If a number of internet financial planners out there are to be believed, planning for your financial future is a relatively straightforward process. Enter income. Enter expenses. Calculate 8% growth of surplus. Look forward to your future as a millionaire. For that matter, if you talk to Alex, you might come away thinking that financial planning is just as simple as that.
But I’m not an accountant; I’m a Ph.D. student, so I’m wary of simple answers. I also don’t make an accountant’s salary. So while Alex has begun spreading the rumor that the Life Spreadsheet is a retirement calculator, I’m here to tell you that it is that, but is also much more. The Life Spreadsheet is the beginning of an ambitious project to make the power of rigorous analysis for everyday financial decisions accessible to all.
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