Home + Family / Decision workspace
One life.
One pool of cash.
The home, the time off, the childcare. Put them on one timeline and see what fits together, at these assumptions.
Manual inputs · Monthly cash flow · Up to three paths · No account needed
01 / Set your assumptions
Shape a path
The example is invented. Its costs and rates are editable assumptions, not market estimates.
02 / See the tradeoffs
Your cash timeline
Enter your household and calculate a path. Add a home, leave, or childcare when you’re ready.
All results are modeled at these assumptions, in nominal dollars. They don’t predict what will happen or establish mortgage eligibility.
The line shows month-end cash. Purchase markers show cash immediately after closing, before that month’s income. Negative cash means funding is missing; borrowing is not modeled.
Inspect every month
At these assumptions. Scroll horizontally for the complete ledger. Recurring surplus = take-home income − living, rent, mortgage, ownership, and care.
03 / Decide together
Same life. Different paths.
Duplicate a path, then change the price, timing, or costs. Compare every path at its own visible assumptions. No path is selected as a recommendation.
For a partner review, download this workspace and open the file here on their device, or print the comparison and assumptions. Opening a file replaces the current workspace only after confirmation.
How to read this
The timing matters.
Cash has one job at a time.
Purchase cash leaves at the start of the purchase month. Rent stops, ownership starts, and monthly income less expenses changes the balance. The reserve is a minimum you choose to keep, not another bill. Later income doesn’t erase an earlier funding shortfall.
Every recurring cost has dates.
Month 1 uses today’s amounts. Each later month applies its annual change assumption as (1 + annual change) raised to elapsed months / 12. Leave reduces income for its selected months. Childcare grows from the plan start and is charged only within its selected period.
A home needs cash after closing.
Today’s home price grows to the purchase date. Down payment and closing costs use that price; moving costs use your purchase-date amount. Principal and interest use a fixed 30-year loan. Your other ownership budget grows separately. Equity, appreciation after purchase, and sale proceeds don’t become available cash.
A scenario has limits.
Cash earns no return. No tax calculation, mortgage approval, investment recommendation, or automatic PMI removal is included. Reserve checks use opening cash, cash after purchase, and month-end cash; paycheck and bill ordering within a month is otherwise excluded. Only costs inside the selected horizon are counted. Add irregular expenses to your budget or compare a higher-cost path.
Monthly cash-flow model v1 · Manual user assumptions · U.S. dollar convention · Updated October 21, 2026. This is a cash-flow planning lens, separate from Aspire Rate and the annual-goal Simulator. It does not calculate a new Aspire Rate or reuse childcare totals as a lump-sum goal.
Explore purchase cash · Break down ownership costs · Explore childcare costs · Aspire methodology