–4% per year.

Both rates compound annually. For expenses, only the non-mortgage portion is inflated. For example, at 3% inflation with $5,000/month expenses including $1,500 mortgage P&I, year 2 is ($3,500×1.03)+$1,500 = $5,105 — not $5,150. You can adjust income or expenses for specific years later in the Retirement & Adjustments tab.

Portfolios

Add one or more investment portfolios to track your savings and investments over time.

Quick-add cards

At the top of the tab, four cards let you quickly create a new portfolio pre-configured for a common account type:

• Non-Retirement Portfolio — brokerage accounts, savings, taxable investments (7% default CAGR).
• Retirement Portfolio — 401(k), IRA, Roth IRA and similar tax-advantaged accounts (7% default CAGR).
• College Savings — 529 plans and education-specific accounts (6% default CAGR).
• Other Portfolio (dashed card) — real estate, CDs or any custom account.

Clicking a card opens a modal where you configure the portfolio's name, category, current balance, CAGR, monthly deposits and yearly deposit increase.

Portfolio list

Below the cards, each portfolio appears as a collapsible card color-coded by category (green for Non-Retirement, blue for Retirement, gold for College Savings). The card header shows the portfolio name, category badge and current balance. Expand a card to see the detail grid (Balance, CAGR, Monthly Deposit, Yearly Increase) along with Edit and Delete buttons.

How portfolios grow

Each year, the engine calculates: (start balance + annual deposits) × (1 + CAGR). The category determines the withdrawal order when your cash flow goes negative (see How the engine works):

• Non-Retirement — drawn from first for regular cash-flow deficits.
• Retirement — drawn from second when non-retirement funds are insufficient.
• College Savings — drawn from first to cover education expenses specifically.

Primary home

Optionally model your primary residence. This tracks your home value, mortgage paydown and home equity over the projection:

• Current Home Value — your home's estimated current market value.
• Home Value Growth (CAGR) — expected annual appreciation rate (e.g. 3%).
• Mortgage Balance — your current remaining mortgage balance.
• Mortgage Rate — your annual interest rate.
• Monthly Payment — your monthly mortgage payment (principal + interest).
• Years Remaining — how many years are left on the mortgage.

The engine runs a full 12-month amortization each projection year, splitting your payment into principal and interest. Mortgage P&I in your base expenses is held constant (not inflated). When the mortgage balance reaches zero, the engine automatically detects the payoff year and stops adding P&I back into expenses.

Home equity is calculated as home value minus mortgage balance and is included in your total net worth.

Non-recurring expenses

Non-recurring expenses are one-time costs that occur in a specific year of your projection. Examples include a car purchase, home renovation or big vacation.

Quick-add cards

Five cards at the top of the tab let you add expenses quickly:

• New Car — $35,000
• Home Renovation — $50,000
• Big Vacation — $10,000
• Moving / Relocation — $8,000
• Other Expense (dashed card) — opens a modal where you select the year, enter a description and amount.

Clicking the first four cards opens a template modal with pre-filled defaults. Clicking Other Expense opens a blank modal for any custom expense.

Timeline view

Below the cards, expenses are shown in a vertical year timeline. Each year that has expenses appears as a collapsible card showing the year, age and item count. Expand a card to see each expense with inline-editable description and amount fields, plus a delete button. A dashed “Add another expense…” button at the bottom opens the Other Expense modal.

Non-recurring expenses are added to your total expenses for the year they occur. They are separate from education expenses, which have their own tab.

Non-recurring income

Non-recurring income represents one-time or limited-duration income events in specific years. Examples include selling a home, receiving an inheritance or RSU vesting schedules.

Quick-add cards

Five cards at the top of the tab:

• Home Sale — $200,000 (single year)
• Inheritance / Gift — $100,000 (single year)
• Stock Vest / RSU — $25,000/year (multi-year, default 4 years). You specify the starting year, number of years and amount per year. The template creates one entry for each year of the vesting schedule.
• Severance / Bonus — $25,000 (single year)
• Other Income (dashed card) — opens a modal where you select the year, enter a description and amount.

Timeline view

Income entries are grouped by year in the same vertical timeline format as expenses. Each year card is collapsible with inline-editable fields. Multi-year templates (like RSU vesting) create multiple individual entries, one per year, which you can edit or delete independently.

Education expenses

Education expenses are a special category of one-time costs for tuition and education-related spending. They are tracked separately because the forecast engine handles them differently: education expenses draw from college-savings portfolios first (e.g. 529 plans) before pulling from other accounts.

