Complete User Manual

💰 Asset Account Behavior

• Balance Logic: Positive balances represent owned assets
• Transaction Impact: Income increases, expenses decrease balance
• Net Worth Impact: Adds to total net worth calculation
• Balance Sheet Placement: Appears on asset side of balance sheet
• Examples: Checking ($2,500), Savings ($10,000), 401k ($45,000)

📉 Liability Account Behavior

• Balance Entry: Enter debt as POSITIVE numbers (e.g., enter "1000" for $1,000 owed). The system automatically stores it as negative internally
• User Interface: Debt is ALWAYS displayed and entered as positive for intuitive understanding
• Internal Storage: System stores debt as negative values for proper net worth calculations, but you never see or enter the negative sign
• Credit/Overpayment: If you have a credit balance (e.g., credit card refund), enter it as a negative number and it will be stored as positive
• Payment Handling: Payments reduce liability amount displayed
• Purchase Handling: Purchases increase liability amount displayed
• Net Worth Impact: Subtracts from total net worth calculation
• Balance Sheet Placement: Appears on liability side of balance sheet
• Examples: Credit Card opening balance of $1,200 debt → enter "1200" (positive), system stores as -$1,200 internally, displays as $1,200 owed

🔢 Summary Cards

• Total Assets: Sum of all asset account balances (checking, savings, investments, etc.)
• Total Liabilities: Sum of all debt account balances (credit cards, loans, etc.)
• Net Worth: Assets minus Liabilities
• Account Count: Number of active accounts
• Cards update automatically when you add, edit, or remove accounts

🖥️ Account Display & Organization

• View Mode Options: Choose between two display modes in Settings:
  • Traditional View: Scrollable list showing all accounts in a continuous table - classic layout for quick scanning
  • Collapsible View: Accounts grouped by type with expand/collapse controls - all accounts visible without scrolling, ideal for viewing many accounts at once
• Color-coded Balance Display: Green for assets, red for liabilities
• Account Type Icons: Visual identification with banking, investment, and credit card icons

🔧 Display Customization Options

• Toggle External Links Column: Show/hide external banking links
• Toggle Asset Class Column: Show/hide category information
• Active/Inactive Filter: Display all accounts or active only
• Preferences Persistence: User preferences saved per browser session

⚙️ Account Status Controls

• Account Activation/Deactivation: Toggle account active status without deletion
• Soft Delete System: Deactivation preserves all historical data
• Status Impact: Inactive accounts hidden from transaction dropdowns
• Reactivation: Instantly restore deactivated accounts with full history

💳 Transactions

• Every transaction must be assigned to an account - you can't record a transaction without selecting which account it affects
• Transfers between accounts (like moving money from checking to savings) are supported
• Your transaction history is tied to accounts, so you can see all transactions for a specific account

📊 Balance Sheet

• The Balance Sheet page groups all your accounts by Asset Class (Liquid Assets, Retirement Assets, Real Estate, Liabilities, etc.)
• Your net worth calculation comes from adding up all account balances: Assets minus Liabilities
• When you enter or import daily balances on the Balance Sheet page, each account's balance updates automatically
• You can import balance history to track how each account's balance has changed over time
• Account types and asset classes determine where each account appears on your balance sheet

🎯 Goals

• Debt payoff goals can be linked to specific liability accounts (like a credit card or loan) to automatically track your payoff progress
• Savings goals can have allocation rules that specify which account(s) the money should be saved in
• Some goal types track progress based on account balance changes

🔥 FIRE Planning

• FIRE uses your total net worth from all active accounts (checking, savings, investments, minus debts) for progress tracking
• Your current net worth is compared to your target portfolio size to see how close you are to FIRE
• The calculation includes all account types, not just investments

📈 Reports

• Net worth trend reports show how your total account balances have changed over time
• Cashflow reports can be filtered by account to see income and expenses for specific accounts
• Yearly Trends shows year-over-year changes in account balances and net worth

Security & Privacy Features

• Account Number Masking: Shows only last 4 digits as "•••• 1234"
• Secure External Links: Opens with noopener and noreferrer security
• URL Validation: External links must start with http/https
• Data Isolation: All operations scoped to authenticated user
• Session Security: Secure session management with automatic cleanup
• Input Validation: Validation on all account data entry

🛡️ Data Protection

• Local Database Storage: All financial data stored locally in a shared database on your device
• User Data Separation: Multi-user environments maintain complete data isolation by account - each user only accesses their own accounts, transactions, and budgets
• Session Auto-lock: Configurable inactivity timer locks your session and requires password re-entry, with 30-second warning before lock

📚 How Help Works

Click the Help button on any page to open a modal window with tabbed documentation specific to that page's features. Help content is organized into multiple tabs covering different aspects of the page's functionality - typically 3-5 tabs depending on page complexity.

Help Content Structure: Each help modal follows a consistent pattern: an Overview tab explaining what the page does, a Getting Started tab with step-by-step setup instructions, feature-specific tabs explaining individual capabilities, and a Tips or Best Practices tab with advanced usage guidance. This structure lets beginners start with basics while giving experienced users quick access to advanced features.

Examples Include: The Accounts page help covers account types, balance tracking, and management features. The Budget page help explains budget creation, tracking, and analysis. The FIRE Planning help documents scenario creation, Monte Carlo simulations, and milestone tracking. Transaction help covers importing, categorization, and bulk operations.

Always Up to Date: Built-in help is packaged with SavePoint and updates with each version release. You don't need internet access to read help content, and the documentation always matches your installed version's features.

🌍 Language Support

• 8 Languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese
• Interface updates when you change the language in Settings
• If a translation is missing, English is shown as a fallback

💱 Currency Settings

• Any Currency Supported: Choose from 150+ preset currencies or enter any custom currency code
• Each account can have its own currency (e.g., USD checking account, EUR savings account)
• Set your base currency in Settings for consolidated reporting
• For detailed information on multi-currency features, exchange rates, and cross-currency transactions, see the Multi-Currency Support section

💰 Asset Classifications (Positive Net Worth)

• Liquid Assets: Cash and cash equivalents (checking, savings, money market)
• Household Assets: Personal property and household items (furniture, electronics)
• Investment Assets: Non-retirement investments (brokerage, stocks, bonds, mutual funds)
• Retirement Assets: Tax-advantaged retirement accounts (401k, IRA, Roth IRA, pension)
• Real Estate: Property holdings (primary residence, rental property, land)
• Business Assets: Business-related assets (equipment, inventory, business accounts)
• Other Assets: Miscellaneous assets not fitting other categories

💳 Liability Classifications (Negative Net Worth)

• Short-term Liabilities: Debts due within 1 year (credit cards, personal loans, taxes owed)
• Long-term Liabilities: Debts extending beyond 1 year (mortgages, student loans, auto loans)
• Business Liabilities: Business-related debts (business loans, lines of credit, payables)

🏦 Common Asset Account Types

• Cash: Physical cash, petty cash funds
• Checking: Primary transaction accounts with debit card access
• Savings: Interest-bearing deposit accounts for short-term goals
• Money Market: Higher-yield savings with limited transactions
• Investment: Brokerage accounts, individual stocks, bonds
• 401k: Employer-sponsored retirement accounts
• IRA: Individual retirement accounts (Traditional or Roth)
• Real Estate: Property values for homes, rentals, land

💳 Common Liability Account Types

• Credit Card: Revolving credit accounts
• Auto Loan: Vehicle financing
• Mortgage: Home loans and refinances
• Student Loan: Educational debt
• Personal Loan: Unsecured personal debt
• Line of Credit: Revolving credit lines

🎯 How to Choose the Right Classification

Step 1: Choose Account Type

• Pick the Account Type that best describes what the account is (Checking, Savings, Credit Card, 401k, etc.)
• This is usually straightforward - if it's a checking account at your bank, choose "Checking"
• If you have a unique type of account not in the list, you can create a custom Account Type in Settings

Step 2: Choose Asset Class

• After you select the Account Type, SavePoint shows you only the Asset Classes that make sense for that type
• For example, if you chose "Checking" as the Account Type, you'll see "Liquid Assets" as an option
• The Asset Class determines where this account appears on your balance sheet and whether it adds to or subtracts from your net worth

Why This Matters:

• Asset Classes can't be easily changed later - once you've used an Asset Class on accounts, changing it affects all your historical reports
• Your balance sheet groups accounts by Asset Class - all "Liquid Assets" appear together, all "Retirement Assets" appear together, etc.
• Net worth calculations depend on these classifications - Assets add to your net worth, Liabilities subtract from it

📅 Understanding Budget Years

SavePoint organizes budgets by calendar year (January to December):

• One budget per year: You'll have separate budgets for 2024, 2025, etc.
• Easy year switching: Use the year dropdown to switch between different budget years
• Current year focus: SavePoint automatically opens your current year's budget
• Historical budgets: Keep previous years' budgets to compare spending patterns year-over-year
• Future planning: Create next year's budget in advance for better planning

📊 The Four Budget Summary Cards

At the top of your Budget page, you'll see four colored cards showing your budget overview:

• Total Budgeted Income (Blue): How much money you plan to earn this year, with a progress bar showing how much you've actually earned so far
• Total Budgeted Expenses (Red): How much you plan to spend this year, with progress showing how much you've spent
• Net Savings (Green): The difference between your income and expenses - this is how much you plan to save
• Budget Year (Info): Shows which year's budget you're currently viewing

🗂️ How Budget Categories Work

Categories help you organize your budget into logical spending areas:

• Income categories: Types of income like "Salary," "Freelance," "Investment Income"
• Expense categories: Types of spending like "Groceries," "Rent," "Entertainment," "Transportation"
• Subcategories: Break down main categories further - "Transportation" might have "Gas," "Car Payment," "Insurance"
• Create new categories: Add categories that fit your specific situation while budgeting
• Category matching: When you enter transactions, they should match your budget categories for accurate tracking

💼 How to Add Income Sources

For each type of income you receive, you'll create an income source:

• Income name: What you call this income source - "Full-time Job," "Freelance Writing," "Rental Property"
• Category: What type of income this is - usually "Salary," "Business Income," or "Investment Income"
• Monthly amount: How much you expect to earn from this source each month
• SavePoint calculates: Your annual total (monthly × 12) and shows progress bars as you earn money

💳 How to Set Up Expense Categories

For each area where you spend money, you'll create an expense category:

• Category name: What you call this expense area - "Groceries," "Rent," "Car Payment," "Entertainment"
• Monthly amount: How much you plan to spend in this category each month
• Subcategory 1: We recommend using this to categorize your spending as "Discretionary" (wants) or "Needs" (essential expenses). This helps you see if your actual spending aligns with your spending goals (like the 50/30/20 rule)
• Subcategory 2: Use this for more granular analysis - categorize by purpose like "Food," "Living," "Medical," "Transportation," "Entertainment," etc. This lets you analyze spending patterns across different life areas
• SavePoint tracks: How much you've actually spent compared to your budget, with color-coded progress bars

📊 Understanding Your Budget Colors

SavePoint uses colors to show your budget performance at a glance:

• Green progress bars: You're spending less than budgeted - great job staying under budget!
• Yellow/orange progress bars: You're getting close to your budget limit - pay attention
• Red progress bars: You've spent more than budgeted - time to review and adjust
• Number displays: Shows exactly how much budget you have left in each category

Note: Some themes may display different colors or styles for these indicators, but the meaning remains the same; the progress bars always show your budget performance from under-budget to over-budget.

💰 Cashflow Center - The Most Powerful Analysis Tool

The Cashflow Center is probably the most useful way to analyze your budget. It takes your budget and compares it to your actual transactions month by month in detailed tables, making it easy to see exactly where you're succeeding and where you need adjustments:

• Month-by-Month Comparison: See every budget category broken down by month (Jan-Dec) with your actual spending next to your budget - instantly spot which months were good or bad
• Visual Variance Indicators: Green numbers show you're under budget, red numbers show you're over budget, with the exact dollar difference for each category
• Clickable Drill-Down: Click on any month/category cell to see all the individual transactions that made up that amount - perfect for investigating unexpected spending
• Sparkline Charts: Tiny graphs next to each category show whether your spending is trending up or down over the year
• Summary Cards: Top-level cards show Total Income, Total Expenses, Net Cashflow (positive means you saved money, negative means you overspent), and Budget Variance (how much over or under budget you are overall)
• Year and Month Filters: Switch between years or focus on specific months to compare different time periods
• Pattern Recognition: The month-by-month view makes it easy to spot seasonal patterns (higher utility bills in summer/winter), one-time expenses that threw off your budget, or categories that consistently run over

Why Use Cashflow Center: While the Budget page shows your current status, the Cashflow Center gives you the complete picture across all months. It's the best tool for understanding your spending patterns, identifying problem categories, and making informed decisions about budget adjustments. Most users find this view more helpful than any other for actually improving their budget over time.

📊 Budget Performance Analysis

Your budget performance shows up in several places to help you spot problems early:

• Summary Cards: At the top of your budget, see if you're over or under budget for income and expenses
• Category Progress Bars: Each budget category shows a progress bar - green means on track, yellow means getting close to limit, red means over budget
• Percentage Indicators: See exactly what percentage of each category's budget you've used (85% is getting close, 100%+ is over budget)
• Variance Calculations: SavePoint shows you the dollar amount you're over or under budget in each category
• Trend Analysis: Compare this month's spending to previous months to spot increasing or decreasing patterns

Note: Some themes may display different colors or styles for these indicators, but the progress bars always show your budget performance status.

🎯 Common Budget Problems & Solutions

SavePoint helps you identify and solve the most common budgeting issues:

• Consistently Over Budget: If the same categories go over budget each month, increase those budget amounts and decrease others, or look for ways to reduce spending
• Underestimated Categories: Categories like "Miscellaneous" or "Food" are often underbudgeted - review actual spending and adjust
• Forgotten Expenses: Annual expenses like insurance or holiday spending - break these into monthly amounts and budget for them
• Income Variability: If your income varies, budget based on your lowest typical month and treat extra income as a bonus
• Seasonal Patterns: Higher utility bills in summer/winter, back to school expenses; adjust your budget seasonally (estimate annual spending divide by 12 for your annual budget)

⚡ Budget Optimization Strategies

Use your spending data to optimize your budget for better financial results. SavePoint uses high-level category budgeting, but you can apply these strategies to improve your results:

• Zero-Based Budgeting Strategy: As a best practice, make sure every dollar has a purpose - your income minus expenses should equal your planned savings. SavePoint doesn't enforce this, but you can manually ensure your budget adds up this way
• Priority-Based Allocation: Fund your most important categories first (housing, food, debt payments), then allocate remaining money
• Percentage Guidelines: Use the 50/30/20 rule as a starting point, but adjust based on your actual circumstances and goals
• Emergency Fund First: If you don't have 3-6 months of expenses saved, prioritize building this before other goals
• Regular Budget Reviews: Review and adjust your budget monthly for the first few months, then quarterly once it's stable
• Automate What You Can: Set up automatic transfers for savings and investments so they happen before you can spend the money

💳 The Four Summary Cards (Top of Dashboard)

These four colored cards at the top of your dashboard give you the most important numbers at a glance:

• Monthly Income: How much money came in this month. If it's green with an up arrow, you're earning more than last month. If it's red with a down arrow, you're earning less - this might be normal (like seasonal work) or something to investigate.
• Monthly Expenses: How much you've spent this month. Red with an up arrow means you're spending more than last month - check if this was planned (like a big purchase) or if your spending is getting out of control.
• Net Worth: Your total assets minus total debts. This should generally trend upward over time. If it's dropping consistently, you're either spending more than you earn or your investments are declining.
• Savings Rate: What percentage of your income you're keeping (not spending). Financial experts recommend 20% or higher.

📊 Budget Progress Chart

This module shows you how much of your monthly budget you've spent in each category:

• Green progress bars: You're spending normally in these categories - no action needed
• Yellow/orange bars (over 80% spent): You're getting close to your budget limit. Consider slowing down spending in these categories or check if you have any large purchases left this month
• Red bars (over 100%): You've exceeded your budget in these categories. Check what caused the overspending - was it a one-time purchase or are you consistently overspending?
• Empty or very short bars: Either you haven't spent anything in these categories yet, or you might have set your budget too high

📈 Net Worth Chart

This line chart shows whether your overall wealth is growing over time:

• Line trending upward: Your wealth is growing - you're building assets and/or paying down debt
• Line trending downward: Your wealth is decreasing - either you're spending more than earning, or your investments have lost value
• Flat line: Your net worth isn't changing much - you're maintaining your financial position but not improving it
• Big jumps up or down: These usually indicate large purchases (house, car), debt payments, or investment gains/losses

🎛️ Module Customization Features

• Drag-and-Drop Reordering: Rearrange modules to match your preferred workflow
• Module Enable/Disable: Turn modules on/off based on relevance to your financial situation
• Layout Width Control: Set modules to full-width or half-width layouts
• Personal Preferences Saving: Dashboard configuration persists across sessions
• Reset to Defaults: Quickly restore original dashboard layout and settings
• Real-Time Preview: See changes immediately as you customize layout

💰 Summary Cards

Four color-coded cards displaying your key financial numbers for quick financial overview:

• Total Income: How much money you've earned (green card with up arrow icon)
• Total Expenses: How much you've spent (red card with down arrow icon)
• Net Worth: Your total assets minus total debts (blue card with chart icon, includes currency breakdown if you have accounts in multiple currencies)
• Savings Rate: What percentage of your income you're saving (yellow card with piggy bank icon, calculated as: income minus expenses, divided by income)

📊 Budget Progress

Shows how much you've spent in each budget category this month. The donut chart visualizes your spending distribution, while the list below shows detailed budget vs. actual for each category:

• Donut Chart: Each slice represents a budget category. Hover over a slice to see how much you've spent vs. budgeted
• Category List: Each category shows budgeted amount, amount spent so far, amount remaining, and a progress bar
• Color Coding: Green if under budget, yellow if getting close, red if over budget

📈 Net Worth Trend

Tracks how your net worth has changed over time using a line chart. This shows whether your financial situation is improving - your net worth should generally trend upward:

• Time Periods: View net worth over the past 6 months, 1 year, or longer
• Interactive Chart: Hover over any point to see the exact net worth on that date
• Trend Analysis: Upward trend means growing wealth; downward means shrinking wealth

🏦 Account Balances

Lists all your accounts with their current balances in one place. Accounts are grouped by type (Checking, Savings, Investment, Credit Cards, Loans, etc.) with totals for each type. Click on an account to go to the Accounts page to update its balance or view more details.

📋 Recent Transactions

Shows your most recent transactions (usually the last 10) so you can quickly see your latest spending and income without going to the Transactions page:

• Transaction Details: Date, description/payee, category, account, and amount for each transaction
• Color Coding: Income shows in green, expenses in red
• Quick Actions: Click on a transaction to edit it, or use "View All Transactions" link to see the full list

💡 Financial Health Score

Calculates your overall financial health using a comprehensive 0-100 point scoring system based on five key components of your actual financial data. The module shows a doughnut chart with your total score, plus a detailed breakdown and prioritized recommendations:

• Five Scoring Components: Savings Rate (25 points max), Net Worth Position (20 points), Budget Adherence (20 points), Emergency Fund (15 points), and Debt-to-Income Ratio (10 points)
• Progress Bars: Each component shows your score out of its maximum with a color-coded progress bar (green for 80%+, blue for 60-79%, yellow for 40-59%, red for under 40%)
• Priority Actions: Recommendations are automatically generated based on your weakest areas and displayed 2 at a time with pagination controls. You can click "Show all" to see every recommendation at once
• Help Button: Click the question mark icon in the card header to see exactly how each component is calculated and what scores mean

📊 Income & Expense Distribution

Uses pie charts to show where your money comes from (income sources) and where it goes (expense categories). Each slice shows what percentage of your total income or expenses that category represents:

• Dual Charts: One for income sources, one for expense categories
• Flexible Time Periods: View distribution for this month, last 3 months, or the year
• Spending Analysis: If one expense category is taking up a huge slice, that might be an area to review for potential savings

📈 Cash Flow Trend

Displays your income, expenses, and net cash flow (income minus expenses) over time using three separate lines. Use this to look for patterns - Are certain months always tight? Is your spending trending upward?

