Check it out at this link! If you want your own version of the calculator you can play with, email me at ramen@ramenretirement.com

Originally created for the post: ‘How long until you reach Ramen Retirement’

What it is

This is the ultimate financial calculator designed to model out the next 30 years of your life. Provide it with a few inputs, and it will project your accumulation of wealth and passive income over time. It is pretty comprehensive, accounting for things like:

• Earnings growth (self and spouse)
• Inflation
• Retirement savings
• Taxes – married or single? Which state?
• Investment allocations (stocks, real estate, private businesses)
• Home ownership vs. renting
• Cost of living

All of these things come together to provide a view into your financial future. It will forecast your wealth and passive income, as if you continued working. It will also project the level of passive income you would have available (after tax) if you stopped working – this is to find out when you’ll reach Ramen Retirement (i.e. have enough inflation protected, durable passive income to cover your cost of living).

Why I created it

I talk about Ramen Retirement all the time, and I felt it was only fair that I create a tool to help project when you might reach that goal. Also, I wanted a good way of illustrating the tremendous benefits (cash flow, wealth creation) of investing in alternative assets other than publicly traded stocks – namely real estate and private businesses. The tool can be helpful for deciding whether to:

• Invest in stocks vs. alternative assets
• Invest for cash flow or capital appreciation
• Rent or buy your home
• Pay down your mortgage
• Move to a lower income tax (LIT) state
• Get married (at least from a financial perspective!)

It’s a flexible tool. You can probably extend it to help answer a whole host of questions. It’s also pretty accurate: while it’s unlikely to get your exact tax situation 100% correct (disclaimer: it it not a tax filing tool, nor should it be construed as financial, tax, or legal advice), it should get pretty damn close! It takes into account the nuances of pre-tax retirement savings, state tax differences, dividend vs. passive income tax treatment, real estate equity tax benefits. So give it a shot!

How you can use it

Fill out the inputs section of the sheet:

Then review the outputs:

The Ramen Retirement section looks at the amount of passive income you would be generating, and determines when that amount of income (after tax, assuming only passive income) exceeds your cash cost of living. You can see the value of your investments under the Investment section, which will highlight your net worth over time. The Investment After Tax Cash Yields will highlight how much each investment class is earning you over time in passive income.

Enjoy!