Quick-add cards

Four cards at the top of the tab. The first three are multi-year templates where you specify a starting year, number of years and yearly cost:

• 4-Year College — $35,000/year for 4 years
• 2-Year Grad School — $25,000/year for 2 years
• Private K–12 — $15,000/year (customizable duration)
• Other Education (dashed card) — opens a modal for a single-year education expense with year, description and amount.

Timeline view

Education expenses are displayed in the same vertical year timeline. Each year card is collapsible with inline-editable description and amount fields.

When education expenses exceed your college-savings portfolio balance, the remainder is drawn from retirement accounts, then non-retirement accounts. This mirrors the real-world priority of using dedicated education funds before dipping into other savings.

Retirement & adjustments

The Retirement & Adjustments tab is one of the most powerful features in Wealth Curve. It lets you customize any year of the projection with specific values, and includes strategy templates for common retirement and life-change scenarios.

Strategy & adjustment cards

Five cards at the top of the tab provide quick access to strategy templates and manual adjustments:

• Social Security — set monthly Social Security income starting at a specific age and stop portfolio deposits.
• Pension Income — set monthly pension income starting at a specific age and stop portfolio deposits.
• Income Rampdown — gradually reduce income over N years (e.g. transitioning to part-time).
• Expense Rampdown — gradually reduce expenses from a target age.
• Manual Adjustment (dashed card) — make an ad-hoc change for any single year.

Strategies are templates that auto-generate one or more adjustments across multiple years. Manual Adjustments are one-off changes for a single year.

The adjustment modal

When you click a strategy card or the Manual Adjustment card, a modal opens where you configure the adjustment. Each field uses a checkbox + value pattern: check the box to activate the field, then enter your value. Available fields:

• Monthly Income Take-Home — adjust income for that year using one of three modes (see below).
• Monthly Expenses — adjust expenses for that year using the same three modes.
• Beginning of Year Balance — set a specific starting balance for any portfolio in that year.
• CAGR — change the expected return for a specific portfolio in that year.
• Monthly Deposit — change the deposit amount for a specific portfolio.
• Home Value — set a specific home value for that year.
• Mortgage Balance — set a specific mortgage balance.

For income and expenses, choose how the adjustment relates to the calculated baseline:

• Set to — replace the baseline with an exact dollar amount.
• Adjust by $ — add or subtract a dollar amount from the baseline (e.g. −$500).
• Adjust by % — scale the baseline by a percentage (e.g. −10%).

Relative modes (Adjust by $ / Adjust by %) stay fresh: if base income/expenses or an earlier year changes, later relative adjustments re-resolve against the new cascading baseline. Each field shows the baseline → resolved preview so you can see the effect. The Active Adjustments summary table at the top of the modal lists all active fields, including the relative intent (e.g. “−$500” or “−10%”).

Timeline view

Below the cards, a vertical year timeline shows every year that has adjustments. Each year card displays:

• The year, age, and a count of adjustments.
• Strategy-generated adjustments grouped by strategy name (e.g. “Social Security”) with an Edit Strategy button.
• Manual adjustments shown separately with Edit and Remove buttons.
• Each adjustment row shows the field label, baseline value (with arrow), resolved value and—when relative—the intent (e.g. “−10%”).

Year cards are color-coded by their dominant strategy type. Click a card header to expand or collapse it.

Adjustment cascading

Adjustments cascade forward. When you adjust income or expenses in a given year, the resolved amount becomes the new baseline for subsequent years. The engine applies your growth rates starting from that resolved value. For example, if year 5’s baseline would be $8,000/month and you set Adjust by % to −25% (resolved $6,000), year 6 grows from $6,000. If you later change base salary so year 5’s baseline becomes $10,000, that same −25% resolves to $7,500 and year 6 grows from there—without re-editing the adjustment.

Social Security template

Model when you start receiving Social Security benefits. You configure:

• Start Age — the age at which benefits begin (30–100).
• Monthly Benefit — your expected monthly Social Security payment.

When applied, the template sets your monthly income to the benefit amount (or adds it on top of baseline income, depending on mode) and can set all portfolio monthly deposits to $0 from that age onward. Add-on amounts are stored relatively so they stay aligned if prior income changes.

Pension Income template

Model a pension that starts at a specific age. Works the same as Social Security but with a separate entry so you can apply both independently.