• Three-Line Chart: Income line, expenses line, and net cash flow line
• Positive vs Negative: When net cash flow is above zero you're saving money; below zero means you spent more than you earned
• Trend Identification: See if your cash flow is improving, staying steady, or getting worse

🐷 Savings Rate Tracker

Monitors your savings rate percentage over time. You can view different time periods (Current Month, 3M, 6M, 1Y, 3Y) using the buttons in the card header. Financial experts typically recommend saving at least 20% of your income:

• Current Rate Display: Large percentage shown at the top of the card for the selected time period
• Bar Chart: Monthly bars showing your savings rate over the selected period, color-coded against your savings target (green if meeting target, yellow if halfway to target, red if below)
• Savings Target: Uses your budget's savings goal (defaults to 20% if not set) to color-code the bars automatically

💧 Income vs Expenses Waterfall

Visualizes how your income flows through different expense categories to end up as net savings. This makes it easy to see which expense categories are eating up most of your income - the bigger the bar, the bigger the impact on your savings:

• Starting Point: Begins with your total income
• Expense Flow: Each expense category appears as a bar that reduces the running total
• Ending Point: Final bar shows what's left (your savings) or deficit (if you overspent)
• Color Coding: Green for income, red for expenses, blue for final savings amount

🎯 Goals Progress Pulse

Displays progress on your active financial goals with alerts for goals that need attention. This helps you stay on top of your goals by highlighting which ones need more focus:

• Goals Needing Attention: Goals that are behind schedule or at risk of missing their deadline
• Progress Tracking: Shows how far along you are toward each goal
• Upcoming Deadlines: Goals with approaching deadlines
• On-Track Goals: Goals that are progressing well

Note: This module is disabled by default. Enable it in Dashboard Settings if you want to use it.

📊 Example Dashboard Styles

• Daily Overview Style: Turn on Summary Cards, Recent Transactions, and Budget Progress for routine monitoring
• Planning Style: Turn on Goals Progress, Budget modules, and Financial Health for strategic planning
• Investment Focus Style: Turn on Net Worth Trend, Account Balances, and Cash Flow for portfolio tracking
• Minimalist Style: Turn on only essential modules (like Summary Cards and Budget Progress) for quick financial status checks

💰 Understanding Transaction Types

The "type" tells SavePoint whether money came in or went out, and helps it calculate your totals correctly:

• Income: Money that came INTO your account - your salary, freelance payments, gifts, refunds, or investment dividends. These show up as positive (green) numbers and increase your account balance.
• Expense: Money you SPENT - groceries, gas, bills, subscriptions, or any purchase. These show up as negative (red) numbers and decrease your account balance.
• Transfer: Money you moved from one of your accounts to another - like transferring from checking to savings. This doesn't change your total wealth, just moves money around.
• Payment: When you pay your credit card bill - this doesn't change your total wealth because you're paying off debt you already owe. Your checking account goes down, but your credit card debt also goes down by the same amount.

📝 What Information Do I Need to Enter?

When you add a transaction, SavePoint shows you a form with several fields. Here's what each one means and whether you need to fill it out:

• Amount (Required): How much money - just enter the number, SavePoint figures out if it's positive or negative based on the type
• Account (Required): Which bank account, credit card, or cash account this affects - choose from your list
• Date (Required): When this happened - SavePoint fills in today's date, but you can change it
• Description (Required): What this was for - "Grocery store," "Salary deposit," "Coffee," etc.
• Category (Required): What type of expense or income - helps with budgeting and reports
• Currency (Optional): The currency for this transaction - defaults to your account's currency if not specified
• Payee (Optional): Who you paid or who paid you - "SuperMart," "MyCompany Inc," "Mom," etc.
• Check Number (Optional): If you wrote a check, put the check number here
• Notes (Optional): Any extra details you want to remember about this transaction

📂 How Categories Work

Every transaction gets assigned to a category so SavePoint knows what type of spending it represents. SavePoint uses a three-level categorization system: main category, Subcategory 1, and Subcategory 2.

Main Category (Required)

The primary type of transaction - what you actually spent money on or where income came from:

• Income Categories: Types of money coming in like "Salary," "Freelance," "Investment Income," or "Tax Refund"
• Expense Categories: Types of spending like "Groceries," "Rent," "Utilities," "Entertainment," or "Transportation"
• Transfer Categories: Moving money between your own accounts - doesn't affect your budget since it's not real spending

Subcategory 1 (Optional) - Needs vs Discretionary

We recommend using this to categorize your spending as "Discretionary" (wants) or "Needs" (essential expenses). This helps you see if your actual spending aligns with financial guidelines like the 50/30/20 rule (50% needs, 30% discretionary, 20% savings). SavePoint shows you these percentages in budget reports:

• Needs: Essential expenses you must pay - rent, groceries, utilities, insurance, minimum debt payments. These keep your life running
• Discretionary: Non-essential spending you choose to do - dining out, entertainment, hobbies, subscriptions. You could cut these if needed

Subcategory 2 (Optional) - Life Area Analysis

Use this for more granular analysis across different areas of your life:

• Purpose Categories: Group by life area like "Food," "Living," "Medical," "Transportation," "Entertainment," "Personal," or "Financial"
• Cross-Category Analysis: Track total spending on "Food" even when it comes from multiple categories (Groceries + Dining Out + Coffee)
• Why This Helps: You might realize total "Food" spending is 40% of your budget, even though no single category looked too high

Example: "Groceries" might be main category with "Needs" for Subcategory 1 and "Food" for Subcategory 2. "Dining Out" would be main category with "Discretionary" for Subcategory 1 and "Food" for Subcategory 2. This way you can see spending patterns across broader life areas.

🎯 Setting Up Good Categories

The key is creating categories that match how you think about money and that you'll actually use:

• Start Broad: Begin with major categories like "Food," "Housing," "Transportation," "Entertainment"
• Add Detail Later: If "Food" becomes a large expense, break it into "Groceries," "Dining Out," "Coffee"
• Match Your Budget: Categories should align with how you plan to budget - if you budget for "Utilities," use "Utilities" as a category
• Be Consistent: Always categorize similar expenses the same way - all grocery stores go to "Groceries," all restaurants to "Dining Out"
• Avoid Too Many: 15-25 categories is plenty for most people - too many makes it overwhelming to categorize transactions

✏️ Assigning Categories to Transactions

SavePoint offers several ways to categorize your transactions efficiently:

• During Entry: Choose the category when you first enter each transaction
• Bulk Categorization: Select multiple similar transactions and assign them all the same category at once
• Auto-Categorization Rules: Set up rules in Settings → Merchant Mapping so transactions from specific merchants automatically get categorized
• Import Categorization: Categories can be assigned during the CSV import process
• Auto Categorization (Import Only): During import, SavePoint suggests categories based on merchant mapping patterns or your prior transaction history for similar vendors
• Quick Edit Mode: Rapidly categorize many transactions in sequence

📅 Time Period Filters

Choose what time period you want to see:

• Current Month: Only transactions from this month - great for tracking current spending
• Last Month: Previous month only - helpful for reviewing completed months
• Last 3 Months: Shows recent spending patterns without going too far back
• Last 6 Months: Good for seasonal analysis or quarterly reviews
• Custom Dates: Pick any start and end date you want
• All Time: Every transaction you've ever entered - can be slow if you have lots of data

🏦 Account and Category Filters

Focus on specific accounts or spending categories:

• Account Filter: See transactions from just one account - helpful for reconciling bank statements
• Category Filter: Show only certain types of spending like "Groceries" or "Entertainment"
• Transaction Type: Show only Income, only Expenses, or only Transfers

🔍 Using the Search Box

The quickest way to find specific transactions:

• Type any keyword - like "grocery store," "coffee," or "gas"
• Search happens instantly as you type
• Finds partial matches - typing "groc" will find "grocery store"
• Not case sensitive - "COFFEE" and "coffee" both work
• Searches everywhere - descriptions, payees, notes, even account names

✅ How to Select Multiple Transactions

When you want to change or delete several transactions at once, you first need to enable Edit Mode, then select them:

• Enable Edit Mode: Click the "Edit Mode" button to activate selection checkboxes on all transactions
• Select Individual Transactions: Click the checkbox next to each transaction you want to work with
• Select All Visible: Use the "Select All" checkbox at the top to choose all transactions you can see
• See How Many Selected: SavePoint shows you "X transactions selected" so you know how many you've chosen
• Keep Selections: Your selected transactions stay selected even if you change pages or filters

🗑️ Deleting Multiple Transactions

Once you have transactions selected, you can delete them all at once:

• Select the transactions you want to delete (use the checkboxes)
• Click "Delete Selected" - SavePoint will ask you to confirm
• Confirm the deletion - SavePoint shows you how many will be deleted
• Account balances update automatically to reflect the deleted transactions

✏️ Edit Mode - Change Multiple Transactions Quickly

Edit Mode lets you change multiple transactions directly in the table without opening each one individually:

• Click "Edit Mode" to turn the table into an editing view
• Click in any cell to change things like category, description, or account
• Use dropdowns that appear for categories and accounts
• Press "Save All Changes" when you're done editing
• SavePoint updates everything and recalculates your account balances

💱 How Transaction Currency Works

• Default Currency: New transactions use your account's currency by default (or base currency if account has no currency set)
• Multi-Currency Display: If a transaction is in a different currency than your base currency, it shows both - the original amount (e.g., "€50.00") and the converted amount (e.g., "→ $55.00")
• Conversion Rates: Uses exchange rates from your Multi-Currency settings. If no rate exists for the transaction date, uses 1:1 conversion
• Reports and Summaries: All currency amounts are converted to your base currency for accurate totals and charts

📁 Getting CSV Files from Your Bank

Before importing, you need to download transaction data from your bank:

• Log into your online banking and find "Export," "Download," or "Statements" options
• Choose CSV format (some banks call it "Excel," "Spreadsheet," or "Comma Separated")
• Select your date range - start with one month to test the import process
• Download the file to your computer
• Open SavePoint and go to Transactions → Import to start the wizard

🔄 The 9-Step Import Process

SavePoint's import wizard guides you through these steps:

Step 1: Select File

Upload your CSV or Excel file (.csv, .xlsx, .xls). SavePoint will analyze the file structure and detect column headers.

• File Formats: Supports CSV, Excel (.xlsx), and older Excel (.xls)
• Required Columns: Date, Description/Payee, Amount, Category (Category required in file or will be mapped later)
• Optional Columns: Currency, Notes/Memo, Reference Number/Check Number
• Date Formats: Automatically detects MM/DD/YYYY, DD/MM/YYYY, YYYY-MM-DD, and other common formats
• Amount Formats: Handles positive/negative numbers with or without currency symbols ($, €, £, etc.)
• Important: Your file should have column headers in the first row; save with UTF-8 encoding if you have special characters

Step 2: Column Mapping

Tell SavePoint which columns in your file correspond to which transaction fields. The wizard shows your column headers and lets you map them to SavePoint fields.

• Transaction Date (Required): Map to your date column
• Description/Payee (Required): Map to merchant name or transaction description column
• Category (Required): Map to category column if your file has one, or leave blank to categorize later
• Amount (Required): Map to the amount/value column
• Currency (Optional): Map if your file has a currency column (like "USD," "EUR," "GBP")
• Notes/Memo (Optional): Map to any notes or memo column
• Reference Number (Optional): Map to check number, confirmation code, or reference column
• Account Selection: Choose which SavePoint account these transactions belong to - all imported transactions go to this one account

Step 3: Amount Direction

Banks format amounts differently. Tell SavePoint how expenses are represented in your file so it can correctly identify income vs expenses.

• Negative Amounts (-50.00): Choose this if expenses show as negative numbers and returns/refunds show as positive
• Positive Amounts (50.00): Choose this if expenses show as positive numbers and returns/refunds show as negative
• Why This Matters: SavePoint needs to know if -$100 means you spent money or received a refund - this varies by bank
• Example: If you see "Gas Station -45.50" in your file, select "Negative Amounts." If you see "Gas Station 45.50" for expenses, select "Positive Amounts"

Step 4: Currency Mapping

Set the currency for your transactions. If you didn't map a currency column in Step 2, or if you need to override currencies for specific vendors, do it here.

• Default Behavior: All transactions start with your base currency unless you mapped a currency column
• Vendor-Level Currency: Transactions are grouped by vendor/description - you can set a different currency for each vendor
• Set All to Base Currency: Click this button to quickly set all transactions to your base currency
• Individual Mapping: Each vendor group shows a dropdown to select its currency (USD, EUR, GBP, etc.)
• Auto-Detection: SavePoint tries to detect currency symbols in amount fields (like $, €, £) and pre-selects them

Step 5: Data Preview

Review how your data looks with all mappings applied. This preview shows what will be imported (but final signs for income/expense aren't applied until Step 9).

• Table View: See all transactions in a table with Date, Description, Category, Amount, Currency, Notes, and Reference
• Verify Mappings: Check that dates, amounts, and currencies look correct
• Go Back if Needed: Use the Previous button to fix any mapping errors
• Sign Conversion Note: Income and expense signs are applied in Step 9 based on category types and your expense direction setting from Step 3

Step 6: Category Mapping

Map all categories from your bank file to SavePoint categories. Each unique category in your import file gets mapped to an existing SavePoint category.

• Automatic Matching: SavePoint tries to match your bank's categories to existing SavePoint categories
• Dropdown Mapping: Each imported category shows a dropdown - select the SavePoint category it should map to
• Transfer & Payment Categories: These are for internal transactions and won't be included in income/expense calculations (prevents double counting)
• Important: Use Transfer for account-to-account moves, Payment for credit card payments - these don't affect your income or expenses

Step 7: Duplicate Check

SavePoint compares your import to existing transactions and flags potential duplicates. You decide which duplicates to skip.

• Duplicate Detection: Finds transactions with matching date, amount, and description in your existing data
• Side-by-Side Comparison: Shows the new transaction next to existing matches so you can compare
• Skip Duplicates: Check the box next to any transaction you want to skip (won't be imported)
• Keep Checkbox: Leave unchecked to import even if it looks like a duplicate (useful for recurring transactions)
• Why This Matters: Prevents importing the same transactions twice if you download overlapping date ranges

Step 8: Vendor-Level Mapping (Optional)

Fine-tune category assignments based on specific vendors or transaction descriptions. This is optional but provides more precise categorization.

• Enable Vendor Mapping: Turn on the switch to activate vendor-level overrides
• Override Categories: Map specific vendors to different categories than the general category mapping from Step 6
• Example Use Case: "Skyline Airlines" might map to "Travel - Transportation" instead of just "Travel"
• Auto-Map Similar Vendors: Click this button to automatically group similar vendor names and assign them the same category
• Merchant Mapping Patterns: You can set up permanent patterns in Settings → Merchant Mapping for future imports
• Source Indicators: Shows whether each category came from auto-mapping, patterns, or historical data

Step 9: Final Preview

Final review of all transactions with all mappings, conversions, and duplicate exclusions applied. This is your last check before importing.

• Summary Cards:
  • Transactions to Import (green card) - how many will be added
  • Duplicates Excluded (yellow card) - how many were skipped
  • Vendor Overrides (blue card) - how many have vendor-specific categories
• Final Table: Shows all transactions with final amounts, categories, currencies, and mapping source
• Mapping Source Column: Shows where each category came from (vendor mapping, pattern, category mapping, etc.)
• Ready to Import: Click "Import" to add all transactions to your account, or "Previous" to make changes

📊 Balance Sheet View Modes

SavePoint offers different time views to help you track your wealth building progress:

• Current View: Shows today's account balances for your current financial position
• 3-Month View: Displays account balances over the past 3 months to see recent trends
• 6-Month View: Shows 6 months of balance history for mid-term trend analysis
• 12-Month View: Full year view to track long-term wealth building progress
• Current Year View: Shows balances from January to present for annual analysis

🏦 Account Organization

Your accounts are organized by type to match standard financial statements:

• Assets Section: All accounts that add to your wealth (checking, savings, investments, real estate)
• Liabilities Section: All accounts that reduce your wealth (credit cards, loans, mortgages)
• Account Display: Each account shows name and current balance (with currency indicator if different from base currency)
• Color Coding: Green for positive balances, red for negative balances
• Quick Actions: Click the Edit button (pencil icon) to open the Edit Account Balance screen where you can:
  • Enter a new balance for any date
  • View recent balance history with dates and amounts
  • Delete individual balance entries (with permanent deletion warning)
  • Delete the account's starting balance
  • See currency conversion preview for multi-currency accounts

📈 Net Worth Tracking Charts

Visual charts help you understand your wealth building trends over time:

• Net Worth Trend Chart: Line chart showing your net worth progression over time. Higher values mean you're building wealth (assets growing faster than debts), lower values mean wealth is decreasing (debts growing or assets declining)
• Assets vs Liabilities Charts: Two separate pie charts showing the distribution of different types of assets (Checking, Savings, Investments, etc.) and different types of liabilities (Credit Cards, Loans, Mortgages, etc.). These help you see which account types make up most of your wealth or debt
• Account Category Charts: Pie charts showing your asset and liability distributions
• Interactive Features: Hover for exact amounts, click legend items to show/hide accounts
• Time Period Controls: Zoom in on specific time periods for detailed analysis

📅 Index Day Setting

The Index Day determines which day of the month SavePoint uses for balance snapshots:

• Default Setting: Day 1 (first day of each month) for monthly balance tracking
• Custom Options: Set to any day 1-31 based on your preference
• Common Choices: Day 15 (mid-month), day 1 (month start), or day 31 (month end)
• Usage Impact: This affects historical charts and trend analysis calculations
• Recommendation: Pick a day when you typically review finances and stick with it

💰 Balance Updates

Keep your balances current with multiple update methods:

• Manual Entry: Click "Edit Balance" to enter current account balance
• Bulk Import: Use CSV import to update multiple account balances at once
• Balance Sheet Entry Updates: Enter balances directly on the Balance Sheet page to track account values over time
• Date Stamping: Each balance update includes the date for historical tracking
• Currency Handling: Multi-currency accounts display in both native and base currencies

📊 Balance History Analysis

Access detailed balance history for any account from within the Edit Balance modal:

• Historical Table: Complete list of balance changes with dates and amounts
• Time Period Filters: Quick range presets (Current Month, Last 3 Months, Last 6 Months, Year to Date, Last Year, All Time) or custom date range
• Sorting Options: Sort by date (newest/oldest first) or amount (high/low)
• Bulk Operations: Select All to pick all entries, then delete selected or invert their sign
• Delete All Option: Remove all balance history for the account (with confirmation)

📁 The 6-Step Import Process

SavePoint's import wizard guides you through these steps:

Step 1: Select File

Upload your CSV or Excel file (.csv, .xlsx, .xls). SavePoint will analyze the file structure and detect column headers.

• File Formats: Supports CSV, Excel (.xlsx), and older Excel (.xls)
• Required Columns: Account Name, Date, Balance (column names can vary - you'll map them in Step 2)
• Multi-Account Support: One file can contain balances for multiple accounts across multiple dates
• Template Download: Download a sample template from the wizard to see the correct format
• Drag & Drop: Simply drag your file into the import area or click to browse
• Date Formats: Automatically detects YYYY-MM-DD, MM/DD/YYYY, DD/MM/YYYY, and other common formats

Step 2: Column Mapping

Tell SavePoint which columns in your file correspond to which balance fields. The wizard shows your column headers and lets you map them to SavePoint fields.

• Account Name (Required): Map to your account name column (e.g., "Account", "Account Name", "Institution")
• Date (Required): Map to the date column for the balance snapshot
• Balance (Required): Map to the balance/amount column
• Preview Table: Shows sample data with your mappings applied so you can verify it looks correct
• Date Validation: If SavePoint detects invalid dates, it will show Step 2.5 to help you fix date format issues

Step 3: Account Mapping

Map account names from your import file to existing SavePoint accounts or create new ones. SavePoint groups all balance entries by account name and shows you how many entries exist for each.

• Automatic Matching: SavePoint tries to match imported account names to existing accounts based on name similarity
• Manual Mapping: Each imported account shows a dropdown to map it to an existing SavePoint account
• Create New Accounts: Select "Create new account" to add accounts that don't exist yet in SavePoint
• Currency Detection: If your balance amounts include currency symbols ($, €, £), SavePoint auto-detects them and shows a currency preview
• Entry Count: Shows how many balance entries will be imported for each account

Step 3.5: Liability Convention (Conditional)

If you're importing liability accounts (credit cards, loans), SavePoint asks how your file represents debt balances. This step only appears if liability accounts are detected.

