Find out how much wealth you need, when you’ll get there, and ways to speed up the process with the Know Your Number course. Now through launch on October 11th, you can use the code FTE to get 25% off the course (we’re offering 20% off before October 11th, but I talked Bo and Brian into letting me give 5% extra to FYI by FTE subscribers).
Hi everyone, thanks for joining me! I've worked on the Know Your Number course spreadsheets, worksheets, videos, and illustrations, and am more than happy to answer any questions you have about the course or the importance of knowing your retirement number. You can purchase the course at learn.moneyguy.com, and the code FTE will give you 25% off!
How long do we get access to the course (material, Facebook group, worksheets, tool, etc)? Theoretically forever, as over time factors may change the number? I think there was a supplementary/bonus material for the FOO course. If something like that occurs with this one, do we still get it without paying more?
Does the tool allow you to adjust annual spending by year? For example, I expect my spending needs to be higher during the first few years of retirement as I will need to purchase medical insurance prior to Medicare eligibility.
Hi Theresa! The spreadsheet does not break expenses down for each year in retirement, so you would need to average your estimated expenses across all years in retirement. It's very easy to change the numbers to see what different scenarios look like, so you could choose a really conservative number (spending a lot in retirement), a more realistic number, a very small number, and everything in-between.
The main spreadsheet uses your estimated retirement expenses in today's dollars, not accounting for taxes since everyone's account structure, retirement date, and tax rate in retirement will be different. You can use the number generated by the spreadsheet to estimate your total need based on your estimated effective tax rate in retirement by simply multiplying the two together.
(Example: if I have a lot of Roth and not much pre-tax, my effective tax rate in retirement may be 0%. My Number / 100% = how much I need before taxes. If I have a lot of pre-tax and not much Roth, my effective tax rate in retirement might be 25%. My Number / 75% = how much I need before taxes).
How does the know your number course differ than calculators that exist on the internet already? I guess in other words what will spending the money on this tool get that I can't already get for free?
Online calculators, and our spreadsheet, are only as good as the inputs you enter. How do you know when you will retire or how much your expenses will be in retirement? How do you estimate how much inflation will be per year? What if the market crashes right before you retire? The video lessons walk you through understanding your expenses, inflation, market returns (and sequence of return risk), different performance trackers, and different ways to calculate your number (culminating with the main spreadsheet).
So I would say the biggest difference is we spend the time, and provide the tools, to make sure your inputs accurately reflect your goals and beliefs. The biggest differentiator about the main spreadsheet specifically is probably how quickly and easily you can change your assumptions and run through different scenarios (like what if inflation is higher, what if my rate of return is lower, what if I spend more in retirement, etc.).
We include some other pretty cool tools I haven't seen anywhere else. One is a spreadsheet that shows how efficient you've been with your income up to now (how much wealth you've generated).
You'll get access right now! I'm not seeing you in the group requests, can you tell me the full name you used to buy the course and join the group? Feel free to shoot me an email if you prefer - daniel@moneyguy.com.
If I do my annual net worth statement appx. Jan 1 every year, would you recommend waiting until then to take the Know Your Numbers course so my inputs are as current as possible?
You can dive right in when the course launches! You can certainly pull your invested assets from your net worth statement if you want, but you may rather check your accounts for a more updated number. The tool just asks for invested assets, 401(k), Roth IRA, taxable brokerage, etc.
What is the importance of knowing your number if you are already maxing out your potential? I can't give anymore, so my number will be what it is going to be, no? Unless the course includes the details on how to maximize tax avoidance.. I'm still trying to figure that out.
That's awesome that you are saving as much as you can! Know Your Number can be useful not just for those wondering if they're on track and how to invest more, but for those who want to know where they stand and what they're headed towards. If you know you would reach financial independence at age XX, would you cut back and spend more now? Or would you look for ways to make more and save more so you could have even more flexibility?
Maybe you want to spend more in retirement - when could you retire if you want to spend $XX thousand per month in retirement? The course helps you think through some of those bigger picture questions. Even if you don't plan to change your behavior, knowing what you are working towards can be very motivating.
This is true. It would be intriguing to know where it would put us and how much we could spend. Also a good point that we can potentially find out that we could retire earlier than we think. Thanks.
The main spreadsheet does require Microsoft Excel; however, you can use the free online version of Excel. From my experience, the in-browser version works well, similarly to how Google Sheets works.
The video lessons are online and we have a few other worksheets that require Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is free.
Great question! Essentially what you would do is subtract your estimated pension income from your estimated monthly expenses in retirement. We have a couple videos that talk about determining your expenses in retirement, as well as a worksheet to walk you through it. It is very easy to tweak the spreadsheet, so you could calculate your number with your pension income, without it, with your pension and Social Security, or with different amounts of pension income.
