Wealth Planning
No single tool covers a whole financial life. This page groups the calculators, scenario tool, and learning modules already on this platform by goal, so you can move through a plan piece by piece instead of hunting for the right calculator.
These journeys are a starting order, not a required sequence — most plans touch several at once. Once you've run a few calculators, the Scenario Lab lets you save and compare your own assumptions side by side.
Build a Foundation
Before growth or protection, most plans start with cash flow and debt.
An emergency fund and a debt payoff plan are usually the groundwork everything else builds on — understanding both before moving on to accumulation or protection tends to make those later decisions easier, not harder.
Build Wealth
Understand how compounding, risk, and asset mix interact before committing money to any of them.
Growth projections, portfolio construction, and dollar-cost averaging are mechanical concepts you can explore with your own numbers here, independent of any specific product or investment recommendation.
Calculators
Plan for Retirement
Accumulation and decumulation are different problems — model both.
Building a balance and turning it into income are distinct calculations with different risks (sequence-of-returns risk applies mainly to the second one). Social Security claiming age and required minimum distributions add further, rule-bound decisions on top.
Calculators
Fund Education
Education costs compound too — usually faster than general inflation.
Projecting a future college cost, understanding 529 plans, and knowing how scholarships/grants/loans differ from savings are the three pieces that tend to matter most for a family planning ahead.
Calculators
Protect Your Family & Health
Protection is about what happens if the plan is interrupted, not just how it grows.
Life insurance, an emergency fund, and understanding how health coverage cost-sharing actually works are about limiting downside — worth understanding before, not after, they're needed.
Transfer Your Legacy
Where accumulation ends, wealth transfer begins.
Wills, trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate-tax basics determine how what you've built reaches the people and causes you care about — always involving a qualified legal professional for the documents themselves.
A comprehensive self-review
Twelve questions worth asking yourself periodically — not a test, and no single answer is “correct” for everyone.
1.Are your assets diversified across different account types and asset classes?
Portfolio Blend & Rebalancing2.Have you thought through how you'll turn savings into retirement income, not just how to build it?
Retirement Income3.Do you understand how each of your income sources responds when markets go up or down?
Sequence-of-Returns Risk4.Do you understand the tax treatment of each account you hold — taxable, tax-deferred, or potentially tax-free?
Taxable vs. Tax-Deferred vs. Potentially Tax-Free5.If you hold any annuity or permanent life insurance contracts, do you understand their guaranteed vs. non-guaranteed elements?
Annuities (Product Explorer)6.Do you have adequate insurance coverage for health, life, disability, and other major risks?
Insurance Needs (DIME)7.Have you budgeted for potential medical and long-term-care costs later in life?
Healthcare & LTC Costs8.If you're eligible for Medicare, do you understand your coverage options?
Medicare Basics9.Have you thought through how — and to whom — you want to pass on what you've built?
Estate & Legacy Planning10.Do you have a will (and, if applicable, a trust) that reflects your current wishes?
When to Revisit Your Estate Plan11.Have you considered whether real estate fits your overall diversification?
Real Estate (Product Explorer)12.Have you budgeted for the non-financial goals that matter to you, like travel or experiences?
Savings RateComparing common investment & insurance vehicles
The same eight factors, checked against eight common account and product types — on equal footing, with no column marked as the winner. Every vehicle has real tradeoffs; none of them is safety, growth, liquidity, and tax-free legacy transfer all at once.
| Factor | 529 Plan | Taxable Brokerage | 401(k) / 403(b) | Roth IRA | Real Estate | Alternative Investments | Annuity | Cash-Value Life Insurance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growth potential | Market-based, chosen by the account holder | Market-based, fully self-directed | Market-based, limited to the plan's fund menu | Market-based, fully self-directed | Property appreciation plus any rental income | Varies widely by asset; often illiquid and hard to value | Depends on type: fixed (set rate), indexed (capped/floored), or variable (market-based) | Depends on policy type; typically modest relative to market investments |
| Principal safety | Subject to market risk, same as its underlying investments | Subject to full market risk; no principal guarantee | Subject to full market risk; no principal guarantee | Subject to full market risk; no principal guarantee | Property values can fall; not liquid enough to exit quickly in a downturn | Often higher risk and less price transparency than public markets | Guarantees (if any) depend on the issuing insurer's claims-paying ability, not FDIC/NCUA or a government backstop | Cash value guarantees (if any) depend on the issuing insurer's claims-paying ability |
| Liquidity | Withdrawals for non-education expenses incur tax + a 10% penalty on earnings | High — sellable at any time, settles in a few days | Limited before 59½ without a qualifying exception; early-withdrawal penalty generally applies | Contributions withdrawable anytime; earnings have conditions for a qualified withdrawal | Low — selling takes time and has transaction costs | Often low; many structures lock up capital for years | Surrender charges typically apply for early withdrawal, often for several years | Accessible via loan/withdrawal against cash value, which reduces the death benefit if unpaid |
| Tax-free growth | Yes, for qualified education expenses | No — dividends/interest taxed yearly, gains taxed on sale | No — tax-deferred, not tax-free (see next row) | Yes, for qualified withdrawals | No, though some gains can be deferred via a 1031 exchange | Depends entirely on the specific structure | Tax-deferred, not tax-free, unless held inside a Roth account | Cash value grows tax-deferred; death benefit is generally income-tax-free to beneficiaries |
| Tax-deferred growth | N/A (already tax-free for qualified use) | No — taxed as earned/realized | Yes — taxed on withdrawal | N/A (already tax-free for qualified use) | Depreciation can defer some tax; gains are still ultimately taxed | Depends entirely on the specific structure | Yes — a core feature of annuities | Yes, on the cash-value growth |
| Legacy / estate transfer | Beneficiary can be changed; unused funds have tax/penalty implications outside education use | Transfers to heirs; often receives a step-up in cost basis at death | Transfers to a named beneficiary; inherited-account rules apply | Transfers to a named beneficiary; inherited-account rules apply | Transfers to heirs; often receives a step-up in cost basis at death | Depends entirely on the specific structure | Death benefit varies by contract; may or may not exceed the account value | Death benefit passes to beneficiaries, generally income-tax-free, regardless of cash value |
| Long-term-care / illness coverage | None | None — funds could be spent on care, but there's no coverage mechanism | None | None | None, though a property could be sold to fund care | None | Some annuities offer an optional LTC/income rider, usually at an added cost | Some policies offer optional living-benefit or LTC riders, usually at an added cost |
| Creditor / downside protection | Varies by state law | Generally accessible to creditors; SIPC covers brokerage failure, not investment losses | Strong creditor protection under federal law (ERISA) | Some creditor protection; specifics vary by state and bankruptcy law | A primary residence may have a state homestead exemption; investment property generally does not | Depends entirely on the specific structure | Creditor protection varies significantly by state | Cash value often has some creditor protection; varies by state |
Educational comparison only, not personalized advice — every product's actual terms vary by issuer, plan, and contract. See the Financial Product Explorer for a deeper look at any individual category.