• Positive for Debt: Choose this if debts show as positive numbers (e.g., 5000 for $5,000 owed)
• Negative for Debt: Choose this if debts show as negative numbers (e.g., -5000 for $5,000 owed)
• Why This Matters: SavePoint needs to know whether +5000 means you owe money or have a credit - this varies by bank/tracking system

Step 4: Handle Duplicates

SavePoint compares your import to existing balance entries and flags potential duplicates. You decide which duplicates to skip or replace.

• Duplicate Detection: Finds balance entries with matching account and date in your existing data
• Side-by-Side Comparison: Shows the new balance next to existing balance so you can compare amounts
• Resolution Options: For each duplicate, choose to Skip (keep existing), Replace (use new value), or Import Both
• No Duplicates Message: If no duplicates are found, you'll see a success message and can continue
• Why This Matters: Prevents importing the same balance twice if you download overlapping date ranges

Step 5: Final Preview

Final review of all balance entries with all mappings and duplicate resolutions applied. This is your last check before importing.

• Summary Count: Shows total number of balance entries that will be imported
• Final Table: Shows all balances with account names, dates, and amounts
• Currency Display: Multi-currency balances show both native currency and base currency conversion
• Account Creation Notice: Lists any new accounts that will be created during import
• Ready to Import: Click "Import Balances" to add all balance data to your balance sheet, or "Previous" to make changes

Step 6: Import Progress

Watch the import progress as SavePoint processes your data. You can pause or cancel at any time.

• Progress Bar: Shows percentage complete and current operation being processed
• Two-Phase Import: First creates any new accounts, then imports all balance data
• Pause/Resume: Click Pause to temporarily stop the import; click Resume to continue
• Cancel Option: Click Cancel to stop the import (data imported so far is kept)
• Completion Summary: Shows how many balance entries were successfully imported and any errors encountered

📈 Net Worth Trend Chart

Line chart showing your net worth over time:

• Timeline View: Shows net worth for each month based on your balance entries
• Time Period Selection: Choose 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, or current year view
• Hover Details: Hover over any point to see the exact net worth amount and date
• Trend Visualization: See if your net worth is increasing (higher values) or decreasing (lower values) over time

🏦 Asset Breakdown Chart

Pie chart showing how your assets are distributed across different account types:

• Account Type Grouping: Groups assets by account type (Checking, Savings, Investment, Retirement, etc.)
• Percentage Display: Shows what percentage of your total assets each account type represents
• Value Display: Displays the dollar amount for each account type
• Color Coding: Different colors for each asset category for easy identification

💳 Liability Breakdown Chart

Pie chart showing how your liabilities are distributed across different account types:

• Account Type Grouping: Groups liabilities by account type (Credit Card, Loan, Mortgage, etc.)
• Percentage Display: Shows what percentage of your total liabilities each account type represents
• Value Display: Displays the dollar amount for each liability type
• Debt Distribution: See which types of liabilities make up most of your total debt

📅 Viewing Balance History

• Complete History: See all balance entries for an account with dates and amounts
• Search and Filter: Find specific balance entries by date range
• Sort Options: Sort by date, amount, or other criteria
• Export History: Download balance history as CSV for analysis

✏️ Editing Historical Balances

• Date Changes: Update the date of a balance entry
• Amount Corrections: In the Edit Balance screen, select a balance entry from the recent history list and change the amount
• Currency Updates: Change currency for multi-currency accounts
• Bulk Operations: Click "View all" in the Edit Balance screen to access the full history view where you can make changes to multiple entries
• Delete Entries: Remove incorrect or duplicate balance entries (this cannot be undone)

📊 Time Period Comparison

Switch between different time period views to compare your balances:

• Current (Single Month): See the most recent balance for each account
• 3-Month View: Compare balances across three consecutive months
• 6-Month View: Track changes over a six-month period
• 12-Month View: See a full year of balance history for each account
• Current Year / Last Year: View all months for a specific year

🎯 Account Balance Tracking

Review your account balances to identify changes:

• Asset Totals: See total assets at the bottom of the Assets section
• Liability Totals: See total liabilities at the bottom of the Liabilities section
• Net Worth Display: Total assets minus total liabilities (shown at the top, and bottom of Net Worth section)
• Account-Level Changes: Compare individual account balances across months to see which accounts are growing or declining
• Category Distribution: Use the Asset and Liability pie charts to see which account types make up most of your totals

📈 Net Worth Trend Review

Use the net worth trend chart to track changes over time:

• Net Worth Progression: See if your net worth is increasing or decreasing month-to-month
• Growth Patterns: Identify periods of growth or decline in your net worth
• Time Period Selection: Choose 3-month, 6-month, 12-month, or current year view for different perspectives
• Specific Values: Hover over chart points to see exact net worth amounts for each month

💱 How Currency Conversion Works

• Base Currency Display: All account balances are shown in your base currency (set in Settings → Currency)
• Currency Indicator: Accounts in different currencies show their currency code next to the balance (e.g., "EUR", "GBP")
• Date-Aware Conversion: When you enter a balance, SavePoint uses the exchange rate from that specific date for accurate historical tracking
• Conversion Preview: The Edit Balance modal shows you the converted amount in your base currency as you enter the balance
• Fallback Handling: If exchange rates are unavailable for a date, SavePoint uses 1:1 conversion

📊 Multi-Currency Net Worth Calculations

Net worth calculations automatically account for currency differences:

• Historical Accuracy: Each balance entry uses the exchange rate from its date, so your net worth chart reflects true historical values
• Automatic Updates: When you add a balance for a multi-currency account, the conversion happens automatically
• Consistent Comparison: All accounts display in the same currency, making it easy to compare values across accounts

For more details on setting up currencies and exchange rates, see the Multi-Currency Support section in Settings.

💰 Net Worth Components

Understanding what makes up your net worth helps you optimize it:

• Liquid Assets: Cash, checking, savings - money you can access immediately
• Investment Assets: Stocks, bonds, mutual funds - money that can grow over time
• Retirement Assets: 401k, IRA - money for your future self
• Fixed Assets: House, car - things you own that have value but aren't liquid
• Liabilities: Credit cards, loans, mortgage - money you owe others

📊 Net Worth Milestones

Common net worth milestones help you track your financial progress:

• $0 Net Worth: Breaking even - assets equal liabilities
• $10,000: First significant milestone for many people
• 1x Annual Income: Net worth equals one year of your salary
• $100,000: Six-figure milestone - wealth building accelerates here
• 25x Annual Expenses: Financial independence number (FIRE goal)
• $1,000,000: Millionaire status - traditional wealth benchmark

🎯 Optimizing Net Worth Growth

Strategies to accelerate your net worth building:

• Increase Income: Career advancement, side hustles, or skill development
• Reduce Expenses: Cut unnecessary spending to free up money for assets
• Pay Down Debt: Every dollar of debt eliminated increases net worth by one dollar
• Invest for Growth: Put money in assets that appreciate over time
• Track Regularly: Monthly tracking keeps you motivated and on course
• Automate Savings: Set up automatic transfers to build wealth without thinking about it

💰 Saving Goals

Build money toward a target amount. Set $5,000 emergency fund target - when you've allocated $2,500 from various transactions, your progress ring shows 50% complete.

How to use: After creating a saving goal, set up rules to define what counts toward the goal (category rules, account balance rules, or advanced rules). Goals update automatically based on your transactions or daily account balances. You can also use the Goal Journal to manually adjust allocations to ensure only a specific amount counts toward a goal.

• Progress calculation: Current amount saved ÷ target amount × 100%
• Account balance tracking: Link a savings account to automatically track its balance as progress. Each day's balance becomes a data point in your timeline chart
• Category-based tracking: Set category rules (e.g., all "Freelance Income" transactions) to automatically allocate matching transactions to this goal
• Advanced rules: Allocate a percentage of matching transactions (e.g., 10% of all income), fixed amount per transaction, or round-up spare change
• Timeline chart: See your savings grow over time with daily account balance snapshots or cumulative transaction allocations
• Manual adjustments: Use Goal Journal to change allocation amounts or reallocate specific transactions
• Example uses: Track dedicated savings account balance (checking → savings transfers), accumulate side income for vacation, pool bonuses for home down payment

💳 Debt Paydown Goals

Track debt elimination progress. Start with $8,500 credit card debt, set target to pay off full amount. When you've paid it down to $6,000, you've eliminated $2,500 - that's 29% progress toward your payoff goal.

How to use: Create the goal with your current debt balance as starting amount. Link the goal to your debt account for automatic updates, or manually allocate payment transactions to track progress toward elimination.

• Progress calculation: (Starting debt balance - current debt balance) ÷ target paydown amount × 100%
• Account balance tracking: Link your debt account (credit card, loan, etc.) to automatically track the decreasing balance. Each day's balance is recorded in your timeline chart showing debt reduction over time
• Payment transaction tracking: Set category rules (e.g., "Credit Card Payment" category) to track cumulative payments toward the goal without linking an account
• Initial balance entry: Enter your starting debt amount when creating the goal so SavePoint can calculate how much you've paid down
• Timeline visualization: Chart shows your debt balance decreasing over time (account rules) or cumulative payments increasing (category rules)
• Mixed tracking warning: Using both account rules and category rules on the same debt goal can cause confusion. Choose one method for cleaner tracking
• Example uses: Track credit card balance going from $8,500 to $0, monitor student loan paydown, mortgage principal reduction

🛡️ Spending Goals

Control spending by setting category limits. Set $400 monthly dining out limit and SavePoint tracks how much you've spent toward that limit. When you've spent $280 (70% of your limit), the progress ring shows 70%. If you spend $400 or more, the ring shows 100%+.

How to use: Set spending limit for any category (like "Dining Out" or "Entertainment"). SavePoint automatically tracks all transactions in that category toward your limit. Monitor progress to stay on budget.

• Progress calculation: Cumulative spending ÷ spending limit × 100%
• Category-based tracking: Set category rules (e.g., "Dining Out" category) and all matching expense transactions automatically count toward your limit
• Advanced rules: Can also use percentage rules, fixed amounts, or keyword filters to control what transactions count
• Timeline chart: See cumulative spending increase over time. Prioritizes category/advanced rules over account rules
• Progress ring colors: Ring color changes based on percentage used (gray at 0-24%, yellow at 25-49%, light blue at 50-74%, blue at 75-99%, green at 100%+)
• Over-budget tracking: If you go over your limit, the goal shows how much you're over and the percentage over 100%
• Example uses: Limit dining out spending to $400/month, cap entertainment at $150/month, control shopping impulses with $300 monthly limit

📋 Habit Goals

Track non-financial activities like exercise or reading. Set target of 20 workouts this month - when you've logged 7 workouts, progress ring shows 58% complete toward your fitness goal.

How to use: Create habit goal with target number and custom units ("workouts," "books," "miles"). Click the goal card to log completed activities with date and count. Progress updates immediately.

• Progress calculation: Cumulative logged units ÷ target units × 100%
• Manual logging: Click the goal card to open logging modal. Enter date and number of units completed (e.g., 3 workouts, 2 books)
• Transaction-based tracking: Can also set up category rules to automatically count transactions as units (e.g., count "Gym Visit" transactions)
• Custom unit labels: Define your own unit name like "workouts," "books," "miles," "sessions," or "days"
• Timeline chart: Shows cumulative units over time from both manual entries and transaction allocations
• Entry management: View and delete habit entries in the goal detail modal's Activity Log
• Example uses: Track 30 workouts this month, read 12 books this year, meditate 100 days, practice instrument 50 sessions

📂 Category Rules

Category rules automatically allocate transactions that match specific categories to your goal.

• Include categories: All transactions in the selected category automatically count toward the goal (e.g., include "Freelance Income" for a vacation savings goal)
• Exclude categories: Prevent specific categories from counting (e.g., exclude "Groceries" from a general "Food" spending limit)
• Full transaction allocation: The entire transaction amount is allocated to the goal
• Best for: Spending goals (limit dining out), savings goals (save all freelance income), debt goals (track all "Credit Card Payment" transactions)
• Timeline display: Shows cumulative allocations over time as transactions occur

🏦 Account Rules

Account rules track the daily balance of a specific account as goal progress.

• Balance tracking: SavePoint records the account's balance each day and uses it as the goal's current progress
• Automatic updates: Every time you update the account balance on the Balance Sheet, the goal progress updates automatically
• One account per goal: Each goal can track one account's balance
• Best for: Savings goals (track dedicated savings account balance), debt goals (track decreasing credit card/loan balance)
• Timeline display: Shows daily balance snapshots over time, creating a smooth line chart of account balance changes
• Priority: For savings and debt goals, account rules take priority over category rules in timeline charts

⚡ Advanced Rules

Advanced rules allocate partial amounts or use conditions to control what counts toward goals.

• Percentage of transactions: Allocate a percentage of matching transactions (e.g., save 10% of all income transactions, or 50% of bonus income)
• Fixed amount per transaction: Allocate the same fixed amount regardless of transaction size (e.g., $5 from each paycheck)
• Round-up spare change: Round each transaction up to the nearest dollar and allocate the difference (e.g., $3.47 purchase rounds to $4.00, allocates $0.53)
• Optional category filter: Apply the rule only to transactions in a specific category
• Optional keyword filter: Apply the rule only to transactions with specific words in the description (e.g., "Bonus" or "Freelance")
• Best for: Flexible savings strategies (save percentage of income), automated micro-savings (round-up rules), conditional allocations
• Timeline display: Shows cumulative partial allocations over time

🔄 Rule Type Recommendations

• Savings goals: Use account rules to track a dedicated savings account, OR use category rules to track income categories you want to save
• Debt goals: Use account rules to track decreasing debt balance, OR use category rules to track payment transactions. Don't mix both
• Spending goals: Use category rules to track spending in specific categories. Account rules won't work well for spending limits
• Habit goals: Can use category rules if you have transaction-based habits (e.g., "Gym Visit" transactions), but most habits use manual logging instead
• Multiple rules per goal: You can add multiple category rules or advanced rules to the same goal. For example, save 10% of "Salary" + 50% of "Bonus"
• Mixed rule types: Mixing account rules with category rules on the same goal can cause confusion in timeline displays. Choose one approach

📊 Progress Rings

• Percentage display: Circular progress ring showing completion percentage in the center
• Color coding: Color changes based on progress level (low/medium/high completion)
• Amount display: Shows current amount, target amount, and remaining amount below the ring
• Automatic updates: Updates when new transactions match your rules or when account balances change

📈 Timeline Charts

• Data source varies by rule type: Account rules show daily balance snapshots, category rules show cumulative transaction allocations over time
• Date-based x-axis: Chart plots your progress chronologically from start to target date
• Target line: Horizontal line shows your target amount for visual reference
• Hover tooltips: Hover over data points to see exact date and amount values
• Trend analysis: Identify progress patterns

🎉 Goal Achievement

When a goal reaches 100% progress, SavePoint marks it as achieved and shows a completion modal.

• Achievement modal: Modal displays with confetti animation (100 colored confetti pieces falling across the screen) and congratulations message
• Modal buttons: "Awesome!" button to close modal, "Save Achievement" button to download certificate
• Certificate generation: Clicking Save Achievement generates a PNG certificate image matching your current theme (dark, light, modern, or mainframe) and downloads it to your Downloads folder
• Certificate content: Shows goal name, goal type, target amount, achievement date, and duration (how long it took to complete)
• Achieved status: Goal card shows "Achieved" badge with trophy icon and achievement date. Goal is excluded from allocation dialogs (can't allocate more transactions to completed goals)
• Achievement date: Permanently recorded in the goal data. Displayed on goal card and in goal detail modal

🔍 Filters & Sorting

• Goal Type filter: Show all goals or filter to Spending, Saving, Debt, or Habit goals only
• Sort By dropdown: Sort by Custom Order (drag-and-drop), Date Created, Progress %, Target Amount, or Name (A-Z)
• Show dropdown: Choose number of goals to display per page (10, 25, 50, or All)
• Include Archived Goals checkbox: Check to show archived goals in the list (archived goals are dimmed)

📤 Export Goals

• CSV export: Click Export button to download all goals as CSV file
• Exported data: Includes goal name, type, status, target amount, current amount, progress percentage, start date, target date, and allocation scope
• Opens in spreadsheet: CSV file opens in Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet program

🎯 Goal Cards

• Progress ring: Circular ring showing percentage complete with color coding
• Emoji & name: Goal icon and name at the top
• Amount display: Shows current amount, target amount, and remaining amount
• Background image: Displays uploaded background image if set
• Recurring badge: Shows pattern (Weekly, Monthly, etc.) for recurring goals
• Target date: Displays deadline below amounts
• Click to view details: Click any goal card to open the detail modal

📝 Editing Goals

• Edit button: Opens the same 4-step wizard used for creation, pre-filled with current values
• Editable fields: All fields can be changed (name, target, dates, rules, allocation scope, etc.)
• Add/remove rules: Modify tracking rules in Step 3
• Save changes: Click "Update Goal" to save. Progress recalculates based on new rules

🗑️ Deleting Goals

• Delete button: Located in goal detail modal footer (red button)
• Confirmation required: SavePoint asks you to confirm deletion
• What gets deleted: Goal and all its rules are deleted. Transaction allocations are removed
• Transactions remain: Your transactions are not deleted, only the goal tracking data is removed

📊 Goal Detail Modal

Clicking a goal card opens a modal with three tabs:

• Progress Tab: Shows timeline chart with progress history, target line, and hover tooltips for exact dates/amounts
• Details Tab: Displays all goal settings (type, target, dates, currency, allocation scope, rules)
• Activity Log Tab (habit goals only): Lists all manually logged habit entries with dates and counts. Click entries to delete them
• Edit/Delete buttons: Located in modal footer for quick access

📋 Logging Habit Activities

• Log Activity button: Appears at top of habit goal detail modal
• Logging modal: Enter date and number of units completed (e.g., "3 workouts on 2025-01-15")
• Quick increment: Or click "Log 1 Today" button to quickly log a single unit for today
• Immediate update: Progress ring updates as soon as you save the entry
• View entries: Activity Log tab shows all logged entries with edit/delete options

📖 Goal Journal (Allocation Journal)

The Journal tab displays all transactions that have been allocated to goals based on your rules or manual allocations.

