Home Alone (1990)
Kevin McCallister's dad bought that Winnetka mansion for $875,000. It sold in 2025 for $5.5 million.
Peter McCallister · Winnetka, ILEXPLAINERS
Explainers
Short pieces on the math behind the Aspire Rate. Read one in three minutes; come back when a number makes you curious.
POP CULTURE
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Will mopped floors and rented in Southie. Today that ZIP code has a median home value of $1.1 million.
Will Hunting · South Boston, MA
Full House (1987)
Danny Tanner owned a landmark Broderick St Victorian on a morning TV anchor's salary. Today it's $6M.
Danny Tanner · Pacific Heights, SF
Married with Children (1987)
Al Bundy sold shoes and owned a 4-bedroom suburban home. That house costs $685k today.
Al Bundy · Deerfield, IL
Seinfeld (1991)
Jerry rented a spacious Upper West Side 1BR on a comedian's income. Equivalent rent today: ~$5,500/mo.
Jerry Seinfeld · Upper West Side, NYC
Barney Miller (1975)
An NYPD captain rented in Greenwich Village for $400/mo. Equivalent rent today would consume his entire take-home paycheck.
Capt. Barney Miller · Greenwich Village, NYC
The Simpsons (1989)
742 Evergreen Terrace has no real metro. Aspire prices the bundle in work-years: 2.07 in 2000 Q1 versus 2.96 in June 2026.
Homer Simpson · Springfield · location unspecifiedRECENT
Rate Lens: See how small annual gaps compound
Rate Lens shows how a small difference between a goal's Cost CAGR and an illustrative Portfolio CAGR can become a large future affordability gap over time, at these assumptions.
2-minute read Price your version in the Calculator →Why a house can move away while you save
A house can move away while you save when the target home compounds faster than the money pointed at it. A $750,000 home growing at 6% becomes about $1.34 million in 10 years. Saving more still may not close the gap if the target keeps compounding faster, at these assumptions.
4-minute read Price your version in the Calculator →What Is the Case-Shiller Index?
The Case-Shiller Home Price Index tracks US home price changes over time using repeat sales. Here's what it measures, how to read it, and why it matters for future affordability.
3-minute read Price your version in the Calculator →The Access Gap: Why the Best Companies Now Grow Up in Private
Getting ahead feels harder, even when your paycheck is bigger than ever. Part of the reason is that you are spending more of your life as a consumer of appreciating assets and less of it as an owner of them. Here is how that shift changes the context for future affordability.
16-minute read Price your version in the Calculator →Why savings growth may not match aspirational inflation
A high-yield savings account paying 4% can feel safe in nominal dollars. At these assumptions, that growth may still fall behind the future cost of an illustrative Family basket. The point is not that cash is wrong; it's that purchasing power depends on the goalpost.
5-minute read Price your version in the Calculator →Why your zip code matters more than the Fed for your real return
Housing CAGR varies more across US metros than across decades. The Fed sets one interest rate; your metro sets your real one. At these assumptions, moving zip codes can swing Aspire Rate by 4 to 6 points — more than any rate cut the Fed has made this century.
3-minute read Price your version in the Calculator →