Can I build my own plan in ten minutes? (Lesson 4)

Quick Setup, one step at a time, with rough numbers.

Lesson 4 · Start here · about 4 minutes · 11 pictures

This is an educational walkthrough using a fictional family. It is not financial advice, and the right answers for you depend on facts a lesson cannot know.

Watch this lesson (4 minutes) Opens YouTube in a new tab.

1.Can I build my own plan in ten minutes?

Title slide: Can I build my own plan in ten minutes? A handful of rough numbers is enough to get your first answer.

You have watched Ray and Angie’s plan for three lessons. Now it is your turn. You need about ten minutes and a few numbers. They can be rough. As always: this is an educational walkthrough. It isn’t financial advice.

2.Close beats perfect

Close beats perfect. A rough answer today is worth more than a perfect one you never get to. Every number can be changed later; round to the nearest thousand and guess where you have to.

People put this off because they think they need exact figures. You don’t. A rough answer today is worth more than a perfect one you never get around to. You can fix any number later.

3.What to have ready

A table of what to have ready and where to find it: your ages, when you would stop, what you earn (a pay stub), what you have saved (your latest statements), Social Security (your estimate at ssa.gov), and what you spend (the shortcut from lesson 3).

Here is what to have in front of you. How old you are and when you would like to stop working. What you earn. What you have saved, from your latest statements. Your Social Security estimate from ssa.gov. And what you spend, from the shortcut in lesson three.

4.Your numbers never leave your device

Your numbers never leave your device. Three points: it runs in your browser, there is no account, and you keep the backup. You can check it yourself at outlastretirement.com/verify.

One thing before you type anything. OutlastRetirement runs inside your own browser. There is no account to create. Your numbers never leave your device. That also means you are the one who keeps the backup, and the app will remind you.

5.Open the app and choose how to start

App screenshot: the welcome screen with two choices, Quick Setup Wizard and Full Guided Interview. Steps: accept the short notice, then choose Quick Setup Wizard, six short steps.

Open the app. The first time, it shows a short notice to accept, then asks how you would like to start. Choose Quick Setup Wizard.

6.About you

App screenshot of step 1, About you. It asks for your name (optional), the year you were born, the age you would like to stop working, and whether you are planning with a spouse or partner.

Step one is about you. Your birth year, the age you would like to stop working, and whether you are planning with a spouse or partner.

7.Money coming in

App screenshot of step 2, Money coming in. It asks what you earn in a year before taxes, your yearly Social Security figure, and a pension if you have one. With no statement yet, click Use the estimate.

Step two is money coming in. What you earn today, and the Social Security estimate you looked up. If you don’t have it yet, use the estimate the app offers and come back.

8.What you have saved

App screenshot of step 3, What you have saved. Three boxes: Pre-Tax, for a 401(k) or traditional IRA; Roth; and Taxable, for brokerage accounts, savings and cash. If unsure, put the total in the first box.

Step three is your savings. Add up your retirement accounts at work, any IRAs, and other savings or investments. The app asks for them by type because they are taxed differently. If you are not sure which is which, put the total in the first box for now.

9.Spending, then saving

App screenshots of steps 4 and 5. Step 4: what you plan to spend in a year of retirement, in today’s dollars. Step 5: what you save each year and any employer match. Skip the extra options for now.

Step four is what you plan to spend each year in retirement. Use the number from lesson three and trim what will stop. Step five is how much you add to savings each year, and anything your employer adds. Both steps show extra options. You can skip those for now.

10.A short tour, then your answer

App screenshot of step 6: a short tour of where things live, then the Generate My Plan button. Your first answer appears at the top of the page.

The last step is a short tour of where things live. Then click Generate My Plan. The app runs your whole life, year by year, the same way it did for Ray and Angie. At the top is your answer. Whatever it says, you now know something most people never find out.

11.Build it. Then back it up.

Three steps: open the app and choose Quick Setup Wizard, enter your own rough numbers, and click Backup Everything in the left sidebar. A picture shows where the Backup Everything button is.

Your turn, for real this time. Open the app and build your plan. When you finish, click Backup Everything and keep the file somewhere safe. It is the only copy. If the answer worries you, don’t change anything yet. Next lesson, we learn to read it properly. Then we fix it. This is education, not financial advice.

Try it

The planner opens in your browser. Your numbers stay on your device, and there is no account to create.

Open the planner