• Summary cards: Shows Total Allocated (sum of all allocations), Total Transactions (number of allocated transactions), Avg. Allocation (average percentage allocated), and Over-allocated count
• Date range filter: Choose Last Week, Last Month, Last 3 Months, Last 6 Months, Last 12 Months, Last Year, Last Three Years, All Time, or Custom Range
• Goal filter: View allocations for all goals or filter to a specific goal
• Allocation status filter: Filter for Under-allocated (<100%), Fully allocated (100%), or Over-allocated (>100%) transactions
• Bulk Actions button: Select multiple transactions and choose: Clear All Allocations, Reallocate to Goal, Split Evenly Among Goals, or Fix Over-allocations
• Goal color legend: Shows which color represents each goal for easy identification in the table

📋 Journal Table

Each row shows one transaction with its allocation details:

• Checkbox column: Select transactions for bulk actions. Use "Select All" checkbox in header to select all visible transactions
• Date: Transaction posted date (when the transaction occurred, not when it was allocated)
• Description: Transaction description and category name
• Amount: Transaction amount in base currency (with currency indicator if converted)
• Allocation: Shows which goal(s) received allocations with color-coded badges and allocated amounts
• Percentage: What percentage of the transaction amount has been allocated (can exceed 100%)
• Actions: Edit button to modify allocation amounts for this transaction

✏️ Manual Allocation Adjustments

Click the Edit button on any transaction to adjust how much of that transaction counts toward goals:

• Transaction info: Modal shows transaction description, amount, date, and category
• Current allocations: Displays existing allocations and total percentage already allocated
• Select goal: Choose which goal to allocate to (only shows eligible goals based on category restrictions)
• Allocation amount: Enter dollar amount to allocate. Use "Max Available" button to allocate the remaining unallocated amount
• Over-allocation warning: Shows warning if your allocation would exceed 100% of the transaction amount
• Save allocation: Updates the goal progress immediately

🔧 Bulk Allocation Actions

Select multiple transactions using checkboxes and click Bulk Actions to:

• Clear All Allocations: Removes all allocations from selected transactions (doesn't delete the transactions themselves)
• Reallocate to Goal: Clears existing allocations and reallocates selected transactions to a different goal
• Split Evenly Among Goals: Divides each transaction's amount evenly among multiple goals
• Fix Over-allocations: Automatically adjusts allocations on over-allocated transactions to bring them back to 100%

⚠️ Allocation Status Indicators

The percentage column shows allocation status:

• Under-allocated (<100%): Transaction is partially allocated. More could be allocated to goals if desired
• Fully allocated (100%): Entire transaction amount has been allocated to goals
• Over-allocated (>100%): Total allocations exceed the transaction amount. This happens when you allocate the same transaction to multiple goals and the sum exceeds 100%
• Why over-allocation matters: Over-allocation is allowed but flagged because it means you're counting the same dollar multiple times toward different goals

🔄 How Allocations Update

• Automatic from rules: When you add or edit a transaction that matches a goal's rules, SavePoint automatically creates allocations in the Journal
• Account balance rules: When you update an account balance on the Balance Sheet and that account is linked to a goal via account rules, a balance snapshot allocation appears in the Journal
• Manual additions: Use the Edit button in the Journal to manually allocate transactions that weren't automatically allocated
• Recalculation: Click the Refresh button in the Journal to force SavePoint to recalculate all allocations based on current rules
• Goal progress updates: Any change to allocations (automatic or manual) immediately updates the goal's progress ring and timeline chart

💡 Journal Use Cases

• Review allocations: Check which transactions have contributed to each goal over time
• Fix over-allocations: Find and fix transactions where total allocations exceed 100%
• Adjust rule results: If a rule allocated too much or too little, manually adjust individual transactions
• Reallocate after goal changes: If you change your goals mid-month, reallocate past transactions to the new goals
• Export for analysis: Use the Export button to download allocation data as CSV for spreadsheet analysis

🎛️ Page Controls

• Year Selector: Dropdown showing all years for which you have budgets set up. Only years with budget data appear in this list. Select a year to view that year's cashflow data
• Month Filter: Dropdown with "All Months" (default) or individual months (January through December). Select a specific month to filter all tables and charts to show only that month's data
• Help Button: Opens context-sensitive help for the Cashflow Center

📊 Summary Cards

Four summary cards display key financial metrics for the selected year (or month if filtered):

• Total Income (green card): Sum of all income transactions for the period. Updates dynamically when you change year or month filter
• Total Expenses (red card): Sum of all expense transactions for the period. Calculated from actual transactions, not budget
• Net Cashflow (blue card): Total Income minus Total Expenses. Positive means you earned more than you spent; negative means you spent more than you earned
• Budget Variance (yellow card): Difference between your actual spending and your budgeted amounts. Positive variance means you spent less than budgeted (under budget) or earned more than projected; negative means you spent more (over budget) or earned less than projected

📈 Analytical Charts

Four charts visualize your cashflow data:

• Cash Flow Trend (top left): Line chart showing income, expenses, and net cashflow over time. If viewing full year, shows monthly data; if viewing a single month, shows daily trends
• Top 5 Categories (top right): Horizontal bar chart showing your five highest expense categories by total amount. Updates based on selected period
• Income vs Expense (bottom left): Pie chart comparing total income to total expenses for the selected period
• Budget vs Actual (bottom right): Bar chart comparing budgeted amounts to actual spending for major categories

💰 Income Sources Table

The Income Sources table displays a row for each income category with the following columns:

• Income Source column: Category name (e.g., "Salary", "Freelance Income", "Investment Income"). Click any row to open the detailed category modal
• Monthly Trend column: Small sparkline chart showing the income pattern across all 12 months. Line moves up/down based on monthly amounts, with green coloring for income
• Jan through Dec columns: Twelve month columns showing actual income received in each month. Displays dollar amount or "-" if no income that month. Future months (beyond current month) are dimmed. Click any month cell to open the category detail modal filtered to that specific month
• Total column: Sum of all income received in this category for the entire year (green text)
• Budget column: Total budgeted amount for this income category for the full year
• Variance column: Difference between Total and Budget. Green text if actual exceeds budget (earned more than planned), red text if actual is below budget (earned less than planned)
• TOTAL row: Bottom row with gray background showing totals for each column across all income categories

💳 Expense Categories Table

The Expense Categories table has the same structure as the Income table, but for expenses:

• Expense Category column: Category name with optional subcategory displayed below in small gray text. Click any row to open detailed category modal
• Monthly Trend column: Sparkline showing expense pattern across 12 months, with red coloring for expenses
• Jan through Dec columns: Actual expenses for each month. Click any month cell to drill down into that month's transactions for that category
• Total column: Sum of all expenses in this category for the year (red text)
• Budget column: Budgeted amount for the full year
• Variance column: Difference between actual and budget. Red text if over budget (spent more than planned), green text if under budget (spent less than planned). Shows absolute value of difference
• TOTAL row: Bottom row showing totals across all expense categories

🔍 Opening the Drilldown

Click any category name in the Income Sources or Expense Categories tables to see all transactions for that category across the year. Or click a specific monthly amount to jump directly to that month's transactions. The drilldown opens full-screen, showing you everything about that category's activity.

Example: You notice "Dining Out" shows $620 this month when you budgeted $400. Click that $620 to see exactly where that money went: was it date nights, work lunches, or weekend brunches? The drilldown gives you every transaction with dates, amounts, and merchant names.

⏱️ Adjusting the Time Period

By default, you see the selected month's transactions. But spending patterns often emerge over longer periods. Use the View Mode dropdown to zoom out to 3 months, 6 months, or a full year. This helps you spot trends: Is your utility spending rising each month? Did you have an unusually high month, or is this the new normal?

Example: You're analyzing gym membership costs. Switch to 12-month view and you discover you've been paying for a gym you haven't used in 8 months. That's a concrete, data-driven decision to cancel.

📊 Understanding Your Spending at a Glance

The top of the drilldown shows your critical metrics: total spent, number of transactions, and average per transaction. Below that, a progress bar shows how you're tracking against your budget for this category.

What you learn: If you see "18 transactions averaging $35" in your grocery category, you're shopping about 4 times a week. If your budget shows 85% used with a week left in the month, you know you need to slow down. These numbers tell you exactly how your behavior translates to dollars.

Example: Your "Subscriptions" category shows 7 transactions averaging $14.99. You only remember 4 subscriptions. The drilldown reveals you're still paying for a streaming service you forgot about and a software trial that auto-renewed.

💡 Smart Insights That Highlight What You'd Miss

SavePoint automatically analyzes your transactions and generates insights about patterns, timing, and budget performance. These aren't just summaries; they're observations you might not notice on your own. The insights change based on what time period you're viewing and what the data shows.

What insights help you discover:

• Spending timing patterns (e.g., "Most of your dining expenses happen on weekends." Maybe meal prep Sundays would help)
• Month-over-month changes (e.g., "Your gas spending increased 22% compared to last month." Worth investigating why)
• Year-ahead projections (e.g., "At this rate, you'll spend $4,800 on groceries this year." Is that aligned with your goals?)
• Budget performance context (e.g., "You're under budget by $120 with 15 days left in the month." You have breathing room)
• Largest transactions and outliers that might need explanation

Example: The insights reveal "Most spending occurred in the first 10 days of the month." This pattern suggests you might be overspending right after payday and then running tight the rest of the month, a common budget trap that's hard to see without this analysis.

🔎 Finding Specific Transactions

The search box filters transactions as you type, searching across merchant names, transaction descriptions, and account names. This is essential when you need to find a specific charge or analyze spending at a particular merchant.

Example: You remember getting gas at Shell twice last week but want to confirm you categorized them correctly. Type "Shell" and immediately see just those transactions: dates, amounts, which account was used. Or search "Amazon" in your Shopping category to see how much of your shopping budget is actually going to Amazon specifically.

📥 Exporting Transaction Details

The Export button downloads a CSV file with all currently filtered transactions (respects your time period selection and search filters). The file includes date, payee, description, account, and amount for every transaction.

When this is useful: Tax time and you need all your business expense receipts. Insurance claims requiring transaction proof. Sharing spending data with your spouse or financial advisor. Further analysis in Excel or another tool. The export gives you the raw data exactly as filtered.

📋 Transaction List Details

Every transaction in the filtered period appears in the table with its date, merchant/payee, which account it came from, and the amount. Transactions are sorted by date (most recent first) and paginated at 10 per page for easy reading.

Why individual transactions matter: You can verify each charge makes sense, spot duplicate charges, identify fraudulent transactions, see which credit card or bank account was used, and understand the story behind the totals. This is where you catch the $89 charge you don't recognize or realize you were charged twice for the same purchase.

💰 Optional: Tracking Base Salary Separately

Yearly Trends automatically shows all your income from transactions (paychecks, bonuses, freelance deposits, etc.) in the income category rows. The salary tracking feature is optional and useful if you want to see your base salary as a separate line item distinct from other income sources, or if you want to track salary progression independent of bonuses or side income.

When to use salary tracking:

• You want a dedicated "Base Salary" row showing your W-2 salary separate from bonuses, freelance work, or investment income
• You want to see your salary progression over time in the chart as its own line
• You just want to see how you are progressing year over year with your base salary
• You're not importing paycheck transactions but still want to track what you earn
• You want to distinguish between guaranteed income (salary) and variable income (everything else)

How it works: Click "Add Salary" and enter your annual salary amount and the date it became effective. If you got a raise mid-year, add that as a separate entry with the new effective date. SavePoint automatically calculates the weighted average for the year (if you earned $70K for 6 months then $80K for 6 months, it shows $75K for that year). This appears as a "Base Salary" row at the top of the table and as a yellow line in the chart.

Example: You earn $90,000 salary plus $10-15K in annual bonuses. Your total income is already captured in your transaction data. But adding a salary entry creates a separate "Base Salary ($90,000)" row, making it easy to see at a glance that your guaranteed income is $90K and your variable income is the difference. This is purely for clarity and organization.

If you skip salary tracking: Yearly Trends still works perfectly. Your total income is accurately captured from all income transactions. You just won't have a separate "Base Salary" row or salary line in the chart. All income will appear in the income category rows.

📊 Understanding the Year-by-Year Table

The table is the heart of Yearly Trends. Each row is a category (income or expense), and each column is a year. Scan across a row to see how that category changed over time. Scan down a column to see where your money went in a specific year.

Table structure:

• Base Salary row (blue, optional): If you've added salary entries, this row shows your annual base salary for each year, calculated from your salary entries.
• Income category rows: All your income categories (Salary/Wages, Freelance, Bonuses, Interest, etc.) showing total earned in each year from your transactions. Below these is a "Total Income" row summing everything.
• Expense category rows: Grouped by type (Needs Expenses, Discretionary Expenses, Savings Expenses). Each category shows total spent that year. "Total Cash Outflow" row sums all expenses.
• Net Cashflow row (blue, bold): Income minus expenses. Green text means you saved money that year; red means you spent more than you earned.

What you learn: If you see your "Groceries" row showing $8,400 → $9,200 → $10,500 over three years, your grocery spending is trending upward significantly. Is that because groceries cost more, you're buying more, or your family grew? Yearly Trends allows you to think about these questions. Similarly, if "Total Income" went up 15% but "Total Cash Outflow" also went up 15%, you may not actually be getting ahead; the extra income is being spent.

📈 Reading the Chart: Income and Net Cashflow

The chart at the top visualizes your income sources as stacked bars (each colored segment is an income category from your transactions), plus a line showing your net cashflow over time. If you've added salary entries, you'll also see a salary line. This makes it easy to see trends at a glance.

What each element shows:

• Stacked bars: Total height shows total income for that year from all your transaction income categories. Each colored segment represents one income category (Salary/Wages, Freelance, Bonuses, etc.).
• Yellow salary line (optional, only if you added salary entries): Your base salary progression over the years. If this line slopes upward, your salary is growing. Flat line means stable salary. If you haven't entered salary data, this line won't appear and your salary income is just part of the stacked bars.
• Blue net cashflow line: How much you saved (or overspent) each year. Line above zero means savings; below zero means deficit. Look for this line trending upward over time.

Example: Your net cashflow line is flat or declining even though your total income bars are growing taller. This means your spending grew proportionally with your income, a common trap called lifestyle inflation. You're earning more but not saving more. That's a signal to review your expense trends in the table below.

Chart controls: Too many categories making the chart crowded? Click "Hide All" to hide all datasets, then click individual category names in the legend to show only what you want to compare. Your selections are saved, so next time you open Yearly Trends, you see the same view.

💡 Spending Breakdown: Needs, Discretionary, Savings

At the bottom of the table, you see three rows showing what percentage of your income went to Essential Needs, Discretionary Spending, and Savings/Investments. This is based on how you categorized your expenses (each expense category has a type: Needs, Discretionary, or Savings).

What the percentages mean:

• Essential Needs %: Housing, utilities, groceries, transportation, insurance. Ideally 50% of income or less. If this is 70%, you may have a housing cost problem or need to increase income.
• Discretionary Spending %: Dining out, entertainment, hobbies, lifestyle purchases. Ideally 30% of income or less. If this is 40-50%, cutting here is usually easier than cutting needs.
• Savings %: This is your net cashflow divided by income (only if positive). Ideally 20% or more. If you're saving 5%, you have little cushion for emergencies or retirement.

How to use this: Compare your percentages year over year. If your Needs % increased from 45% to 60% over three years, something major changed (moved to expensive city? new car payment?). If your Discretionary % went from 25% to 40% while your Savings % dropped to 5%, you're lifestyle inflating as your income grows. This breakdown gives you a chance to review where your money actually goes.

Example: You see Needs at 55%, Discretionary at 35%, Savings at 10%. You want to save more. Looking at the numbers, you have $900/month in discretionary spending. Cutting that by just 20% ($180/month) would increase your savings by $2,160/year, moving your savings rate from 10% to 13%. Small changes in discretionary spending have big impacts.

🎛️ Table Controls: Focusing on What Matters

The table can get overwhelming with 5-10 years of data and dozens of categories. SavePoint gives you controls to simplify the view and focus on specific comparisons.

Available controls:

• Show All Years / Recent Years Only: If you have data going back to 2015 but only care about the last 3 years, click "Recent Years Only" to show just 2023-2025. Click "Show All Years" to restore the full view.
• Hide $0 Categories / Show $0 Categories: Some categories may have no activity in some years. Clicking "Hide $0 Categories" removes any category row where every year is $0, cleaning up the table significantly. Useful after you stop using certain categories or before you started using others.
• Hide individual years: Each year column header has an eye icon. Click it to hide that specific year. Useful for comparing non-consecutive years (e.g., compare 2020 vs 2024 without the middle years cluttering the view).

Example: You're planning 2025 and want to compare it to 2023 and 2024. You hide 2020-2022 using the eye icons. You also click "Hide $0 Categories" because you have 15 old categories you don't use anymore. Now you have a clean 3-year view showing only active categories. This makes patterns much easier to spot.

📊 Core Financial Analysis

1. 📊 Income vs Expenses Report
   Reports → Income vs Expenses

   Purpose: Check if you're spending more than you earn. This report shows your cash flow each month so you can spot problems early.

   Summary Cards: Total Income, Total Expenses, Net Income (what's left), and Savings Rate percentage.

   Main Chart: Side-by-side bars with green for income and red for expenses. Hover over any bar to see the category breakdown. Click a bar to see those specific transactions.

   What to Look For:

   • Red bars taller than green bars = overspending that month
   • Trend line going down = spending increasing faster than income
   • Seasonal patterns = higher expenses certain months (holidays, summer)
   • One-time spikes = major purchases or bonuses

   Use This To: Set realistic budgets, identify months where you overspend, track if lifestyle changes are working, prepare tax estimates from income totals.

2. 📊 Category Breakdown Report
   Reports → Category Breakdown

   Purpose: See where every dollar goes. This report shows what percentage of your money goes to each category (rent, food, entertainment, etc.).

   Summary Cards: Top spending categories with percentages and amounts.

   Main Charts: Donut chart shows percentages (hover to see amounts). Bar chart below shows actual dollar amounts per category.

   What to Look For:

   • Categories over 30% of spending = potential areas to reduce
   • Small percentages that add up = subscription creep
   • Red badges = categories over budget

   Use This To: Find where to cut spending, verify budget allocations make sense, identify forgotten subscriptions, check if spending matches your values.

3. 📊 Net Worth Trend Report
   Reports → Net Worth Trend

   Purpose: Track if you're building wealth or going into debt. Shows the value of everything you own minus everything you owe.

   Summary Cards: Total Assets, Total Liabilities, Net Worth, and Growth Rate percentage.

   Main Chart: Three lines - green (assets), red (liabilities), blue (net worth). The gap between green and red is your net worth. Click legend items to hide/show specific lines.

   What to Look For:

   • Blue line going up = building wealth (net worth increasing)
   • Green line going up = total assets growing
   • Red line going down = paying off debt successfully (liabilities decreasing)
   • Blue line flat = net worth stagnant (income equals spending, or asset growth cancels debt growth)
   • Big drops = major purchases or market downturns

   Use This To: Track FIRE progress, verify debt payoff is working, see impact of major purchases, monitor investment growth, prepare for loan applications.

📊 Financial Planning Reports

4. 📊 Monthly Cash Flow Report
   Reports → Monthly Cashflow

   Purpose: See your cash position month by month. Helps you spot when you might run low on cash before it happens.

   Summary Cards: Average Monthly Inflow, Average Monthly Outflow, Net Cash Flow, Current Cash Position.

   Main Chart: Stacked bars showing money in (green) and money out (red) each month. The line shows your running cash balance (net cashflow).

   What to Look For:

   • Line dipping low = potential cash crunch coming
   • Negative months = spending more than earning that month
   • Seasonal patterns = plan for expensive months
   • 3-month average helps smooth out unusual months

   Use This To: Plan for large purchases, build emergency fund targets, time bill payments, identify best months for investments.

5. 📊 Budget Performance
   Reports → Budget Performance

   Purpose: Compare what you planned to spend versus what you actually spent. Shows which categories are over or under budget.

   Summary Cards: Total Budget (total amount budgeted across all categories), Actual Spending (total spent), Variance (difference between budget and actual), Budget Used % (percentage of budget consumed).

   Main Chart: Grouped bar chart showing each budget category with two bars. Blue bar = your budgeted amount for that category. Second bar = actual spending, colored green if you're under budget or red if you're over budget. Categories with no actual spending only show the blue budget bar.

   What to Look For:

   • Red bars taller than blue = over budget in that category (spent more than planned)
   • Green bars shorter than blue = under budget (spent less than planned, money saved)
   • Missing second bars = zero spending in that category (is that normal or concerning?)
   • Consistently over in same categories = either unrealistic budget or spending problem
   • Big differences = investigate with Cashflow Drilldown to see specific transactions

   Use This To: Monthly budget reviews, identify problem categories, adjust unrealistic budget amounts, reallocate funds from under-budget categories to over-budget ones.

6. 📊 Investment Performance
   Reports → Investment Performance

   Purpose: Track how your investments grow over time. Shows each investment account separately and combined total.

   How SavePoint Identifies Investment Accounts: The report searches for accounts using 2 methods: 1) **Asset Class** contains "investment" (primary method), 2) **Account Name** contains "investment" (fallback method). If an account matches either criteria, it's included once (no double counting). Make sure your 401k, IRA, brokerage, and other investment accounts have "investment" in their Asset Class or Account Name.

   Two Ways to Track Investments: You have flexibility in how granular you want your investment tracking:

   • High-Level Brokerage Tracking: Create one account for your brokerage (e.g., "My Brokerage Account") with asset class "Investment". Update the account balance to reflect the total portfolio value. This gives you a simple overview of your total brokerage account performance over time without tracking individual holdings.
   • Line-Item Investment Tracking: Create separate accounts for each individual investment (e.g., "Index Fund A", "Tech Stock B", "Crypto Holding") with asset class set appropriately for each. Update each account's balance individually. This gives you detailed visibility into how each specific investment is performing, making it easier to track which holdings are growing and which need attention.

   Note: You can mix both approaches. Track your main brokerage at a high level while tracking specific investments (like cryptocurrency or individual stocks held elsewhere) as separate line items.

   Summary Cards: Portfolio Value (current total), Total Gain/Loss (change in value), Total Return (percentage), Number of Accounts.

   Main Chart: Line chart with separate line for each investment account. Toggle accounts on/off in the legend to focus on specific investments.

   What to Look For:

   • Steady upward trend = investments growing
   • Big drops = market corrections (normal but noteworthy)
   • Flat lines = account not being funded or poor performance
   • Compare account growth rates = rebalancing opportunities

   Use This To: Monitor retirement savings progress, decide when to rebalance, track FIRE progress, compare account performance.

   Setup Tip: If your investment accounts don't appear, check that your **Asset Class** includes "investment", or rename your **Account Name** to include "investment" (like "401k Investment" or "Brokerage Investment").

