RetireReady

Build track

Build: Budget to Retirement

For anyone more than 12 years from retirement, from a first job to mid-career. You'll build a budget that pays you first, capture every dollar of employer match, learn which accounts to use and why, and watch time and compounding do the heavy lifting. The course ends with a thousand simulated futures and a 90-day action plan.

Module 0 Welcome and your goal 15 min, 0/2 done

What the course covers, how the plan works, and the retirement goal you're aiming at.

  1. Welcome, and the goal you're aiming at Free preview 8 min
  2. Your starting point, and how to use this course Free preview 6 min

Module 1 Your compensation 30 min, 0/3 done

Gross pay versus take-home, where payroll deductions go, and why the employer match is part of your pay.

  1. Gross pay and take-home pay 8 min
  2. The match is part of your pay 9 min
  3. Where your raises go 7 min

Module 2 Budgeting best practices 50 min, 0/6 done

Pay yourself first, 50/30/20 as a starting point, needs and wants, sinking funds, and the savings pool.

  1. Pay yourself first Free preview 9 min
  2. Needs, wants and the 50/30/20 guideline 8 min
  3. Give every dollar a job 8 min
  4. Find $200 7 min
  5. When a payment ends 6 min
  6. Lifestyle creep and saving half your raise Build track 7 min

Module 3 Emergency fund and debt 30 min, 0/3 done

How big an emergency fund should be, where to keep it, and the order to tackle debt and saving.

  1. Your emergency fund 9 min
  2. What to do first 8 min
  3. Paying off debt, in the right order Build track 8 min

Module 4 Retirement account types 45 min, 0/7 done

401(k), IRA, Roth, HSA, brokerage and cash. Tax now versus tax later, limits, and what happens to money over a limit.

  1. Tax now or tax later 9 min
  2. The 401(k) 7 min
  3. IRAs, traditional and Roth 8 min
  4. The HSA, a retirement account for health costs 7 min
  5. Brokerage, cash, and giving your pool a job 9 min
  6. Limits, and what happens to money over them 7 min
  7. Why Roth often fits early in a career Build track 7 min

Module 5 Growth and compounding 30 min, 0/3 done

Compounding, real versus nominal returns, why a growth rate is an assumption, and what fees cost.

  1. Time and compounding 9 min
  2. Today's dollars and inflation 8 min
  3. Growth assumptions and fees 9 min

Module 6 Retirement income and spending 50 min, 0/5 done

How much retirement costs, Social Security timing, other income, taxes on withdrawals, and the order to draw accounts.

  1. What retirement will cost 10 min
  2. Social Security 10 min
  3. Pensions, part-time work and other income 7 min
  4. Withdrawals, taxes and the order you draw 10 min
  5. How much can you spend? The 4% rule as a reference 8 min

Module 7 Putting it together 30 min, 0/3 done

Read the year-by-year plan, see what moved it, and try the four big levers.

  1. Reading your plan, year by year 10 min
  2. What moved your plan 8 min
  3. The four levers 10 min

Module 8 Capstone: a thousand futures 60 min, 0/5 done

Monte Carlo simulation, percentiles, probability of success, sequence-of-returns risk, and flexible spending.

  1. One possible future 10 min
  2. A thousand futures 12 min
  3. Same returns, different order 10 min
  4. What the percentage means 10 min
  5. The levers again, with uncertainty 10 min

Module 9 Your action plan 15 min, 0/2 done

Choose three actions for the next 90 days, check your confidence, and get your certificate.

  1. Your 90-day action plan 10 min
  2. How far you've come 6 min