| Looking for help testing a Retirement Calculator |
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Martin
Member
Cash: $ 3.85
Posts: 19
Joined: 19 Jan 2006
Location: Houston, TX
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| Looking for help testing a Retirement Calculator |
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I am working on a retirement calculator that uses Monte Carlo simulations to map out the range of possible retirement scenarios.
The program is now in beta testing. I am looking for feedback, bug reports, etc. I am hoping that some of the members of this forum might be interested in taking a look and sharing their thoughts.
The retirement calculator is a Java application and should run on any platform with a runtime environment. It can be downloaded (for free, of course) here: http://pivotpointadvisors.com/retirementcalculator.asp. This page also provides instructions for using it and a brief description of how it works.
Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated, especially comments about things that don't work, don't make sense, or that you don't like. Thank you in advance!
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Mon Jan 23, 2006 3:44 pm |
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Rolo
Yo' Daddy
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Cool...I've never seen a DIY Monte Carlo simulator. I briefly tried it out...pretty spiffy.
GRAPH! Plot all iterations on a graph (time, X; $, Y) so we can see the distribution visually (use different colours). The table alone is pretty anti-climactic in this PowerPoint era. 
Cashflows should be split: Inflow & Outflow...too easy to forget something when they are intermingled. That way you can ditch the Income/Expense radio button and not have to fiddle with displaying negative numbers.
"Expect me when you see me."
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Tue Jan 24, 2006 6:58 am |
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Martin
Member
Cash: $ 3.85
Posts: 19
Joined: 19 Jan 2006
Location: Houston, TX
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Thanks for the input! I agree with both of your comments. Graphs are in the works. I hadn't thought about splitting expenses and incomes, but that makes sense too.
I'll collect suggestoins for a few weeks and then get to work on version 1.0.
Thanks!
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Tue Jan 24, 2006 3:11 pm |
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auggyf
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Location: San Francisco
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quote:
Originally posted by Rolo
Cool...I've never seen a DIY Monte Carlo simulator.
See https://www.financialengines.com, founded by the economist William Sharpe. They have a partnership with Vanguard and offer free/discounted services for their members.
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Tue Jan 24, 2006 4:10 pm |
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Rolo
Yo' Daddy
Cash: $ 309.70
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Location: Colorado/Florida
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auggyf: If I have to pay to be a member, then it's not free!
quote:
Originally posted by Martin
I'll collect suggestoins for a few weeks and then get to work on version 1.0.
Will the data I enter be retreivable by succeeding versions?
Another suggestion: "Number of iterations" should be in K since it runs so quickly.
"Expect me when you see me."
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Wed Jan 25, 2006 1:05 am |
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Martin
Member
Cash: $ 3.85
Posts: 19
Joined: 19 Jan 2006
Location: Houston, TX
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Rolo, I can't guarantee that the data format won't change until it gets out of beta testing. Once version 1.0 is rolled out there should be full backwards compatibility.
Realistically there should be no problems reading in data files from beta versions, unless I have to add another type of instrument. The last one I added was the interest-only loan, but I haven't had requests like that for some time now. And if the format changes and there is sufficient demand I can provide a conversion tool.
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Wed Jan 25, 2006 3:55 pm |
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Martin
Member
Cash: $ 3.85
Posts: 19
Joined: 19 Jan 2006
Location: Houston, TX
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Update:
V 0.91 (bug fixes): There were problems with saving and loading userdata and there was an issue with entering liabilities. Both of these are fixed in the version currently available on our website. It should be much more usable now. I am working on implementing the other suggestions.
If you play with the calculator and see something that doens't work, please tell me. Thanks!
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Thu Feb 16, 2006 11:29 pm |
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Martin
Member
Cash: $ 3.85
Posts: 19
Joined: 19 Jan 2006
Location: Houston, TX
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This should be the final pre-release version. The file format for import/export is now fixed. All future versions will be able to read files that the current version (v0.92) writes.
I have also incorporated graphical output, but that version will only be available via www.aicpa.org and it will cost money. If any of you would like to test a pre-release version with graphics and enhanced export functionality, please pm me.
Thanks!
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Mon Feb 27, 2006 4:47 pm |
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Martin
Member
Cash: $ 3.85
Posts: 19
Joined: 19 Jan 2006
Location: Houston, TX
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The first official version is now available at www.pivotpointadvisors.com/retirementcalculator.asp Many bugs have been fixed, the controls are arranged in a way that hopefully will look more familiar to people, and the data files are now all text files. The latter should guarantee that data saved with the current version 1.01 can be read by all later versions.
As before, any feedback would be appreciated. Based on feedback we received the next version will include an function to import CSV files with personal data.
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Wed Apr 12, 2006 5:23 pm |
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