7. 📊 Debt Analysis
   Reports → Debt Analysis

   Purpose: Track your debt payoff progress. Shows how much you've paid down and how much remains.

   How SavePoint Identifies Debt Accounts: The report searches for accounts using 5 methods: 1) **Asset Class type** equals "Liability", 2) **Asset Class** contains "liability", "debt", "loan", or "credit", 3) **Account Type** contains "credit", "loan", "debt", "mortgage", or "liability", 4) **Account Name** contains debt-related terms, 5) **Linked Category Information** has liability type. If an account matches any criteria, it's included once (no double counting). SavePoint separates short-term debt (credit cards, current liabilities) from long-term debt (mortgages, loans).

   Summary Cards: Total Debt (current balances), Short-Term Debt, Long-Term Debt, Debt Reduced (progress made).

   Main Chart: Bar chart showing debt balance each month. Declining bars mean you're making progress.

   What to Look For:

   • Bars getting smaller = debt decreasing
   • Steep declines = extra payments working
   • Flat sections = only paying minimums
   • Short-term vs long-term debt breakdown helps prioritize payoff strategy

   Use This To: Verify debt payoff strategy is working, motivate yourself with progress, decide which debts to pay first, celebrate milestones.

   Setup Tip: If your debt accounts don't appear, make sure your **Asset Class type** is set to "Liability", or include terms like "credit", "loan", or "debt" in your **Asset Class**, **Account Type**, or **Account Name**.

📊 Money Flow Visualization

8. 📊 Income Flow (Sankey)
   Reports → Income Flow

   Purpose: Visualize the complete path your money takes from income sources to spending categories and savings. This report answers "Where does my money actually go?" in one clear diagram.

   What You See: A flow diagram with three sections:

   • Left Side (Income Sources): All your income categories (Salary, Bonuses, Freelance, etc.) with green bars showing how much each contributed. Sorted largest to smallest.
   • Middle (Total Income): A gradient bar showing your total income flowing through the system.
   • Right Side (Where It Goes): All your expense categories (top 10 largest) with red bars showing how much went to each, plus a blue bar for savings if you had a positive balance.

   How Bar Size Relates to Money: The height of each bar is proportional to the amount. If Groceries consumed $800 and Dining Out consumed $400, the Groceries bar will be twice as tall. This makes it immediately obvious where most of your money goes.

   What to Look For:

   • The tallest red bars = your biggest expenses (these are where you have the most potential to save or cut if needed)
   • Savings bar at the bottom right = you're saving money (good); no savings bar = you spent everything or overspent (concerning)
   • Many similarly-sized bars = spending is spread out across many categories vs concentrated in a few
   • Compare the total height of all red bars to your middle income bar visually to see if they're balanced

   Practical Use Cases: This report is excellent for explaining your finances to someone else (spouse, advisor, loan officer). It's also useful when you want to quickly identify your top 3-5 spending categories to target for reduction. Unlike tables of numbers, this visual immediately shows priorities.

9. 📊 Sankey 2.0
   Reports → Sankey 2.0

   Purpose: An interactive, professional-grade version of the Income Flow report using advanced charting. Shows the same money flow concept but with curved, flowing connections.

   Key Differences from Regular Sankey:

   • Curved Flow Lines: Instead of simple bars, you see smooth curved lines connecting income sources to spending categories. The width of each line represents the amount of money flowing.
   • Interactive Hover Details: Hover over any node (income source, expense category) or flow line to see exact amounts and percentages in a tooltip.
   • Fullscreen Mode: Click the fullscreen icon to expand the diagram to your entire screen, making labels and flows much easier to read and analyze in detail.
   • Better for Complex Finances: If you have many income sources or expense categories, the curved flows make it easier to trace specific paths without visual clutter.
   • Professional Presentation Quality: The smooth graphics and polished styling make this suitable for showing to financial advisors, lenders, or in formal presentations.

   How to Use Fullscreen Mode: Click the fullscreen button in the top right of the chart. In fullscreen, you can zoom in/out and pan around to focus on specific flows. This is particularly useful when you have 10+ categories and want to examine individual flows without other information in the way. Click the Exit to Full Screen button to return to the normal view.

   When to Choose Sankey 2.0 Over Regular Sankey:

   • You have many categories and need the interactive filtering/hover features to navigate
   • You're preparing a formal presentation or meeting with an advisor
   • You want to export a professional-looking chart image for reports or documents
   • You prefer the curved flow and graphical aesthetic over simple bars

   When Regular Sankey Is Fine: For quick personal analysis, simple finances with few categories, or if your computer is slow (Sankey 2.0 uses more graphics processing).

📊 Trend Analysis

10. 📊 Expense Category Trends
    Reports → Expense Category Trends

    Purpose: This report goes beyond simple totals to show you HOW your spending is changing over time, identify patterns you wouldn't notice month-to-month, and reveal whether categories are stable or unpredictable.

    Summary Cards: Total Expenses (sum across all categories for the period), Categories Analyzed (how many expense categories have data), Average Monthly Spending (total divided by months), and Trend Summary (how many categories are increasing, decreasing, or stable).

    Main Chart (Top 8 Categories): Multi-line chart showing your 8 biggest spending categories over the selected time period. Each colored line represents one category. You can see at a glance which categories are climbing, which are dropping, and which are flat.

    Detailed Statistics Table: Each category gets a full breakdown with Total Spending, Avg Monthly, Growth Rate % (how much increased/decreased comparing recent to earlier months), Trend Direction (Increasing/Decreasing/Stable based on >10%, <-10%, or between), Stability Score (0-100, higher = more predictable), Seasonal Pattern (which quarter peaks, or if consistent), and Peak Month (when spending was highest).

    What to Look For:

    • High Growth Rate (>20%): Category growing fast, investigate for lifestyle inflation or new necessary expenses
    • Low Stability Score (<50): Unpredictable spending makes budgeting hard, review if miscategorizing or genuinely erratic
    • Seasonal Patterns: Plan ahead by saving in low quarters to cover high quarters, don't get surprised by predictable patterns
    • Declining Trends: Celebrate successful spending reduction and replicate the approach elsewhere
    • Flat Lines With High Stability: Perfect budgeting candidates, use the average monthly amount confidently

    Practical Examples: Dining Out with 35% growth catches lifestyle inflation you didn't notice month-to-month. Groceries with Avg $650, Stability 82, Stable trend means you can may be able to budget $650/month confidently. Utilities showing Q1/Q3 High lets you plan for seasonal spikes. Subscriptions showing -25% growth confirms your cancelation efforts are working.

    Use at least 6 months of data; 12+ months ideal for seasonal patterns; 18-24 months for long-term trends vs short-term fluctuations.

11. 📊 Income Category Trends
    Reports → Income Category Trends

    Purpose: Track how your income sources change over time, identify which income streams are growing or declining, and understand the stability of your income for better financial planning.

    What This Report Shows: The same detailed trend analysis as Expense Trends, but for income categories. You get growth rates, stability scores, seasonal patterns, and peak months for each income source (Salary, Bonuses, Freelance, Investment Income, etc.).

    Why Income Trends Matter:

    • Evaluate Side Hustles: Freelance income showing 45% growth with high stability means double down on it. Showing -30% growth with low stability means pivot or drop it.
    • Track Salary Progression: Salary should hopefully show steady growth. Flat salary over multiple years signals it may be worth evaluating your current employment position.
    • Income Diversification: If 95% comes from one salary (one thick line, others barely visible), you have concentration risk. Building additional income streams reduces vulnerability.
    • Seasonal Income Planning: Bonus income might show Q4 high (year-end bonuses). Knowing this helps plan cash flow and avoid overspending in high-income months.
    • Investment Income Tracking: Dividend/interest income showing steady growth indicates investments working. Declining investment income signals portfolio problems.

    Practical Use Case: Considering leaving your job to freelance full-time? Run Income Category Trends for 18 months. If freelance shows positive growth, high stability (>70), and monthly average approaching your salary, data may support the leap. High variability and inconsistent growth means you need more runway.

    Compare With Expense Trends: Run both side-by-side. If income growing 5% annually but expenses growing 8% annually, you're slowly going backward financially even though both are positive. This comparison reveals problems you'd miss looking at either alone.

📊 Interacting With Charts

Hover for Details: Move your mouse over any point, bar, or line in a chart to see exact numbers, percentages, and labels in a tooltip. This is faster than searching through tables for specific values.

Toggle Data Series: Charts with multiple lines or datasets (like Trend Analysis showing 8 categories) have a legend with clickable items. Click any legend item to hide/show that data series. Useful when one line dominates the scale and hides the others, or when you want to compare just 2-3 categories instead of all of them.

Fullscreen View (Sankey 2.0): The Sankey 2.0 report has a fullscreen button (icon in top right of chart). Click it to expand the chart to your entire screen. In fullscreen, you can zoom and pan to examine complex flows. Press ESC to exit.

Light/Dark Mode Adaptation: Charts automatically adjust colors when you switch between light and dark themes in Settings. Income shows in greens/blues, expenses in reds/oranges for quick recognition."

Chart Types You'll See:

• Bar Charts: Budget Performance, Category Breakdown, Monthly Cashflow. Compare values side-by-side.
• Line Charts: Net Worth Trend, Investment Performance, Trend Analysis. Track changes over time.
• Doughnut Charts: Category Breakdown percentage splits. See proportional distribution.
• Sankey Diagrams: Income Flow and Sankey 2.0. Visualize money flowing from sources to uses.

Why Charts Matter: Numbers in tables are precise but patterns are invisible. A line trending up, bars getting taller each month, or one slice dominating a pie chart tell you stories instantly. Use charts for pattern recognition and quick insights, then drill into tables for exact numbers.

📅 Date Range: Controlling the Time Period

Quick Presets Available:

• Current Month: Default. Shows just this month's data. Good for budget reviews and month-end analysis.
• Last 3 Months: Last 3 full months. Good for identifying recent trends without too much noise.
• Last 6 Months: Recommended minimum for Trend Analysis reports. Captures seasonal variation.
• Year to Date: January 1st through today. Useful for comparing against annual goals and planning.
• Last Year: Full previous calendar year. For year-over-year comparisons and tax reporting.
• All Time: Everything since you started using SavePoint. Use with caution; can be overwhelming with years of data.
• Custom Range: Pick specific Start Date and End Date. Use this when you need a specific period (e.g., "Show me Q2 2024").

When to Use Custom Range: You're analyzing a specific event period (vacation month, job transition quarter), comparing non-standard periods (first half vs second half of year), or preparing reports for specific timeframes (mortgage application needs last 6 months, ending 2 weeks ago).

Impact on Reports: Shorter periods show detail but miss patterns. Longer periods show trends but hide monthly detail. Match your date range to your question. "Is my budget working this month?" needs Current Month. "Am I improving over time?" needs 6-12 months.

🏦 Account Filtering: Isolating Specific Accounts

By default, reports include all accounts. Use account filtering to focus on a subset:

Common Use Cases:

• Personal vs Business: Select only your business checking and credit card to see business finances isolated from personal. Essential for tax prep and business analysis.
• Investment Analysis: Select only investment/retirement accounts when running Investment Performance or Net Worth Trend reports to see how investments specifically are performing.
• Debt Payoff Tracking: Select only your debt accounts (credit cards, loans) for Debt Analysis to focus on payoff progress without other accounts cluttering the view.
• Shared Account Analysis: If you have a joint checking account with a spouse, select it along with your personal accounts to see combined finances, or exclude it to see just yours.
• Closed Account Exclusion: If you closed accounts but kept the data, exclude them from current reports to see only active account activity.

How Multi-Select Works: Click the dropdown, then click multiple accounts to select them (they get check marks). Leave everything unselected to include all accounts. Click "Generate Report" after changing selections to refresh the report with your filter applied.

📂 Category Filtering: Focusing on Specific Spending Areas

Category filtering lets you include only specific income or expense categories in the report. By default, all categories are included.

Practical Examples:

• Discretionary Spending Analysis: Select only discretionary categories (Dining Out, Entertainment, Shopping, Hobbies) to see where your "fun money" goes. Helps identify cut opportunities when tightening budget.
• Fixed Expense Review: Select only fixed categories (Rent/Mortgage, Insurance, Utilities, Subscriptions) to analyze your baseline monthly burn rate.
• Tax Deduction Tracking: Select only tax-deductible categories (Home Office, Business Expenses, Charitable Donations, Medical) to prepare tax documentation.
• Specific Category Deep Dive: Select just "Groceries" and "Dining Out" to compare food spending. Or just "Transportation" and "Gas" to analyze vehicle costs.

Why This Matters: When you have 30+ categories, seeing them all in one report is overwhelming. Category filtering turns a generic spending report into a targeted answer to a specific question. "Where can I cut spending?" becomes "What are my discretionary expenses specifically?" Much more actionable.

🔄 Combining Filters for Precise Analysis

The real power comes from using multiple filters together:

• Example 1: Date Range = Last 6 Months, Account = Business Checking Only, Category = Business Expense Categories Only. Result: Clean business expense report for your accountant, with no personal spending mixed in.
• Example 2: Date Range = Current Month, Account = All Personal (exclude business), Category = Discretionary Categories. Result: See how much fun money you've spent so far this month across all personal accounts.
• Example 3: Date Range = Year to Date, Account = All Debt Accounts, Category = None (not applicable). Result: Focus Debt Analysis report on just your loans and credit cards for the current year.

Filter Persistence: Your filter selections stay active as you generate the report and even if you switch report types. If you want a clean slate, click "Reset Filters" button (above the Generate Report button) to clear everything back to defaults.

Note About Exports: When you export a filtered report to PDF, Excel, or CSV, the export includes the report title, generation date, and date range. However, it does NOT include which specific accounts or categories were selected in the filters. If you're sharing an exported report and the filters matter, add a note manually explaining what was filtered (e.g., "This report shows only Business accounts").

📄 PDF Export: For Sharing and Presentations

What You Get: A formatted document that looks like a printed report. Includes the chart (as an image), the data table, summary cards showing totals, and a header showing the report name, date generated. Everything is styled and ready to view or print.

When to Use PDF:

• Sharing with others: Financial advisor, accountant, spouse, loan officer. PDFs look professional and can't be accidentally edited.
• Record keeping: Save year-end reports for your records. PDFs are self-contained and will look the same in 10 years.
• Presentations: Meeting with your partner to discuss finances. The visual chart makes it easier to discuss than raw numbers.
• Printing: If you need a physical copy, PDF exports are formatted for standard paper sizes.

What's Included: The chart (converted to image), all summary cards, the full data table, report metadata (date range, generation timestamp).

Limitation: Charts are static images in PDFs. You can't hover for tooltips or interact with them. If you need interactivity, share a screenshot or stay in SavePoint.

📊 Excel Export (.xlsx): For Further Analysis

What You Get: An Excel spreadsheet file (.xlsx) with the report data in a table. The first few rows contain metadata (report name, date generated), followed by the actual data table with column headers.

When to Use Excel:

• Additional calculations: You want to add your own formulas, subtotals, or calculations on top of SavePoint's data.
• Pivot tables: Create your own pivot table analysis from the exported data.
• Combining data: Export multiple SavePoint reports and combine them into one Excel workbook with different sheets.
• Tax preparation: Your tax software or accountant wants data in Excel format for import or manipulation.
• Custom formatting: You want to change how the report looks, add highlights, or create your own charts in Excel.

What's Included: Report metadata rows (title, date, filters), column headers, all data rows from the table. Numbers are formatted as numbers (not text) so Excel formulas work. Currency symbols are preserved. Column widths are auto-sized for readability.

Charts Not Included: Excel exports contain only the data table, not the chart. If you need the chart in Excel, take a screenshot of it from SavePoint and paste it into your Excel file manually, or recreate a chart in Excel from the exported data.

📝 CSV Export: For Maximum Compatibility

What You Get: A plain-text CSV file (comma-separated values) with the report data. First few lines are comments showing metadata, then column headers, then data rows. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers, or any other spreadsheet program.

When to Use CSV:

• Maximum compatibility: CSVs are flexible and open in a variety of software. If Excel export has issues or you're on an unusual platform, CSV may work.
• Importing to other software: Many accounting programs, budgeting tools, or database systems can import CSV files but not Excel.
• Programming/scripting: If you're analyzing data in Python, R, or another programming language, CSV is easier to parse.
• Google Sheets: While Google Sheets can open Excel files, some users find CSV imports cleaner and faster.
• Archival: CSV is a plain text format that may be readable decades from now and useful for archival.

What's Included: Metadata as comment lines (starting with # or in quotes), column headers, all data rows. Each value is separated by commas. Currency symbols and formatting are preserved as text.

Trade-offs: CSV files don't preserve formatting (colors, bold, borders). Numbers are text until the importing program interprets them. No multiple sheets.

💡 Choosing the Right Export Format

Quick Decision Guide:

• Sharing with someone who just needs to view it? → PDF
• You want to add formulas or do more analysis? → Excel
• Importing into other software or having compatibility issues? → CSV
• Record keeping for the long term? → PDF (or both PDF and CSV)
• Need the chart visual? → PDF (Excel and CSV don't include charts)
• Tax accountant wants data? → Ask them; some may want Excel or CSV

Filename Convention: Exported files are automatically named with the format: `ReportType_YYYY-MM-DD.extension`. For example, "Income-vs-Expenses_2025-01-15.pdf". This makes it easy to organize exports and know what they contain without opening them.

Exporting Multiple Reports: There's no "export all reports" button. If you need multiple reports, generate each one, export it, then switch to the next report type and export that. This is intentional; each report serves a different purpose and may utilize different filters.

💳 Native Currency Entry

When entering transactions, always use the actual currency shown on your receipt or bank statement. If you purchased lunch in Tokyo for ¥1,200, enter exactly ¥1,200 in a JPY account, not a converted amount. SavePoint automatically calculates and stores the base currency equivalent using the applicable exchange rate for that date, but the original ¥1,200 amount is preserved permanently. This dual storage approach means you can always reconcile transactions against original documents while still generating consolidated reports in your base currency.

The transaction entry form intelligently adapts to your selected account's currency, displaying the appropriate currency symbol and formatting. Amount fields respect each currency's decimal precision. You can enter pennies for USD transactions but not for JPY transactions, which have no decimal places. The form also shows a real-time conversion preview, displaying what the amount will be in your base currency using the current exchange rate, helping you catch any potential data entry errors before saving.

🔄 Cross-Currency Transfers

Cross-currency transfers represent money movement between accounts of different currencies, such as transferring USD from your online payment account to your EUR bank account. SavePoint handles these transfers with logic that preserves accuracy while maintaining balanced books. When creating a cross-currency transfer, you enter the sent amount in the source account's currency and the received amount in the destination account's currency, allowing for exact bank fee and exchange rate representation.

For example, when transferring $1,000 USD to your EUR account, your bank might deliver €920 EUR after applying their exchange rate and fees. In SavePoint, you'd enter $1,000 as the source amount and €920 as the destination amount. This approach accurately reflects real-world banking where the amounts debited and credited rarely match the theoretical exchange rate. You may need to add a manual entry to track either a charge from the bank or for the conversion fee, depending on how your bank handles the transfer.

🎯 Starting Point: Your First FIRE Plan

When you first open FIRE Planning, you'll see a welcome screen. Click "Create Your First FIRE Plan" to open the configuration form. This is where you tell SavePoint your assumptions about retirement expenses, investment returns, and how you want to calculate your income and savings. Don't worry about getting everything perfect; you can create multiple plans to test different scenarios.

What SavePoint calculates automatically: Your current net worth (from all your accounts) and your savings rate (from the last 12 months of transactions). You don't manually enter these; SavePoint pulls them from your actual data. This makes projections based on reality, not guesses.

💰 Choosing Your FIRE Type

SavePoint offers 5 FIRE types, each representing a different lifestyle and expense level. Choosing a type applies preset recommendations, but you can override any field. The type mainly serves as a starting template and a label for your plan.

• Lean FIRE: Minimalist lifestyle with lower expenses, typically $40-50K annual spending. The preset reduces your expense estimates by 20% to reflect a more frugal retirement. Good for people who value simplicity and are comfortable living below average.
• Traditional FIRE: Standard approach with moderate lifestyle, typically $50-80K annual spending. This is the baseline (100% of your current spending estimate). Most FIRE planners target this level.
• Fat FIRE: Higher expense lifestyle maintained in retirement, typically $100K+ annual spending. The preset increases expenses by 50% to account for travel, luxury, and comfort. For those who want financial independence without sacrificing lifestyle.
• Barista FIRE: Partial financial independence with part-time income covering some expenses. The preset reduces required savings by 30%, assuming you'll earn some money post-retirement through low-stress work. Popular for early retirement with safety net.
• Coast FIRE: You've saved enough that compound growth will reach full FIRE by traditional retirement age (65), so you can stop saving aggressively now. The preset reduces target by 40% since time and growth do the work. You can work less stressful jobs without saving for retirement.

