Question 1

Is this simulator a historical Trinity Study backtesting tool?

Accepted Answer

No. Rather than replaying historical stock market drawdowns to compute statistical failure probabilities, this tool is a deterministic Forward Cash Flow Simulator. It models your projected 40-year wealth trajectory, inflation-adjusted purchasing power, and monthly passive income based on your customized return rates and multi-phase cash flows.

Question 2

How is the monthly withdrawal calculated after FIRE?

Accepted Answer

From your chosen FIRE milestone year onward, 4% of the beginning-of-year portfolio balance is withdrawn for living expenses. We divide this by 12 to display your monthly nominal cash flow, alongside its inflation-discounted real value in today's purchasing power.

Question 3

How does the simulator calculate Real vs. Nominal wealth?

Accepted Answer

Nominal wealth compounds each year at your selected Annual Return rate. Real wealth discounts this nominal sum by the long-term inflation rate (2.0% for USD) using the formula: Real = Nominal / (1 + inflation)^year.

Question 4

How are savings and spending periods compounded?

Accepted Answer

Amounts in the Savings & Spending Periods table are in today's purchasing power and are inflation-adjusted each year. To reflect continuous annual cash flows, the simulator applies a mid-year compounding formula flow * sqrt(1 + r). Overlapping periods are summed automatically.

Question 5

Is my personal financial information stored on your servers?

Accepted Answer

No. 100% of all calculations, inputs, and simulations run entirely client-side in your web browser. We do not store, track, or collect your financial data on any server.