Hi everyone, thanks for joining me! I've worked on the Know Your Number course spreadsheets, worksheets, videos, and illustrations, and am more than happy to answer any questions you have about the course or the importance of knowing your retirement number. You can purchase the course at learn.moneyguy.com, and the code FTE will give you 25% off!
How long do we get access to the course (material, Facebook group, worksheets, tool, etc)? Theoretically forever, as over time factors may change the number? I think there was a supplementary/bonus material for the FOO course. If something like that occurs with this one, do we still get it without paying more?
Hi Jared! Theoretically forever, yes. There's no time limit on your access. Any updates to Know Your Number will be free for existing customers.
Does the tool allow you to adjust annual spending by year? For example, I expect my spending needs to be higher during the first few years of retirement as I will need to purchase medical insurance prior to Medicare eligibility.
Hi Theresa! The spreadsheet does not break expenses down for each year in retirement, so you would need to average your estimated expenses across all years in retirement. It's very easy to change the numbers to see what different scenarios look like, so you could choose a really conservative number (spending a lot in retirement), a more realistic number, a very small number, and everything in-between.
Does the spreadsheets take into account the three buckets of tax free Roth, tax-deferred 401k/IRA, and taxable brokerage accounts?
The main spreadsheet uses your estimated retirement expenses in today's dollars, not accounting for taxes since everyone's account structure, retirement date, and tax rate in retirement will be different. You can use the number generated by the spreadsheet to estimate your total need based on your estimated effective tax rate in retirement by simply multiplying the two together.
(Example: if I have a lot of Roth and not much pre-tax, my effective tax rate in retirement may be 0%. My Number / 100% = how much I need before taxes. If I have a lot of pre-tax and not much Roth, my effective tax rate in retirement might be 25%. My Number / 75% = how much I need before taxes).
How does the know your number course differ than calculators that exist on the internet already? I guess in other words what will spending the money on this tool get that I can't already get for free?
Online calculators, and our spreadsheet, are only as good as the inputs you enter. How do you know when you will retire or how much your expenses will be in retirement? How do you estimate how much inflation will be per year? What if the market crashes right before you retire? The video lessons walk you through understanding your expenses, inflation, market returns (and sequence of return risk), different performance trackers, and different ways to calculate your number (culminating with the main spreadsheet).
So I would say the biggest difference is we spend the time, and provide the tools, to make sure your inputs accurately reflect your goals and beliefs. The biggest differentiator about the main spreadsheet specifically is probably how quickly and easily you can change your assumptions and run through different scenarios (like what if inflation is higher, what if my rate of return is lower, what if I spend more in retirement, etc.).
We include some other pretty cool tools I haven't seen anywhere else. One is a spreadsheet that shows how efficient you've been with your income up to now (how much wealth you've generated).
Okay thanks for the explanation. Seems interesting for sure!
When will we get access to the Facebook group? I preordered the course day 1 and put in a request to join the Facebook group.
You'll get access right now! I'm not seeing you in the group requests, can you tell me the full name you used to buy the course and join the group? Feel free to shoot me an email if you prefer - daniel@moneyguy.com.
If I do my annual net worth statement appx. Jan 1 every year, would you recommend waiting until then to take the Know Your Numbers course so my inputs are as current as possible?
You can dive right in when the course launches! You can certainly pull your invested assets from your net worth statement if you want, but you may rather check your accounts for a more updated number. The tool just asks for invested assets, 401(k), Roth IRA, taxable brokerage, etc.
What is the importance of knowing your number if you are already maxing out your potential? I can't give anymore, so my number will be what it is going to be, no? Unless the course includes the details on how to maximize tax avoidance.. I'm still trying to figure that out.
That's awesome that you are saving as much as you can! Know Your Number can be useful not just for those wondering if they're on track and how to invest more, but for those who want to know where they stand and what they're headed towards. If you know you would reach financial independence at age XX, would you cut back and spend more now? Or would you look for ways to make more and save more so you could have even more flexibility?
Maybe you want to spend more in retirement - when could you retire if you want to spend $XX thousand per month in retirement? The course helps you think through some of those bigger picture questions. Even if you don't plan to change your behavior, knowing what you are working towards can be very motivating.
This is true. It would be intriguing to know where it would put us and how much we could spend. Also a good point that we can potentially find out that we could retire earlier than we think. Thanks.
Does this require MS Office?
The main spreadsheet does require Microsoft Excel; however, you can use the free online version of Excel. From my experience, the in-browser version works well, similarly to how Google Sheets works.
The video lessons are online and we have a few other worksheets that require Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is free.
Does the course include pensions in the calculations?
Great question! Essentially what you would do is subtract your estimated pension income from your estimated monthly expenses in retirement. We have a couple videos that talk about determining your expenses in retirement, as well as a worksheet to walk you through it. It is very easy to tweak the spreadsheet, so you could calculate your number with your pension income, without it, with your pension and Social Security, or with different amounts of pension income.