Important: These presets are just starting points. After selecting a type, you can change any field to match your actual situation. The type label stays on your plan for reference, but it doesn't lock you into specific numbers.

📊 How SavePoint Calculates Your Income (Three Methods)

SavePoint needs to know your income to project how fast you'll accumulate savings. You have three options for how to calculate this:

• Historical (from your transaction data): SavePoint looks at income transactions (salary deposits, bonuses, etc.) from the last 12 months and calculates an average annual income. This is the most accurate if your transaction history is complete. Choose this if you've been using SavePoint for at least a year and your income is consistent.
• Fixed Annual Income: You manually enter a specific annual income amount (e.g., $85,000/year). You also set an "Annual Income Increase Rate" percentage (e.g., 3% for annual raises). SavePoint applies this increase rate each year in projections. Choose this if you know your salary and expect predictable raises, or if your historical data is incomplete.
• From Savings Rate: If you have a known savings rate but income varies, SavePoint can back-calculate income from your expenses and savings rate. Less common, but useful in specific situations.

Example: You earn $90,000/year and expect 3% annual raises. Select "Fixed Annual Income," enter 90000 in the income field, and 3 in the increase rate field. SavePoint will project income growing to $92,700 next year, $95,481 the year after, etc.

💵 How SavePoint Calculates Your Savings (Three Methods)

Your savings rate determines how fast you accumulate wealth toward your FIRE goal. SavePoint offers three ways to calculate this:

• Historical Percent (from your transaction data): SavePoint calculates your actual savings rate from the last 12 months. It takes (Income - Expenses) / Income to get a percentage, then applies that rate to projected income each year. This reflects your real behavior. Choose this if your transaction history is complete and your savings habits are consistent.
• Fixed Dollar Amount: You enter a specific dollar amount you save each year (e.g., $25,000/year). Projections assume you continue saving this exact amount annually, not adjusting for inflation or income changes. Choose this if you have a specific savings target or if your savings are very stable dollar amounts.
• Fixed Percentage of Income: You enter a target savings rate percentage (e.g., 30% of income). SavePoint applies this rate to your income each year. If income grows, savings grow proportionally. Choose this if you're targeting a specific savings rate goal (it is common to hear something like: "I want to save 40% of my income").

Example: You make $100K and want to save 25% ($25K/year). Select "Fixed Percentage of Income" and enter 25. As your income grows to $103K (with 3% raises), your savings automatically grows to $25,750 in projections. This keeps your savings rate constant even as income changes.

🏠 How SavePoint Calculates Your Expenses (Two Methods)

Your annual expenses in retirement determine your FIRE number (expenses × 25). SavePoint offers two ways to estimate this:

• Estimated from 12 Months of Transactions: SavePoint looks at your expense transactions from the last year and calculates an average annual expense amount. This is your actual spending. If you spend $55,000/year now, it assumes you'll need $55,000/year in retirement (adjusted for inflation). Choose this if your current spending reflects your retirement lifestyle, or if you have complete transaction data.
• Fixed Annual Amount: You manually enter how much you expect to spend per year in retirement (e.g., $60,000/year). Use this if your retirement expenses will differ significantly from current expenses (maybe you'll pay off your mortgage, or plan to travel more, or downsize). You can also adjust this number to be more conservative or optimistic than your current spending.

Example: You currently spend $75,000/year but your mortgage will be paid off before retirement, saving $18,000/year. Select "Fixed Annual Amount" and enter 57000 ($75K - $18K). Your FIRE number becomes $1,425,000 (57000 × 25) instead of $1,875,000.

📈 Investment and Inflation Assumptions

These fields control the growth and erosion assumptions in your projections. Small changes in these rates have big impacts over decades.

• Expected Annual Return (default 6-7%): What percentage you expect your investments to grow each year on average. Historical stock market returns are around 7-10% nominal, but some FIRE planners use 6-7% to be conservative. Higher return = faster to FIRE, but be realistic. If you use 10% and markets only do 6%, your projections will be way off.
• Inflation Rate (default 2-3%): How much purchasing power erodes each year. SavePoint applies this to your expenses, meaning $60K/year today becomes $72K/year in 20 years at 2% inflation. Historical average is 2-3%, but recent years have seen higher. This affects both your accumulation phase (expenses grow) and retirement phase (withdrawals must grow).
• Safe Withdrawal Rate (SWR) (default 4%): What percentage of your portfolio you can withdraw annually in retirement without running out of money. The classic "4% rule" comes from Trinity Study research. Conservative planners may use 3-3.5%. Aggressive may use 4-5%. Your FIRE number = Annual Expenses / SWR. So $60K expenses at 4% SWR = $1.5M needed.

Why these matter: If you use 8% returns and 2% inflation, you might project FIRE in 15 years. Change to 6% returns and 3% inflation, suddenly it's 19 years. Don't use overly optimistic numbers; you're better off being pleasantly surprised than devastated. Also, once again, please note that this tool cannot make guarantees about your future. You may be able to use this to generate ideas for planning, but you are strongly recommended to speak with a financial advisor to discuss your specific situation.

🎂 Age and Timeline Settings

• Starting Age: Your age when you started saving for FIRE (or your current age if starting now). This is used to calculate how many years until target age. If you don't remember exactly, use your current age.
• Target FIRE Age: The age you're aiming to achieve financial independence. Common targets: 45 (very aggressive), 50 (aggressive), 55 (early retirement), 60 (semi-early). SavePoint calculates how many years from now this is and whether it's realistic based on your savings rate.
• Life Expectancy Age (default 95-100): How long you expect to live. This affects how long your money needs to last in Monte Carlo simulations. Using 100 is conservative (money must last 40-50 years post-retirement). Using 85 is optimistic. Some people use 90-100 to be safe.

Example: You're 32 now, want to retire at 50, and plan for living until 95. Enter Starting Age: 32, Target FIRE Age: 50, Life Expectancy: 95. This gives SavePoint an 18-year accumulation period and 45-year retirement period for calculations.

💼 Post-FIRE Income (Optional)

If you plan to earn money after retiring from your main career (part-time work, consulting, side business, rental income), enter the annual amount here. This reduces how much you need to withdraw from your portfolio each year, making your FIRE number smaller or your success rate higher.

Example: You need $60K/year to live but plan to earn $15K/year from consulting. Enter 15000 in Post-FIRE Income. SavePoint will calculate projections assuming you only need to withdraw $45K/year from investments, lowering your FIRE number from $1,500,000 to $1,125,000 (at 4% SWR). This is "Barista FIRE" in action.

➕ Adding Post-FIRE Income Streams

Click "Add Income Stream" button to open the form. You'll enter:

• Income Source Name (required): Descriptive label. Examples: "Part-time Consulting", "Rental Property - Duplex", "Pension from Previous Employer", "Side Business - Etsy Shop".
• Annual Amount (required): How much you expect per year in today's dollars. Example: $18,000 for rental income, $25,000 for part-time work. Enter the gross amount before taxes if modeling taxes separately.
• Start Age (required): Age when this income begins. Example: Age 65 for Social Security, Age 50 for part-time work starting immediately at FIRE, Age 60 for pension that vests later. This allows for income streams that don't start right when you retire.
• End Age (optional): Age when this income stops. Leave blank for lifetime income. Example: Stop part-time work at age 70, rental property sold at age 75, pension continues for life (leave blank). Defaults to your life expectancy if left blank.
• Inflation Adjusted (checkbox): Check if this income grows with inflation. Examples:
  • Check for: Part-time wages (likely increase over time), Social Security (has COLA adjustments), pensions with COLA provisions.
  • Uncheck for: Fixed annuities (pay same amount forever), rental income if you don't plan to raise rents, side hustle if you expect to wind it down over time.
  If checked, SavePoint increases this income by your inflation rate each year (e.g., $20K becomes $20,600 next year at 3% inflation).

After adding: Income stream appears in the Post-FIRE Income table showing all details. You can edit (✏️) to change amounts/ages or delete (🗑️) if plans change.

➕ Adding a Life Event

Click "Add Life Event" button to open the form:

• Event Name (required): Descriptive label. Examples: "House Down Payment", "Inheritance from Grandparents", "Kid #1 - Baby Expenses Start", "Sabbatical Year Abroad".
• Event Year (required): Calendar year when this occurs. Example: 2027, 2029, 2035. The form shows how many years away this is: "2029 (4 years)".
• Impact Type (required): Dropdown with three options:
  • One-Time (Blue badge): Single financial impact that year. Examples: House down payment, wedding, car purchase, inheritance. Amount is positive (income/windfall) or negative (expense).
  • Recurring (Yellow/Orange badge): Ongoing annual change starting that year. Examples: Having a child (expenses increase every year), spouse career change (income changes ongoing), moving to new city (expenses change permanently). Amount can be positive or negative.
  • Income Drop (Red badge): Temporary reduction in income. Examples: Sabbatical, parental leave, going back to school. Specify duration (how many years income is reduced) and amount of reduction per year.
• Amount (required): Dollar impact. Enter positive for income/windfalls (inheritance, bonus), negative for expenses (down payment, wedding). Example: $80,000 (positive for inheritance), -$80,000 (negative for house down payment). For recurring events, this is the annual impact. For income drops, this is the annual reduction amount.
• Duration (for Recurring / Income Drop types): How many years this lasts. Example: "18 years" for child expenses (birth to college), "2 years" for grad school income drop, "Lifetime" for permanent expense increase. One-time events don't need duration.
• Notes (optional): Allows for additional details. Example: "College fund for daughter", "Assumed 20% down on $400K house", "Inheritance is estimated, not guaranteed".

After adding: Event appears in Life Events table sorted by year. You can edit (✏️) to update details or delete (🗑️) if plans change.

📊 Summary Cards (Top of Dashboard)

• Years to FIRE Card: Estimated years until financial independence based on current savings rate and net worth (shows "FIRE Achieved!" if you've reached your target)
• Current Net Worth Card: Real-time calculation from all your accounts with your target FIRE number shown below
• Progress to FIRE Card: Percentage complete with visual progress bar showing how close you are to your FIRE number
• Savings Rate Card: Your actual savings rate calculated from the last 12 months of transactions

📈 FIRE Progress Chart

• Visual Progress Display: Chart showing your progress toward your FIRE number with percentage display
• Current Plan Details Panel: Shows your plan name, FIRE type badge, annual expenses, withdrawal rate, and expected return
• Edit Plan Button: Click to modify your plan assumptions or create a new scenario

🎛️ Interactive Planning Tools

You can use the interactive planning tools to make quick inline simulation of your plan based on your actual plan settings or adjust with a few limited updated assumptions. You can then use this information to run a small, light weight monte carlo analysis using the updated numbers.

• Use Plan Defaults Toggle: Switch between your saved plan settings and interactive slider testing
• Savings Rate Slider: Adjust from 0-50% to see how changing your savings rate affects FIRE timeline
• Annual Expenses Slider: Test different retirement expense levels ($30k-$200k range)
• Return Rate Slider: Model different investment return scenarios (1-10% range)
• Safe Withdrawal Rate Slider: Adjust from 3-5% to see impact on required FIRE number
• Run Monte Carlo Button: Runs 10,000 simulations to show probability ranges for your FIRE timeline

🎲 What Monte Carlo Actually Tests

When you click "Run Monte Carlo Simulation," SavePoint runs 500 complete simulations of your FIRE plan. Each simulation uses random market returns within realistic bounds (based on historical volatility), and each simulation can have a very different outcome. Here's what it's testing:

• Sequence-of-Returns Risk: This is the killer. If you retire and immediately face a bear market (like 2008), your portfolio takes a massive hit while you're withdrawing money. You might never recover, even if returns improve later. Monte Carlo tests this by simulating retirements that start in both good and bad markets.
• Portfolio Survival: In each simulation, SavePoint tracks whether your portfolio hits $0 at any point during your projected lifetime. "Success" means you never run out of money. "Failure" means you depleted your portfolio before death. The success rate (e.g., "78% success rate") tells you how many of the 500 simulations succeeded.
• Market Volatility Impact: Each year in each simulation, returns vary randomly based on volatility settings (default 15% annual standard deviation). This attempts to mirror real market behavior where returns cluster around the average but can be wildly different year to year.
• Inflation Erosion: Your withdrawals increase each year to keep pace with inflation. If you start withdrawing $50K in Year 1, by Year 20 you might be withdrawing $90K (at 3% inflation). Monte Carlo accounts for this growing burden on your portfolio.

Why this matters: A straight-line projection might say "You'll reach FIRE in 15 years." Monte Carlo might say "There's a 70% chance you'll reach FIRE between 13-18 years, but there's also a 10% chance it takes 22+ years if markets are terrible." That's reality.

⚙️ Monte Carlo Settings You Can Control

By default, Monte Carlo uses your saved plan settings. But you can toggle "Override with Custom Inputs" to adjust parameters and see how they affect your success rate. Here are all the settings you can control:

Use Plan Defaults (Checkbox): When checked, uses all your saved plan settings. When unchecked, reveals sliders and inputs where you can test different values without changing your saved plan. This is useful for "what if" testing.

Interactive Sliders (when Plan Defaults unchecked):

• Current Net Worth Slider: Adjust your starting portfolio value. Range: $0 to $3M. Default pulls from your actual accounts. Use this to test "What if I had an extra $100K today?"
• Annual Savings Slider: Change how much you save per year. Range: $0 to $100K. Tests how increasing or decreasing savings affects outcomes.
• Annual Expenses Slider: Adjust retirement spending. Range: $10K to $200K. See how living more or less frugally changes your success rate.
• Return Rate Slider: Change expected annual investment return. Range: 1% to 12%. Default 6-7%. Higher returns = faster accumulation, but don't be unrealistic.
• Withdrawal Rate Slider: Adjust safe withdrawal rate. Range: 2.5% to 6%. Default 4%. Lower = safer but need more money. Higher = riskier but need less money.

Market Volatility Model (Dropdown Selection):

• Crash-Aware (Fat-Tail) [Default]: Uses a lognormal distribution that models occasional deep market crashes more realistically. This means simulations will include rare but severe downturns (like 2008) that normal bell-curve models miss. More conservative and realistic.
• Classic (Bell-Curve): Uses a normal distribution where returns cluster symmetrically around the average. This underestimates the frequency of extreme crashes. Less realistic but simpler mathematical model.

Risk Analysis Features (Checkboxes):

• Sequence of Returns Risk (Checked by default, can be unchecked when using custom inputs): Tests scenarios where market crashes occur just before or during early retirement, which is statistically the most dangerous time for portfolio survival. Checked by default because it's critical to realistic FIRE planning. You can uncheck this when "Override with Custom Inputs" is enabled if you want to test simulations without explicitly modeling early-retirement timing risk (though the random market returns will still include some sequence risk naturally).
• Rising Medical Costs (Optional checkbox): When enabled, adds 2-3% extra inflation to medical expenses after age 75, simulating increased healthcare needs in later years. Unchecked by default. Check this if you want to model realistic late-life healthcare cost escalation.
• Life Events (Checkbox): Includes planned major expenses (home repairs, new cars) and income changes (inheritance, part-time work) from your FIRE plan in the simulations. Checked by default. Uncheck if you want to test your baseline plan without these one-time events.

Retirement Income Streams (Checkboxes):

• Post-FIRE Income (Checkbox): Includes income sources you've defined on the Post-FIRE Income tab (part-time work, rental income, side hustles). Checked by default if you've added income streams. Uncheck to see success rate without that safety net.
• Social Security Benefits (Checkbox with detailed configuration): When enabled, you can configure:
  • Primary Earner: Monthly benefit amount, start age (62-70), and years collecting. Default $1,500/month starting at age 67.
  • Secondary Earner (Optional): Add spouse/partner benefits with their own monthly amount and start age. Typically around $1,000/month.
  • Social Security Summary: Shows total monthly and annual benefits. Includes automatic COLA (cost-of-living adjustments) and inflation adjustments in simulations.

Spending Plan Options (Dropdown Selection):

• Fixed ($) - Set dollar amount [Default]: Withdraw a fixed dollar amount each year, adjusted for inflation. Example: Start with $50K in Year 1, which becomes $51,500 in Year 2 at 3% inflation. This is the classic 4% rule approach. Shows your FIRE target as "25 × expenses" because you need 25 times your annual spending at a 4% withdrawal rate.
• Variable (% of assets) - Percentage based: Withdraw a percentage of your portfolio each year. Example: 5% of $1M is $50K in Year 1, but if portfolio drops to $800K in Year 2, you withdraw only $40K. Spending floats with portfolio performance. More conservative in bear markets but you sacrifice predictable income. Your FIRE target is used as a checkpoint only; actual spending varies with portfolio value.
• Guardrails (Guyton-Klinger rules): A hybrid approach that adjusts withdrawals based on portfolio performance within set limits. If portfolio performs poorly, you cut spending by a small percentage. If it performs well, you increase spending. This method maximizes spending flexibility while protecting against portfolio depletion. Named after financial planners Jonathan Guyton and William Klinger who developed the methodology.

Advanced Portfolio Settings (Collapsed by Default):

• Pre-FIRE Volatility: Annual standard deviation of investment returns while you're still working and accumulating. Default 15% (typical for stock-heavy portfolio). Range 10-25%. Lower values (10-12%) represent conservative portfolios with more bonds; higher values (18-25%) represent aggressive all-stock portfolios.
• Post-FIRE Volatility: Annual standard deviation during retirement. Default 12% (slightly lower than pre-FIRE). This accounts for retirees typically shifting to more conservative allocations with bonds and safer assets. Can be the same as pre-FIRE volatility if you plan to maintain the same asset allocation in retirement.

Advanced Market Settings (Collapsed by Default):

• Link Inflation & Returns (Checkbox, checked by default): Models the realistic relationship where high inflation periods typically produce lower real investment returns. This captures "stagflation" risk (high inflation, poor stock returns). Based on historical patterns. Uncheck to assume inflation and returns are independent (less realistic).
• Mean-Reverting Returns (Checkbox with strength slider): Models the tendency of markets to revert toward long-term average returns after extreme years. When enabled, reveals a strength slider (φ) ranging from 0.0 to 0.4:
  • φ = 0.0: No mean reversion (pure random walk). Each year is completely independent.
  • φ = 0.1-0.2: Mild reversion (realistic historical behavior).
  • φ = 0.3-0.4: Strong reversion. After a great year (+20%), next year more likely to be below average. After terrible year (-30%), next year more likely to recover.
  Default 0.30. This is an expert setting; most users can leave this unchecked.
• Age-Based Risk Glide Path (Checkbox, checked by default): Gradually reduces portfolio volatility as you age, typically from 15% down to 10% over 30 years. Mimics target-date fund behavior where you become more conservative over time. This is realistic retirement planning behavior; as you get older, you have less time to recover from market crashes.
• Marginal Tax Rate %: Optional field to enter your estimated marginal tax rate (0-50%). Leave blank to ignore tax considerations. When filled in, simulations can model the tax impact on withdrawals from tax-deferred accounts. Note: This is simplified; actual tax planning requires professional advice for your jurisdiction.

Simulation Count (Dropdown Selection):

• 500 (Default): Balanced option. Provides reliable probability distributions without excessive computation time. Good for most users.
• 1,000: More data points. Slightly more accurate probability estimates. Takes about twice as long to run.
• 2,500: High accuracy. Better for identifying edge cases and rare outcomes. Takes 5x longer than 500.
• 5,000 ⚠️: Very high accuracy. For detailed analysis of tail risks. Noticeably slower (10x the time).
• 10,000 ⚠️ Slow: Maximum accuracy. For rigorous statistical analysis or research. Expect significant wait time (20x slower than 500). Only use when precision matters more than speed.

For most planning purposes, 500-1,000 simulations is sufficient. Higher counts are useful when testing aggressive plans (low success rates) or when you need to understand very rare failure modes.

Fixed Settings (Not Adjustable in Monte Carlo Tab):

• Life Expectancy: Uses your plan setting from the Settings tab (default 95-100 years). Simulations run until this age to test if money lasts your entire lifetime.
• Inflation Rate: Uses your plan's inflation rate setting (default 2-3%). Applied to expenses every year.