Income Rampdown template

Model a gradual reduction in income over several years (e.g. transitioning to part-time before full retirement). You configure:

• Start Rampdown at Age — when to begin reducing income (30–100).
• Number of Rampdown Years — how many years the transition takes (1–10).
• Final Monthly Income — the income level at the end of the rampdown.

The template creates relative adjustments that ramp from each year’s cascading income baseline toward the final amount. If base income or an earlier year changes, the ramp years re-resolve automatically—you do not need to re-apply the template.

Expense Rampdown template

Model a gradual reduction in expenses over time (e.g. downsizing lifestyle in retirement). You configure:

• Start Reducing at Age — when to begin reducing expenses (30–100).
• Annual Reduction % — the percentage to reduce expenses each year (0.5–20%).
• Number of Years — how long the reduction continues (1–30).

Each year stores a relative Adjust by % against that year’s cascading expense baseline (including inflation from the prior resolved amount). The reduction compounds across ramp years and stays fresh if base expenses or earlier adjustments change. Example at $4,000/month with 0% inflation and 5% reduction: year 1 resolves to $3,800; year 2 applies another 5% to $3,800 → $3,610; and so on.

Auto-generated adjustments

Some effects are called out automatically in the timeline and marked with an “Auto” badge. The most common example is mortgage payoff: while you have a mortgage, P&I is held constant (not inflated) and added into expenses; when the engine detects payoff, it stops adding P&I so expenses drop. You can still override any year manually.

Comments and notes

Each year has a comments field where you can add notes about why you set certain adjustments, or remind yourself of assumptions. Comments can exist even without active adjustments.

Projection

The Projection tab is where everything comes together. It shows the results of your forecast in multiple views:

Standard view

A year-by-year table with columns for year, age, income, base expenses, non-recurring expenses, total expenses, portfolio value, primary home equity and total net worth. Click any row to expand it and see detailed breakdowns:

• Cash Flow — income breakdown, spending breakdown and net cash available.
• Portfolio Activity — open balance, contributions, withdrawals, growth and close balance for each portfolio.
• Home & Mortgage — home value, mortgage balance and home equity.
• Net Worth — portfolio totals, home equity and combined total net worth.

Pivoted view

A holistic view that shows each metric as a row across all years, making it easy to compare trends horizontally.

Chart view

Visual charts of your projection data over time.

You can open the year-adjustment or one-off modals directly from the projection table to tweak values and instantly see the effect on your forecast.

What If analysis

On the Projection tab, switch to the What If tab to explore temporary changes to your assumptions without modifying the actual model. Click the dials icon to open the What If Assumptions modal, where you can adjust:

• Inflation rate
• Income increase rate
• Home appreciation rate
• Mortgage rate
• Per-portfolio CAGR, monthly deposit and deposit increase

Changes are applied instantly to the projection, snapshot card and charts. The dials icon glows amber when adjustments are active so you always know you are in What If mode.

Use Reset to Base to clear all What If changes. Nothing is saved — switching back to the Base Projection tab restores the original numbers. This makes it safe to explore "what if inflation is 5%?" or "what if my returns drop to 4%?" without changing your actual model.

YAML export

From the Model Actions menu (the ⋯ button in the header), choose Export YAML to generate a clean, readable snapshot of your entire model: assumptions, portfolios, one-off events, year adjustments and projection results. The YAML is copied to your clipboard and displayed in a modal so you can review it.

The export is especially useful as a pastable format for AI conversations. Copy the YAML into your favorite AI assistant (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc.) and ask it to review your planning assumptions, suggest adjustments, stress-test scenarios or explain the projection results. Because YAML is structured yet human-readable, the AI can parse every detail of your model without any extra setup.

How the forecast engine works

Understanding how the engine calculates your projection helps you make better use of adjustments and interpret the results. The engine runs year by year, with each year depending on the previous year's outputs.

Income growth

Your base monthly income compounds annually by the income increase rate: income = monthlySalary × (1 + incomeRate)^yearIndex. If you set an adjustment in a given year, the resolved value (after Set to / Adjust by $ / Adjust by %) becomes the new starting point and subsequent years grow from it. Relative adjustments re-resolve when earlier inputs change.

Expense growth

Monthly expenses inflate only the non-mortgage remainder: nonMortgage = max(0, monthlyExpenses − mortgagePI), then expenses = nonMortgage × (1 + inflationRate)^yearIndex + (mortgage still active ? mortgagePI : 0). As with income, adjustments reset the cascading baseline from the resolved amount. After payoff, P&I is no longer added back.

