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Tutorial
• inputting • analyzing & adjusting • implementing
To get the most out of Dream Calculator©, you have to properly carry out the three essential tasks: inputting personal data, analyzing the results and adjusting the data, and implementing software recommendations. This tutorial will demonstrate to you some common techniques of doing so. Please note that much of the advice is already included in the software in the form of comments.
INPUTTING PERSONAL DATA
Depending on the degree of complexity of your personal situation, there may be several hundreds of individual values for you to input onto the software, all of which affect the consistency of the software advice. Therefore, you have to make sure that all the pieces of information you enter are recent and correct. Moreover, at the end of data input you should make sure that no error messages are displayed. Finally, the software offers you a lot of flexibility as far as data entry. The material that follows will help you input the data.
Sheet 2: "Retirement Goals"
- Retirement Age: The higher you set your retirement age, the greater the value of financial goals you can potentially achieve.
- Retirement Income: Retirement income is derived from two sources (other than personal savings): social security and individual pension. You will have to obtain the estimates of the two components individually and then add them together. The amount of social security payments can be estimated here.
- Life Expectancy: The average life expectancy is about 82 years for men and 85 years for women. However, it is prudent to allow for some margin beyond the recommended age, for instance, 5 or 10 years.
Sheet 3: "Risk Assessment"
This sheet plays an important role in determining your optimal investment strategy. If you are not sure as to which number to assign in response to a particular question, choose the smaller one in order to keep your risk profile more conservative.
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