📊 Reading the Monte Carlo Results

After simulations finish, SavePoint shows you two main result cards at the top, followed by detailed charts and analytics. Here's how to interpret what you're seeing:

Understanding the Two Key Metrics:

SavePoint displays two different success metrics because reaching FIRE and surviving retirement are two separate achievements:

• Portfolio Survival Rate: This is the headline number for retirement. "76% Portfolio Survival Rate" means 380 out of 500 simulations never depleted the portfolio during your lifetime (you never hit $0 before death). 120 simulations failed (ran out of money). This measures whether your retirement is sustainable. Generally: 90%+ is excellent, 80-90% is good, 70-80% is acceptable but risky, below 70% is concerning. This is what most people mean by "success rate."
• FIRE Achievement Rate: This measures a different question: "How many simulations actually reached my FIRE target amount?" For example, if your FIRE target is $1.25M (25x your $50K expenses), this shows what percentage of simulations hit that number during the accumulation phase. This is displayed as something like "85% FIRE Achievement Rate" with details on years to FIRE and age at FIRE.
  • Years to FIRE: Shows best case (25th percentile), typical (median/50th), and conservative (75th percentile) timeline estimates. Example: Best case 12 years, typical 18 years, conservative 25 years.
  • Age at FIRE: Shows when you'd reach FIRE in different scenarios. Example: Best case age 42, typical age 48, conservative age 55.

Why These Are Different:

• You can achieve FIRE (reach $1.25M) but then have your portfolio fail in retirement due to poor sequence of returns. Example: 80% achievement rate, 65% survival rate means you often reach FIRE, but retirement doesn't always work out.
• You can have your portfolio survive retirement but never technically "achieve FIRE" by the textbook definition. Example: 60% achievement rate, 85% survival rate means you don't always hit the target, but when you retire anyway (perhaps with a higher withdrawal rate or post-FIRE income), you usually make it work.
• Ideally, both rates should be high (80%+). If achievement rate is high but survival rate is low, you're reaching FIRE too early or with too aggressive a withdrawal rate. If survival rate is high but achievement rate is low, you're being overly conservative or may need to adjust your target.

📈 Portfolio Trajectories Chart:

This is your primary visualization. Use the radio buttons at the top to toggle between two views:

• 📊 Percentiles View (Default): Shows probability bands of portfolio outcomes over time. This is the most useful view for understanding range of outcomes:
  • 90th Percentile (Top band): Best case scenarios. Only 10% of simulations do better than this. Shows what happens if markets are favorable. Often shows substantial wealth accumulation.
  • 75th Percentile: Above-average outcomes. 25% of simulations do better, 75% do worse. A good target for optimistic planning.
  • 50th Percentile / Median (Middle line): The typical outcome. Half of simulations end up above this line, half below. This is your "most likely" scenario. Often shows portfolio continuing to grow even in retirement.
  • 25th Percentile: Below-average outcomes. 75% of simulations do better. Shows what happens if you're somewhat unlucky.
  • 10th Percentile (Bottom band): Worst-case scenarios that still succeeded. Only 10% of simulations do worse than this (and those are usually failures). This is the line to watch; if it stays comfortably above zero, your plan has good margin for error. If it dips close to zero or goes negative, you're cutting it close.

  How to read percentile bands: Wide bands mean high uncertainty (market volatility matters a lot). Narrow bands mean your outcome is more predictable (either because you have a huge cushion or because failure is nearly certain). Watch where bands cross zero; that indicates when failures start occurring.

• 📉 Individual Runs View: Shows individual simulation paths as separate lines. This creates a "spaghetti chart" effect with many overlapping lines:
  • Lines that drop to zero: Failed simulations. These are usually red or disappear when portfolio depletes.
  • Lines that stay positive: Successful simulations. Portfolio survives to the end.
  • Lines that grow exponentially: Lucky simulations with great market returns. These can reach absurdly high values (millions or tens of millions).

  Controls: When viewing individual runs, use the dropdown to select how many paths to display (5, 10, 20, 50, or 100 runs). Use "Next Set" button to cycle through different batches of simulations. This prevents overwhelming the chart with 500+ lines. Showing 20 runs is usually enough to get a feel for the range of outcomes.

  When to use this view: Use Individual Runs view when you want to see specific failure patterns. For example, you might notice that failures tend to happen early (first 10 years of retirement) due to sequence-of-returns risk, or that some simulations recover from early crashes while others never do.

📊 Detailed Analytics:

The right panel shows three mini-charts and analytics:

• 🔄 Survival Rate by Age: A small chart or table showing what percentage of simulations are still solvent (haven't failed) at key ages. Example:
  • Age 65 (start of retirement): 100%
  • Age 75 (10 years in): 92%
  • Age 85 (20 years in): 78%
  • Age 95 (30 years in): 76% (final survival rate)

  What to look for: A steep drop early (e.g., 100% → 85% in first 5 years) signals sequence-of-returns risk is devastating your plan. A gradual, steady decline is normal. A flat line at 100% until very late in life means your plan is rock-solid as projected. (Of course this is no guarantee of an actual result.) If survival drops below 70-80% before your life expectancy, that's concerning.

• 📉 Burnout Age Distribution (Only shown if there are failures): Shows when failed simulations ran out of money. Displayed as a histogram or list:
  • Early burnout (age 65-75): Very bad. Sequence-of-returns risk or unsustainable withdrawal rate. You'd run out of money early in retirement when you're still healthy and have many years left.
  • Mid burnout (age 75-85): Concerning. You'd survive 10-20 years but fail before typical life expectancy. Might need to reduce spending or plan for post-FIRE income.
  • Late burnout (age 85-95): Less concerning. You'd survive most of retirement. Might be acceptable depending on family longevity and health.
  • Very late burnout (age 95+): Not really a problem. You planned to live to 95, so running out at age 97 is statistically unlikely to matter. You could adjust spending in your 90s if needed.

  Example reading: "Of 120 failures, 45 occurred between age 70-80, 60 between age 80-90, 15 after age 90." This means most failures happen in your 70s-80s, which is problematic. You'd want to adjust your plan.

• 📊 Early Retirement Stress: Analyzes the first 5-10 years of retirement, which are statistically the most dangerous due to sequence-of-returns risk. Shows metrics like:
  • Average portfolio drawdown in first 5 years: How much your portfolio shrinks on average during early retirement. Example: -12% drawdown means your $1M portfolio drops to $880K on average in first 5 years.
  • Worst 10% drawdown: In bad scenarios, how much does portfolio drop? Example: -35% worst case means in bad outcomes, $1M drops to $650K in first 5 years. If this is extreme (>40%), your plan is very vulnerable to early crashes.
  • Probability of early market crash causing failure: What percentage of failures are attributed to poor returns in first 5-10 years of retirement? If this is high (>60%), you're very exposed to sequence-of-returns risk. Consider: Lower withdrawal rate, more conservative allocation early in retirement, or larger starting portfolio.

📋 Key Summary Table:

Shows critical statistics in a simple table format:

• Success Rate: Portfolio survival rate (same as left card at top). Color-coded green (>80%), yellow (70-80%), or red (<70%).
• Median Ending Portfolio: What your portfolio is worth at your life expectancy age in the median (50th percentile) simulation. Example: $2.3M. This shows typical outcome if you live exactly to your target age. If this is high, you're probably being too conservative. If it's negative or zero, you're too aggressive.
• Median Annual Withdrawal: Shows your planned annual spending (usually your expense input, adjusted for inflation over time).
• 10th Percentile Net Worth: Portfolio value at your life expectancy in the worst 10% of successful simulations. Example: $450K. This is your safety margin. If this is a large positive number, you have excellent buffer. If this is negative, 10% of simulations are technically failures, which is concerning.
• 90th Percentile Net Worth: Portfolio value in the best 10% of simulations. Example: $5.8M. This is your "if everything goes great" scenario. Usually a large number. Don't plan around this, but it's fun to dream.

⚠️ Failure Analysis Table:

Only shown if there are failed simulations. Breaks down causes of failure:

• Sequence of Returns Risk: Percentage of failures attributed to poor returns in early retirement (first 5-10 years). Example: "72% of failures." This means most failures happened because of bad luck with market timing. To reduce: Lower withdrawal rate, use more conservative allocation early in retirement, delay retirement by 1-2 years to build larger cushion.
• Early Market Crashes: Percentage of failures where a major market crash (>20% loss) occurred in first 3 years of retirement. Example: "58% of failures." Overlaps with sequence-of-returns risk but specifically measures severe crash scenarios. To reduce: Same as above, plus consider cash buffer (1-2 years expenses in cash to avoid selling stocks during crash).
• Late-Life Expenses: Percentage of failures attributed to portfolio slowly depleting over time rather than catastrophic early crashes. Example: "15% of failures." These are simulations that survived 20-30 years but eventually ran out. Indicates withdrawal rate is slightly too high for long-term sustainability. To reduce: Lower withdrawal rate by 0.25-0.5%, or plan for reduced spending in very late life (age 85+).

If you see 0 failures (100% success rate), this section shows a green checkmark and congratulatory message: "No failures detected in X simulations! Your plan shows excellent resilience."

🎚️ Sensitivity Analysis:

Shows how sensitive your success rate is to changes in key assumptions. Presented as two columns:

• Left Column - How Changes Affect Success Rate: Tests small adjustments to key variables:
  • Market returns 1% lower: Shows new success rate if you get 6% returns instead of 7%. Example: Success rate drops from 82% to 74%. This measures your sensitivity to market performance.
  • Expenses 10% higher: Shows impact if you spend more than planned. Example: $50K expenses → $55K expenses, success rate drops 82% → 76%. Tests lifestyle inflation risk.
  • Life expectancy +5 years: What if you live to 100 instead of 95? Example: Success rate drops 82% → 71%. Money has to last longer.
  • Savings 20% higher: What if you save more during accumulation? Example: Success rate increases 82% → 89%. Shows how much safety margin higher savings creates.
• Right Column - Final Net Worth Percentiles: Shows portfolio value at your life expectancy age across the probability distribution:
  • 10th Percentile (Worst 10%): Portfolio value in bad outcomes. If negative, those are failures. If positive but small, you're barely succeeding in worst cases.
  • 25th, 50th (Median), 75th, 90th Percentiles: Shows full range of ending portfolio values. Wide spread indicates high uncertainty.

How to use this: If small changes cause big success rate drops, your plan is fragile. If success rate stays high despite negative changes, your plan has good safety margin. Use this to decide which variables to focus on improving.

🔥 Burnout Age Distribution Chart:

A histogram showing when failed simulations ran out of money. X-axis shows age ranges, Y-axis shows number of failures in that age range.

• Tall bars at young ages (65-75): Very concerning. Indicates early retirement failures due to sequence-of-returns risk or unsustainable withdrawal rate.
• Tall bars at middle ages (75-85): Moderately concerning. You'd survive 10-20 years but not to typical life expectancy.
• Tall bars at late ages (85-95): Less concerning. Most of retirement is successful, failures occur late in life when you might be able to adjust.
• Tall bars beyond life expectancy (95+): Not really a problem. You planned to live to 95; running out at 97 is acceptable.

Example interpretation: If you see most failures clustered at ages 70-78, that's early-retirement sequence risk. A market crash in your first few retirement years is devastating. Consider: Delay retirement by 2 years to build bigger cushion, lower withdrawal rate to 3.5%, or keep 2 years of expenses in cash to avoid selling during crashes.

Note: This chart only appears if there are failures. If success rate is 100%, you won't see this chart.

📊 Final Net Worth Distribution Chart:

A histogram showing the distribution of portfolio values at your life expectancy age across all simulations. X-axis shows portfolio value ranges, Y-axis shows number of simulations ending in that range.

• Bars in negative territory or at $0: Failed simulations. The further left, the worse the failure (ran out of money earlier).
• Bars near $0 but positive: Successful simulations that barely survived. "Die with zero" outcomes.
• Tall bars in middle ranges: Most common outcomes. Shows where typical simulations end up. Example: Tall bar at $1.5M-$2M means most simulations end with that much.
• Long tail to the right: Lucky simulations with great market returns. Some simulations end with $5M, $10M, or more. This is the "if markets are amazing" scenario.

Shape analysis:

• Bell curve centered well above zero: Good plan. Most outcomes are comfortable successes.
• Bell curve centered near zero: Risky plan. You're threading the needle; small changes could cause failures.
• Bimodal distribution (two peaks): Plan is sensitive to market timing. One peak near zero (bad sequence of returns), another peak higher (good sequence).
• Wide spread: High uncertainty. Some simulations end broke, others end with millions. Outcome depends heavily on market luck.

What this tells you: If the median (50th percentile) is very high (like $3M+), you're probably being too conservative and could retire earlier or spend more. If it's near zero, you're too aggressive.

💥 Crash Sensitivity Analysis Chart:

Compares success rates for simulations that experienced early market crashes (first 3 years of retirement) versus those that didn't. Tests market timing risk.

• Early Crash Simulations: Simulations where portfolio lost 20%+ in first 3 years of retirement (replicating 2008-style crashes). Shows their success rate separately.
• Normal Simulations: Simulations without major early crashes. Shows their success rate separately.
• Success Rate Gap: The difference between the two groups. Example: Normal simulations 92% success, Early crash simulations 68% success = 24 percentage point gap.

Interpretation:

• Large gap (>20 points): Your plan is very vulnerable to market timing. Retiring into a bear market would be catastrophic. Consider: Delay retirement until after a crash, maintain 2-3 years cash buffer, use lower withdrawal rate initially (3%), or plan to cut spending if crash occurs early.
• Moderate gap (10-20 points): Some market timing risk but manageable. Have a plan B ready (cut spending 20% if early crash occurs, do part-time work, delay Social Security).
• Small gap (<10 points): Plan is resilient to early crashes. You have good margin for error. Likely due to: Very low withdrawal rate (<3.5%), large cash buffer, significant post-FIRE income, or very large starting portfolio.

Real-world application: If you're planning to retire in 2026 and this shows high crash sensitivity, monitor market conditions closely. If markets crash 20%+ in 2026, consider delaying retirement by 1-2 years to let portfolio recover. Your success rate might drop from 85% to 60% if you retire at the bottom of a crash.

🎮 Scenario Explorer:

An interactive tool that lets you examine individual simulations in detail. Select a specific simulation from the dropdown to see its year-by-year breakdown.

• Dropdown menu: Lists all simulations (1-500) with summary info. Example: "Simulation #47 - Failed at age 78 (68% return)" or "Simulation #203 - Successful (142% final return)".
• Year-by-year data: Once selected, shows detailed breakdown:
  • Age & Year: Your age and calendar year in each row.
  • Portfolio Value: Net worth at start of that year.
  • Annual Return: Market performance that year (e.g., +12%, -18%, +5%).
  • Withdrawals: Amount withdrawn for expenses that year (increases with inflation).
  • Ending Balance: Portfolio value after returns and withdrawals.

How to use this:

• Examine failed simulations: Select a failure to see what went wrong. Often you'll see: Strong negative returns in first 5 years (sequence risk), or portfolio slowly bleeding down over decades (withdrawal rate too high).
• Compare success vs failure: Select a successful simulation and a failed one. Notice how small differences in early returns compound dramatically over time.
• Identify critical years: See which years matter most. Often it's Years 1-5 and Years 20-25 of retirement that determine success or failure.

Example insight: "Simulation #67 failed at age 79. Looking at the data: -22% return in Year 1 (age 65), -15% in Year 3, +8% in Year 4. Portfolio dropped from $1.2M to $850K in first 3 years. Never recovered. This is textbook sequence-of-returns risk."

⚠️ Withdrawal Stress Analysis Chart:

Shows portfolio stress over time, measured as withdrawal amount as a percentage of portfolio value. Line chart with age on X-axis, stress percentage on Y-axis.

• Green zone (<4% stress): Low stress. Portfolio is growing faster than withdrawals. Comfortable margin for error.
• Yellow zone (4-6% stress): Moderate stress. Withdrawals are significant but sustainable. Classic 4% rule territory.
• Red zone (>6% stress): High stress. Withdrawals are large relative to portfolio. Risky; portfolio may be depleting. This happens when: Portfolio has shrunk due to poor returns, or withdrawals have grown due to inflation.

Chart shows:

• Average stress line: Mean withdrawal stress across all simulations at each age. Shows typical pattern.
• Stress bands: May show 25th-75th percentile range to indicate variability. Wide bands mean some simulations are stressed while others aren't.

Common patterns:

• Stress starts low (2-3%), gradually increases to 4-5%: Normal, healthy pattern. Portfolio grows early, stress increases slightly as you age. Acceptable.
• Stress spikes early (6%+ in first 5 years): Red flag. Early retirement is already stressing portfolio. Sequence-of-returns risk is biting. You may need to cut spending early or plan to work part-time.
• Stress climbs steadily throughout retirement: Portfolio is slowly depleting. Eventually crosses into red zone (>6%). This indicates withdrawal rate is slightly too high. Reduce withdrawals by 10-20% or plan to cut spending in late life.
• Stress stays flat around 4%: Ideal. Portfolio returns roughly match withdrawals plus inflation. Sustainable long-term.

Action items: If average stress exceeds 6% at any age before your life expectancy, your plan needs adjustment. Options: Lower withdrawal rate, increase savings before retirement, plan for post-FIRE income, or accept higher risk of late-life portfolio depletion.

🎯 Success Rate by Age Chart:

Line chart showing what percentage of simulations are still solvent (haven't failed) at each age throughout retirement. X-axis is age, Y-axis is success rate percentage.

• Starts at 100%: At your retirement age, all simulations have positive portfolios. Everyone starts successfully.
• Line trends downward: As years pass, some simulations fail (hit $0). The line drops as failures accumulate.
• Final value = overall success rate: The line's value at your life expectancy age is your portfolio survival rate. Example: Line ends at 78% at age 95 = 78% success rate.

Shape tells the story:

• Flat line at 100% until very late: Rock-solid plan. Few or no failures even at extreme ages. You have massive safety margin.
• Steep drop early (100% → 85% in first 5 years): Sequence-of-returns risk is devastating. Early market crashes are causing immediate failures. This is the worst pattern. Fix: Delay retirement, lower withdrawal rate to 3%, build larger portfolio before retiring.
• Gradual, steady decline (2-3% per year): Normal attrition. Simulations slowly fail over time as portfolios deplete or people live longer than expected. Acceptable if line stays above 80% until life expectancy.
• Accelerated decline late (sharp drop after age 85): Late-life portfolio depletion. Simulations that survive the early years start failing late due to: Longevity (living longer than planned), healthcare cost inflation, or cumulative effect of withdrawal rate being slightly too high.

Key ages to check:

• Age 70 (5 years in): Should be 90%+ if plan is sound. If already below 85%, sequence risk is hitting hard.
• Age 80 (15 years in): Should be 80%+ for acceptable plan. If below 75%, plan is too risky.
• Age 90 (25 years in): Approaching your life expectancy. If below 70%, many simulations are failing before you'd naturally die.

Comparison to Early Retirement Stress: This chart appears in two places: Small version in "Detailed Analytics" panel (right side mini-chart), and large version here in "Success Rate by Age Chart" section. Same data, different sizes. The large version is easier to read and analyze trends.

🎯 What To Do With Monte Carlo Results

Monte Carlo results can be used as part of the puzzle to inform your planning decisions. Here's how to use them:

• If success rate is 90%+: Your plan looks solid. You have good margin for error. You could consider slightly more aggressive assumptions or earlier retirement.
• If success rate is 70-90%: Your plan is workable but has meaningful risk. Consider: Saving more, working longer, reducing retirement expenses, or lowering withdrawal rate to 3.5%. Test these changes with the sliders to see impact.
• If success rate is below 70%: Your plan is too risky as-is. Markets being average isn't enough; you need markets to be above average to succeed. You should: Significantly increase savings, delay retirement, dramatically cut planned expenses, or plan for part-time income in retirement.
• Look at the percentile bands: If the 10th percentile (worst case that still succeeds) shows a comfortable cushion, that's reassuring. If the 10th percentile barely avoids zero, you're cutting it close.
• Check when failures occur: If failures happen at age 75-80, that's early and scary. If failures happen at age 95-100, you're probably fine (you might be dead, or you could adjust then).

Important: Monte Carlo is not a crystal ball. It can't predict the future. It shows you a range of possibilities based on historical market behavior. Markets could behave completely differently. Use Monte Carlo to understand risk, not to guarantee outcomes. Real life will diverge from these simulations. Regularly check with a financial advisor. Monte Carlo helps stress test a plan, but is never a guarantee of actual results.

