Listed below are some of our favorite tools, links and resources. These are provided for educational purposes only. None of them are associated with the Fictitious Capitalist.
Tools and Calculators
Asset Allocation Interactive: From Research Affiliates, this comprehensive tool is excellent for understanding global markets. The tool incorporates multiple asset classes across global geographic regions, forecasts expected returns and provides model portfolios.
FI Health Care: This resource is crucial for understanding and estimating healthcare costs in retirement, a significant and often underestimated component of financial independence planning. It can help you factor in potential medical expenses, insurance premiums, and long-term care needs, ensuring a more realistic and comprehensive financial plan.
Financial Independence Calculator: This tool can help you determine a safe withdrawal rate. It typically takes into account your current spending, portfolio value and asset allocation to project your chance of success.
Fixed Income Annuity Calculator: This calculator helps you understand and compare different fixed income annuity options. Annuities can provide a guaranteed stream of income in retirement, and this tool assists in evaluating their potential returns and payout structures.
Kaiser Foundation Health Care Calculator: Provided by the reputable Kaiser Family Foundation, this calculator assists in estimating healthcare expenses. It offers a valuable resource for understanding the complexities of healthcare costs, allowing you to better prepare for future medical needs and incorporate them into your financial planning.
Open Social Security: This tool allows you to explore various Social Security claiming strategies to maximize your benefits. Understanding the optimal time to claim Social Security can significantly impact your retirement income, and this resource provides insights into different scenarios based on your personal circumstances.
Portfolio Charts: The site provides intuitive, data‑driven tools to help DIY investors worldwide design and analyze diversified index-based portfolios. With visually rich charts—such as heat maps, withdrawal‑rate analyses, risk‑return matrices, and portfolio‑optimizer tools—it offers clear insights into portfolio performance across countries and time periods.
Portfolio Visualizer: Comprehensive suite of investment tools designed for DIY investors, financial advisors, and analysts. It offers portfolio backtesting, Monte Carlo simulations, optimization tools, factor regression and tactical asset allocation analysis. The platform offers a free tier with limited functionality, and paid plans for extended data access and advanced features like deeper historical data.
Projection Lab: This platform offers advanced financial projection and planning capabilities. It can help you visualize your financial future, test different investment strategies, and make informed decisions to optimize your financial plan.
Rent vs. Buy Calculator: Use this calculator to analyze the financial implications of renting versus buying a home. Developed for Canadians, it considers factors such as property taxes, mortgage interest, maintenance costs, and potential appreciation, providing a clearer picture of the better financial decision for your situation.
TIPS Ladder: This site helps you create a ladder of Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS). A TIPS ladder is a strategy designed to provide inflation-adjusted income, protecting your purchasing power over time, especially valuable for those seeking stable income streams in retirement.
TPAW Planner: The TPAW Planner is a comprehensive retirement planning tool. It can help you analyze your financial situation using rational investing strategies supported by academic research.
Websites
Bogleheads: This is a community forum dedicated to the investing philosophy of John Bogle, emphasizing low-cost index fund investing. It provides a wealth of information, discussions, and support for investors who believe in a simple, diversified, and low-cost approach to building wealth.
Debt Collective: The Debt Collective is a union for debtors that works to challenge and abolish unjust debts. They organize debtors to collectively bargain for debt relief and advocate for systemic changes to the debt system.
Democracy Collaborative: The Democracy Collaborative is a research and development lab for the democratic economy. They work to build a more democratic and equitable future by focusing on community wealth building, worker ownership, and democratic control of economic institutions.
Morningstar: Morningstar is a leading provider of independent investment research, offering data and analysis on mutual funds, stocks, and other investments. Their website provides extensive information, ratings, and tools to help investors make informed decisions about their portfolios.
Northwest Cooperative Development Center: The Northwest Cooperative Development Center is dedicated to promoting and developing cooperative businesses in the Pacific Northwest. They provide resources, training, and technical assistance to help new and existing cooperatives thrive across various sectors.
Optimized Portfolio: This site, optimizedportfolio.com, likely provides insights and strategies for optimizing investment portfolios. It can offer guidance on asset allocation, diversification, and risk management to help investors build more efficient and effective portfolios.
Paul Merriman Educational Foundation: Offers free educational resources on sound investing strategies for long-term financial success. Created by financial educator and author Paul Merriman, the site provides articles, podcasts, videos, and recommended portfolios focused on low-cost, diversified investing—especially tailored to help do-it-yourself investors, retirees, and young savers. Topics include asset allocation, index investing, retirement planning, and how to maximize returns while minimizing risk.
Peoples Economy: This website is dedicated to fostering a more inclusive and equitable economy. It likely features resources, articles, and initiatives that promote alternative economic models and address issues of economic justice and community wealth building.
People’s Policy Project: The People’s Policy Project is a think tank that produces policy research and analysis from a socialist perspective. They focus on developing and promoting progressive policy solutions to address economic inequality and social injustice.
Retirement Researcher: Retirementresearcher.com offers research and insights into various aspects of retirement. It can be a valuable resource for understanding complex retirement topics, staying informed about new strategies, and making evidence-based decisions for your post-work life.
Rob Berger: The personal finance platform of Rob Berger, JD—a former securities lawyer, ex–Forbes editor, and author of Retire Before Mom and Dad. The site blends educational content with hands-on tools and in‑depth reviews, all aimed at helping DIY investors and savers plan for financial freedom.
Seed Commons: Seed Commons is a national network of locally rooted, non-extractive loan funds that finance cooperative businesses. They focus on building a more just and democratic economy by providing capital and support to worker-owned and community-controlled enterprises.
Start.Coop: Start.Coop is an accelerator program specifically designed for cooperative startups. They provide mentorship, education, and access to capital to help new cooperative businesses grow and succeed in the market.
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