Investment Accounts and Expected Return

Investment accounts are debit accounts (brokerage, 401k, IRA) that you expect to grow over time. Marking them as "Investment" in the app unlocks smart defaults on the Goals page.

Setting Up an Investment Account

1. Go to Accounts and create or edit an account
2. Check the Investment Account checkbox
3. Enter the Expected Return Rate as a decimal (e.g., 0.07 for 7% annual return)

Note: Investment accounts cannot be debt accounts. The investment flag is only available on debit-type accounts.

How Return Rate Is Used

When you add a savings goal that matches an investment account name, the app can pre-fill the goal's annual interest rate from the account's expected return rate. This saves you from manually entering the same rate for each goal.

Choosing a Return Rate

• Conservative: 0.05 (5%) for bond-heavy portfolios
• Moderate: 0.07 (7%) for balanced portfolios (historical real return of US stocks)
• Aggressive: 0.10 (10%) for equity-heavy portfolios (historical nominal return)

Remember, these are estimates. Actual returns vary year to year.

Next Steps

In the next lesson, you'll add savings goals from your investment accounts and see how the app pre-fills balances and contributions.