Calculators

401(k) Savings Calculator

A 401(k) can be one of your best tools for creating a secure retirement. Use this calculator to see why this is a retirement savings plan you can not afford to pass up... >> Use this Calculator

Retirement Income

Use this calculator to determine how much monthly income your retirement savings may provide you in your retirement... >> Use this Calculator

Retirement Pension Planner

Plan your retirement with a company pension, find out if you are on track - and learn how to stay there... >> Use this Calculator

Retirement Shortfall

Running out of your retirement savings too soon is one of the biggest risks to a comfortable retirement. Use this calculator to find a potential shortfall in your current retirement savings plan... >> Use this Calculator

401(k) Spend It or Save It Calculator

There are several ways to manage your 401(k) when you leave an employer. Making the wrong decision can cost you thousands of dollars both in taxes and lost earnings... >> Use this Calculator

Social Security Benefits

Use this calculator to estimate your Social Security benefits... >> Use this Calculator

College Savings

Use this calculator to help develop or fine tune your education savings plan... >> Use this Calculator

Cool Million

Find out when your savings plan may make you a millionaire!.. >> Use this Calculator

Lunch Savings

Use this calculator to see how a simple change such as bringing a bagged lunch to work can really add up... >> Use this Calculator

Don't Delay Your Savings!

Waiting to begin your savings plan can have a huge impact on your results. This calculator helps show you how much postponing your savings plan can really cost... >> Use this Calculator

2011 Retirement Plan Contribution Limits

The following pdf illustrates the 2010 and 2011 contribution limitations for 401 plans, 457 plans, and IRAs. As a result of low inflation over the previous 12 months, the contribution limits remain unchanged. Download the pdf here.

Budgeting

Three free sites that we like are Mint.com, Wesabe.com, and Geezeo.com.

These sites provide tools that help you keep track of what you spend, how much you save, and how your investments perform. They aggregate all of your online financial data, which allows you keep track of assets, liabilities, and cash flow all in one place. They can also alert you via email or text message when a bank account is low or when a credit card approaches its limit.

Creating a Financial Plan

SimpliFi.net assesses how much you should spend and save to reach your particular goal and uses a “Goal Point Average,” ranging from A+ to F, to indicate how likely you are to achieve it.

Planwithvoyant.com, allows you to test the outcome of various financial decisions, such as an unexpected pregnancy or an early retirement, using what-if scenarios. You can also run simulations on how to address those contingencies, for example, by adding insurance or altering your investment strategy.

ESPlannerBasic uses your financial data to calculate your sustainable standard of living, then allows you to experiment with how a job change, housing move or investment strategy can affect it.

Be aware that many programs omit details such as federal and state taxes and future Social Security benefits. And as you add complexity, it takes more time, effort, and knowledge to use these sites. These sites should be considered warm-up tools for financial planning. If you want something rigorous and detailed, you should work with a financial planning practitioner.

Track Your Investments

SocialPicks.com and Covestor.com allow you to keep track of your own investments and compare your portfolio’s performance to that of peers, professional analysts and financial bloggers.

CakeFinancial.com allows investors to track portfolios and also lets them aggregate all of their portfolios in one place, analyze past performance up to 10 years, compare portfolios with other users, and create a watch list.

It can be interesting and helpful to learn from others’ experiences, but keep in mind that what other investors do isn’t necessarily right for you.

Checking for Fraud

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) offers tools to monitor stockbrokers and identify and avoid fraud.

Finra.org provides Risk Meter and Scam Meter tools, which walk you through a series of questions aimed at identifying questionable investments and advisors.

At Finra.org/BrokerCheck, you can check the professional background of current and former Finra-registered securities firms and brokers, as well as find any regulatory complaints or customer disputes. You can also see a listing of the broker’s current registrations, licenses or exams passed.

The Securities and Exchange Commission offers a similar check for information about investment-adviser firms at Adviserinfo.sec.gov.