Portfolio growth

Each portfolio grows as: (startBalance + annualDeposits) × (1 + CAGR). Monthly deposits can increase each year by the yearly deposit increase rate. Portfolios fall into three categories that determine withdrawal priority (see below).

Deficit handling

When your annual expenses exceed your income (negative cash flow), the engine draws from your portfolios to cover the shortfall:

• Education expenses are covered first from college-savings portfolios, then retirement, then non-retirement accounts.
• Regular deficits (non-education) are covered first from non-retirement portfolios, then retirement accounts.

This mirrors real-world best practices: use dedicated education funds for tuition, and draw from taxable accounts before tax-advantaged retirement accounts.

Mortgage amortization

The engine runs a full 12-month amortization schedule each projection year, splitting your monthly payment into principal and interest. It automatically detects the payoff year when the balance reaches zero and reduces your expenses accordingly.

Net worth

Total net worth is calculated as: non-retirement portfolios + retirement portfolios + home equity, where home equity is home value − mortgage balance.

Templates reference

Wealth Curve includes quick templates throughout the app to help you add common scenarios with sensible defaults. All values are fully editable after applying a template.

Non-recurring expense templates

• New Car — $35,000
• Home Renovation — $50,000
• Big Vacation — $10,000
• Moving / Relocation — $8,000

Non-recurring income templates

• Home Sale — $200,000
• Inheritance / Gift — $100,000
• Stock Vest / RSU — $25,000/year (multi-year, 1–10 years)
• Severance / Bonus — $25,000

Education expense templates

• 4-Year College — $35,000/year for 4 years
• 2-Year Grad School — $25,000/year for 2 years
• Private K–12 — $15,000/year (customizable duration)

Retirement & adjustment templates

• Social Security — set start age and monthly benefit; auto-zeroes portfolio deposits
• Pension Income — set start age and monthly pension; auto-zeroes portfolio deposits
• Income Rampdown — gradual relative ramp toward a final income over 1–10 years (auto-updates if baselines change)
• Expense Rampdown — relative % reduction each year over 1–30 years (auto-updates if baselines change)

Building a complex model

Here is a step-by-step walkthrough for building a realistic, comprehensive forecast. This example models a family planning for retirement, children's education and major life events.

1. Set your baseline

In the Overview tab, set your current age, starting year and project out 40–50 years to cover through retirement. In Income & Expenses, enter your current monthly take-home pay and total monthly expenses. Set inflation to around 2.5–3% and income growth to 3–4%.

2. Add your portfolios

Create portfolios for each real account:

• A 401(k) or IRA with category Retirement, your current balance, expected return (e.g. 7%), monthly contribution and yearly increase.
• A brokerage account with category Non-Retirement for taxable investments.
• A 529 plan with category College Savings if you are saving for education.

3. Model your home

In the Primary Home tab, enter your home value, expected appreciation and full mortgage details. The engine will amortize the mortgage and automatically detect the payoff year. Remember to include mortgage P&I in Monthly Expenses on the Income & Expenses tab — the engine will keep that P&I constant (not inflate it) until payoff.

4. Add education expenses

In the Education Expenses tab, use the 4-Year College template. Set the starting year to when your child turns 18, adjust the yearly cost and duration. The engine will draw from your 529 (college-savings) portfolio first.

5. Plan for retirement

In the Retirement & Adjustments tab, click the Social Security card. Set the age you expect to start receiving benefits and your monthly amount. If you also have a pension, click the Pension Income card and configure it separately. Both templates will set your income and zero out portfolio contributions from the specified age forward.

6. Add an income rampdown

If you plan to transition gradually, apply the Income Rampdown template. For example, start ramping down at age 53 over 2 years to simulate going part-time before fully retiring at 55.

7. Add major life events

In Non-Recurring Expenses, add events like a car purchase every 7–8 years, a home renovation or a big vacation. In Non-Recurring Income, add expected events like RSU vesting (use the multi-year template) or a planned home sale.

8. Review and stress-test

Go to the Projection tab and review the year-by-year results. Expand rows to see detailed breakdowns. Look for years where your net worth dips or cash flow goes negative.

Switch to the What If tab to stress-test: what happens if inflation is 4% instead of 2.5%? What if your portfolio returns only 5% instead of 7%? What if you retire 3 years later? Explore different scenarios without changing your base model.

Use Export YAML to snapshot your model and share it with an AI assistant for review or discussion.