🔄 How Scenario Planning Works

A scenario is an alternative FIRE plan projection with different assumptions. Unlike your main plan, scenarios let you test "what if" questions without permanently changing your saved plan. You might create a scenario called "Aggressive Savings" with 25% savings rate (vs your baseline 15%), or "Conservative Returns" with 5% expected returns (vs baseline 7%). SavePoint projects each scenario's FIRE timeline and lets you compare them visually in charts and tables.

Key Scenario Parameters You Can Adjust:

• Savings Rate or Fixed Annual Savings: Test different savings levels. Higher savings = faster FIRE, but harder to sustain. Lower savings = longer timeline but more comfortable lifestyle.
• Expected Return Rate: Test market assumptions. Conservative (5%) vs Moderate (7%) vs Optimistic (9%). Shows how much your timeline depends on market performance.
• Annual Expenses: Test lifestyle changes. Lower expenses = smaller FIRE number needed. Higher expenses = more years to accumulate. This is often the most powerful lever for FIRE timeline.
• Starting Net Worth: Test "what if I had more saved today" or model receiving an inheritance.

Each scenario gets its own projected FIRE date, years to FIRE, and Monte Carlo success rate (if you run simulations on it). You can save unlimited scenarios and toggle them on/off in comparison charts.

🛠️ Creating a Custom Scenario

To create a custom scenario, you'll adjust the same inputs as your main plan but with different values:

• Scenario Name: Give it a descriptive name. Examples: "Aggressive Savings +5%", "Market Crash Recovery", "Early Retirement Age 50", "Geographic Arbitrage - Portugal"
• Description (Optional): Add notes about what you're testing and why. Helpful when you have many scenarios.
• Adjust Core Assumptions: Change savings rate, return rate, expenses, or starting net worth to reflect the "what if" you're modeling.
• Save Scenario: Scenarios are saved to your database and persist across sessions. You can edit or delete them anytime.

Example Workflow:

Sarah's baseline plan: 18% savings rate, 7% returns, $55K expenses → FIRE in 20 years at age 52. She creates scenarios:

• "Hustle Mode": 25% savings rate → FIRE in 14 years at age 46 (6 years faster!)
• "Conservative Markets": 5% returns → FIRE in 28 years at age 60 (8 years slower, shows market risk)
• "Lean FIRE": $40K expenses → FIRE in 15 years at age 47 (reduce spending, retire 5 years earlier)
• "Inheritance": +$100K starting net worth → FIRE in 17 years at age 49 (windfall saves 3 years)

She compares these in the comparison chart and decides to aim for 22% savings rate (splitting the difference between baseline and Hustle Mode) and target $50K expenses (moderate frugality). This gets her to FIRE at age 48, which feels achievable and comfortable.

📋 Scenario Templates

SavePoint offers pre-built scenario templates to quickly test common situations. Templates are organized by category:

Market Scenarios (Testing Bear Markets & Crashes):

• Dot-com Bust: -10% annual returns (replicates 2000-2002 tech crash). Shows impact of severe bear market lasting 2-3 years.
• Great Recession: -30% returns (models 2008-2009 financial crisis). Tests worst-case market scenario in modern history.

Use these to understand: "If I retire right before a major crash, what happens?" Generally, you'll see FIRE timeline extend by 3-10 years if crash occurs during accumulation phase.

Life Events (Testing Major Life Changes):

• Career Break (3 years): 50% income reduction for extended period. Models going back to school, taking care of family, or sabbatical. Shows savings rate dropping (e.g., 15% → 5%).
• Medical Emergency ($100K): One-time major expense. Models unexpected healthcare costs. Effectively reduces starting net worth or increases expenses.
• Inheritance ($500K): One-time windfall. Models receiving inheritance or business windfall. Shows dramatic timeline acceleration (often 5-15 years faster).

Note: These templates model the financial effect as permanent assumption changes. For one-time events with specific dates, use the Life Events tab instead (which can be factored into Monte Carlo simulations).

Lifestyle Changes (Testing Geographic Arbitrage):

• Geographic Arbitrage - Portugal: 40% lower cost of living. Models moving from high-cost US city to Portugal. Example: $60K expenses → $36K expenses.
• Geographic Arbitrage - Mexico: 50% lower cost of living. Example: $60K → $30K expenses.
• Geographic Arbitrage - Thailand: 60% lower cost of living. Most aggressive geographic arbitrage. Example: $60K → $24K expenses.
• Geographic Arbitrage - Czech Republic: 45% lower cost of living. European option with quality healthcare and infrastructure.

Geographic arbitrage scenarios show the dramatic power of lowering expenses. Moving from $60K to $30K expenses often cuts FIRE timeline in half because: (1) You save more each year (higher savings rate), and (2) You need less money to FIRE (smaller target portfolio).

Common Scenarios (Quick Testing):

• Higher Savings: +5% savings rate adjustment. Example: 15% → 20% savings. Tests "what if I cut my budget a bit?"
• Conservative Returns: -2% return rate adjustment. Example: 7% → 5% returns. Tests market pessimism or bond-heavy portfolio.
• Optimistic Timeline: +2% return rate adjustment. Example: 7% → 9% returns. Tests if you believe markets will outperform historical averages. (Be careful with this one; optimism can lead to under-saving.)

📊 Comparing Scenarios

After creating scenarios, SavePoint displays a comparison chart with three view options. Use the radio buttons at the top of the chart card to toggle between chart types:

📈 Timeline Chart (Default View):

• Line chart showing net worth growth over time for all scenarios overlaid on the same chart.
• X-axis: Years from now (or age)
• Y-axis: Portfolio value
• Each scenario gets its own colored line. Baseline plan is typically bold or highlighted.
• What to look for: When does each line cross your FIRE target (shown as horizontal reference line)? Scenarios that cross earlier achieve FIRE faster. Wide divergence between lines shows high sensitivity to assumption changes.
• Example use: Compare "Conservative Returns (5%)" vs "Baseline (7%)" vs "Optimistic (9%)". If all three cross FIRE target within 2-3 years of each other, your timeline isn't too sensitive to returns. If gap is 10+ years, market performance will dominate your outcome.

📊 Years to FIRE Chart:

• Horizontal bar chart showing how many years it takes each scenario to reach FIRE.
• X-axis: Years to FIRE
• Y-axis: Scenario names
• Bars are color-coded: Green (≤20 years), Yellow (21-30 years), Red (>30 years or never achieves FIRE).
• What to look for: Easiest chart to compare multiple scenarios at a glance. Quickly identify which strategies get you to FIRE fastest.
• Example interpretation: "Baseline: 18 years (green), Higher Savings +5%: 14 years (green), Geographic Arbitrage - Mexico: 11 years (green), Conservative Returns: 26 years (yellow)." This shows savings and expense reduction are more powerful levers than hoping for higher returns.

🎚️ Sensitivity Analysis Chart:

• Tornado chart (horizontal bar chart) showing impact of each assumption change on FIRE timeline relative to baseline.
• X-axis: Change in years to FIRE (positive = delayed, negative = accelerated)
• Y-axis: Scenario names
• Bars extend left (faster to FIRE) or right (slower to FIRE) from the baseline center line.
• What to look for: Longest bars = biggest impact variables. This shows you which assumptions matter most.
• Example: If "Expenses -20%" bar extends 8 years to the left but "Returns +2%" only extends 3 years left, cutting expenses is 2.7x more powerful than hoping for higher returns. Focus your energy on expense reduction.
• Note: This chart only appears if you have multiple scenarios created. With only the baseline, there's nothing to compare.

📋 Scenario Comparison Table:

Table showing detailed metrics for each scenario with the following columns:

• Name: Scenario name. Current plan has green "Current" badge. Baseline/default has blue "Default" badge.
• Savings Rate: Percentage of income saved. Example: 15.0%, 20.0%, 12.5%.
• Return Rate: Expected annual investment returns. Example: 7.0%, 5.0%, 9.0%.
• Annual Expenses: Yearly spending in retirement. Displayed with currency formatting. Example: $50,000, $36,000, $65,000.
• Years to FIRE: How many years until FIRE target is reached. Color-coded: Green (≤20), Yellow (21-30), Red (>30 or "Not Achieved").
• FIRE Year: Calendar year when FIRE is achieved. Example: 2042, 2038, 2051, or "Not Achieved".
• MC Success Rate: Monte Carlo success rate if you've run the mini Monte Carlo on this scenario (see below). Shown as percentage with color coding: Green (≥95%), Yellow (80-94%), Red (<80%), or "—" if not run.
• Actions: Two buttons per row:
  • 🎲 Run: Runs a quick Monte Carlo simulation (100-500 iterations) on this scenario to test portfolio survival probability. Results appear in the MC Success Rate column. Useful for testing: "This scenario gets me to FIRE in 15 years, but will it sustain retirement?" Button shows dice icon.
  • 🗑️ Delete: Removes this scenario. Cannot delete the current plan or baseline. Button shows trash icon.

Color coding explained: Rows are color-highlighted. Green background = current plan (what you're actually using). Blue background = baseline/default scenario. White background = custom scenarios you created.

How to use the table: Create multiple scenarios, then click "🎲 Run" on each to see which ones not only achieve FIRE quickly but also survive retirement stress-testing. A scenario might reach FIRE in 12 years but have only 65% Monte Carlo success rate (too risky), while another takes 16 years but has 92% success (much safer).

💡 Practical Scenario Planning Examples

Example 1: Should I take a less stressful job for less money?

• Current plan: FIRE at age 50 with $120K/year income
• Scenario: Reduce income to $90K permanently starting next year
• Result: FIRE delayed to age 53 (3 years later)
• Decision: Is 3 extra years of working worth better work-life balance now?

Example 2: How bad would a 2008-style crash hurt me?

• Current plan: FIRE at age 48
• Scenario: Portfolio loses 40% value in 3 years (next year), then recovers
• Result: FIRE delayed to age 52 (4 years later)
• Insight: You're vulnerable to sequence-of-returns risk. Consider: Saving more, being more conservative, or building a larger cash cushion.

Example 3: What if my parent leaves me $200K?

• Current plan: FIRE at age 55
• Scenario: Receive $200K windfall in 5 years
• Result: FIRE accelerated to age 52 (3 years earlier)
• Insight: A large windfall makes a meaningful difference. Don't plan for it, but if it happens, you gain significant optionality.

⚠️ Using Scenarios Wisely

Scenarios are for exploration, not prediction. Here's how to use them effectively:

• Test realistic possibilities, not fantasy scenarios. "What if I win the lottery?" isn't useful planning, although may be fun to see!
• Focus on downside scenarios more than upside. Planning for job loss is more important than planning for inheritance.
• Don't over-optimize. If a scenario shows FIRE delayed by 6 months, that's not actionable. If it shows 5+ years delay, that matters.
• Use scenarios to build contingency plans. "If I lose my job, I can survive 8 months before FIRE is seriously delayed" tells you how much emergency fund you need.
• Run scenarios before major decisions. Considering a career change? Run the scenario first to see financial impact. Thinking about buying a house? Test it before committing.

Remember: Scenarios are educated guesses, not prophecies. Real life will surprise you in ways you didn't model. But thinking through possibilities helps you make better decisions and reduces the chance of being blindsided.

📈 Net Worth Projection Chart

Line chart showing your projected net worth growth over time. Two lines are displayed:

• Net Worth (Blue Line): Your total portfolio value each year. Starts at your current net worth and grows through a combination of annual savings and investment returns. This line slopes upward, accelerating over time due to compound growth.
• FIRE Target (Red Horizontal Line): Your target portfolio value needed to sustain retirement. Calculated as 25× your annual expenses (if using 4% withdrawal rate) or adjusted based on your FIRE type. This line is flat; it's the finish line you're trying to cross.

What to look for: The year when the blue line crosses the red line is your projected FIRE year. The steepness of the blue line shows how fast you're accumulating wealth. Early years show slow linear growth (mostly savings), later years show exponential growth (compound returns dominate).

Key insight: If your net worth line never crosses the FIRE target line within the projection timeframe, you won't achieve FIRE under current assumptions. You need to save more, spend less in retirement, work longer, or increase expected returns.

📋 Year-by-Year Projections Table

Detailed table breaking down each year of your FIRE journey. Shows exactly where growth comes from and when you hit milestones. Columns explained:

• Year: Calendar year. Example: 2025, 2026, 2027... This helps you think in concrete timeframes ("I'll hit my goal in 2042").
• Age: Your age that year. Example: 35, 36, 37... Makes it personal. "I'll be financially independent at age 48."
• Net Worth: Projected portfolio value at end of that year. Example: $125,000 → $145,000 → $168,000. This includes everything: your current savings, annual contributions, and investment growth.
• Annual Savings: Amount you'll contribute from income that year. Example: $18,000. This is calculated from your savings rate or fixed savings amount. Increases over time if your income grows.
• Passive Growth: Investment returns on your existing portfolio. Example: $8,500. This is your expected return rate (e.g., 7%) applied to previous year's balance. Gets larger each year as portfolio grows. Eventually, passive growth exceeds annual savings (the "crossover point").
• Required for FIRE: How much you need at this point to achieve FIRE. Example: $1,250,000. This is your FIRE target number (usually stays constant, but can adjust if you've modeled expense changes).
• Progress: Percentage toward FIRE target. Example: 13.6%. Calculated as (Net Worth / Required for FIRE) × 100. Watching this climb from 10% to 25% to 50% to 100% is motivating. Shows you're making real progress even if FIRE is years away.
• Events: Life events or milestones happening this year. Shows icons or labels for:
  • Life events from Life Events tab (🎈 for windfalls, 💸 for major expenses, 👶 for family changes)
  • Milestone achievements (🏆 when you cross $100K, $250K, $500K, etc.)
  • FIRE achievement year (🎯 when you hit your FIRE number)
• Status: Visual indicator of progress:
  • Working (gray): Still in accumulation phase, years until FIRE.
  • FIRE Achieved! (green): The year you cross your FIRE target. This is the celebration row.
  • Post-FIRE (blue): Years after FIRE if projection extends beyond FIRE date.

🏆 Milestone Summary Cards

Three summary cards show your milestone progress at a glance:

• Milestones Achieved (Left Card - Green): Count of milestones you've completed. Example: "5 out of 12 standard milestones." This is your trophy case. Each milestone represents a significant achievement.
• Next Milestone (Middle Card - Blue): Shows your next target. Example: "Next Milestone: $250,000 - Quarter Million." Gives you a clear near-term goal to focus on.
• Progress to Next (Right Card - Cyan): Percentage toward next milestone and dollar amount remaining. Example: "67.2% - $82,000 remaining." This is your current quest progress bar. Watching it climb from 50% to 75% to 90% keeps you engaged.

📍 Milestone Timeline

Vertical timeline showing all milestones (standard + custom) with progress bars. Each milestone entry shows:

• Checkmark icon (green or gray): Green checkmark = achieved, Gray circle = not yet achieved.
• Milestone name: Example: "$100K - First 100K", "$500K - Half Million", "$1M - Millionaire Status", "My Custom Goal - New Car Fund".
• Target amount: Displayed on the right. Example: $100,000, $500,000, $1,000,000.
• Progress bar: Visual representation of progress toward that milestone. Fills from 0% to 100%. Green if achieved, blue if in progress.
• Completion date (if achieved): Shows when you hit the milestone. Example: "Completed: March 15, 2024." This creates a historical record of your wins.

Hide Completed Toggle: Checkbox at top of timeline. When checked, hides all achieved milestones so you only see what's left to accomplish. Useful when you've hit many milestones and want to focus on remaining goals.

➕ Adding Custom Milestones

Beyond standard net worth milestones, you can add custom milestones specific to your situation. Examples:

• House Down Payment: Set milestone at $80,000 if you're saving for a home.
• Kids' College Fund: Set milestone at $150,000 for education savings.
• Business Startup Capital: Set milestone at $50,000 for your side business.
• Debt Freedom: Set milestone at $0 if you're paying down debt (though net worth might be negative initially).
• First Year Expenses Covered: Set milestone at 1× your annual expenses ($60K if you spend $60K/year). When you hit this, you have a 1-year runway.

How to add:

• Milestone Name: Enter a descriptive name. Example: "Emergency Fund - 6 Months".
• Target Amount: Enter the dollar amount. Example: $30,000.
• Click "Add Milestone" button.
• Milestone immediately appears in timeline sorted by amount.

Managing custom milestones: Each custom milestone has Edit (✏️) and Delete (🗑️) buttons. You can update the name/amount or remove milestones you no longer care about.

📊 Standard Milestones (Built-In)

SavePoint includes these standard net worth milestones based on common FIRE community targets:

• $10,000 - First $10K (Getting started)
• $25,000 - Quarter of the way to $100K
• $50,000 - Halfway to $100K
• $100,000 - First $100K (Huge psychological milestone, hardest to achieve)
• $250,000 - Quarter Million (Compound growth accelerating)
• $500,000 - Half Million (Crossover point for many people)
• $750,000 - Three-quarters of a million
• $1,000,000 - Millionaire Status (Major life milestone)
• $1,500,000 - 1.5M (Comfortable FIRE for $60K/year expenses)
• $2,000,000 - Double Millionaire
• $2,500,000 - 2.5M (Fat FIRE territory)
• $3,000,000 - 3M and beyond

💪 Why Milestones Matter

Motivation through the long haul: Saying "I'm working toward $1.2M to retire in 17 years" is abstract and overwhelming. Breaking it into chunks works better: "This year, I'm focused on hitting $150K. Then next year, $180K. By 2027, I'll cross $250K." Each achievement releases dopamine and keeps you going.

The "First $100K is the hardest" principle: Charlie Munger famously said this. Getting from $0 to $100K is grueling because you're mostly saving, not compounding. Getting from $100K to $200K is faster. $500K to $1M is almost autopilot if you maintain your habits. Milestones mark these inflection points and show you're on track.

Accountability and course correction: If your projections show you should hit $200K by end of 2025, but you're only at $185K, the milestone system highlights the gap. This prompts you to investigate: "Did I overspend? Did markets underperform? Do I need to adjust my savings rate?" It's an early warning system.

Sharing and celebrating: FIRE is often a solo journey, but milestones give you moments to share with family or celebrate privately. Hitting $500K is worth a nice dinner out. Reaching $1M deserves recognition even if you can't tell everyone about it.

➕ Adding Post-FIRE Income Streams

Click "Add Income Stream" button to open the form. You'll enter:

• Income Source Name (required): Descriptive label. Examples: "Part-time Consulting", "Rental Property - Duplex", "Pension from Previous Employer", "Side Business - Etsy Shop".
• Annual Amount (required): How much you expect per year in today's dollars. Example: $18,000 for rental income, $25,000 for part-time work. Enter the gross amount before taxes if modeling taxes separately.
• Start Age (required): Age when this income begins. Example: Age 65 for Social Security, Age 50 for part-time work starting immediately at FIRE, Age 60 for pension that vests later. This allows for income streams that don't start right when you retire.
• End Age (optional): Age when this income stops. Leave blank for lifetime income. Example: Stop part-time work at age 70, rental property sold at age 75, pension continues for life (leave blank). Defaults to your life expectancy if left blank.
• Inflation Adjusted (checkbox): Check if this income grows with inflation. Examples:
  • Check for: Part-time wages (likely increase over time), Social Security (has COLA adjustments), pensions with COLA provisions.
  • Uncheck for: Fixed annuities (pay same amount forever), rental income if you don't plan to raise rents, side hustle if you expect to wind it down over time.
  If checked, SavePoint increases this income by your inflation rate each year (e.g., $20K becomes $20,600 next year at 3% inflation).

After adding: Income stream appears in the Post-FIRE Income table showing all details. You can edit (✏️) to change amounts/ages or delete (🗑️) if plans change.

💼 How Post-FIRE Income Changes Your Plan

The 4% rule assumes zero income: Traditional FIRE math says if you need $60K/year to live, you need $1.5M saved (60K ÷ 0.04 = 1,500,000). But what if you earn $20K/year from part-time work or rental income after you "retire"? Then you only need to withdraw $40K/year from investments, so you only need $1M saved (40K ÷ 0.04 = 1,000,000). You just shaved $500K off your FIRE number!

Example scenarios:

• Barista FIRE: Work 20 hours/week at a coffee shop earning $15K/year. This covers groceries and utilities. Your portfolio only needs to cover housing and discretionary spending.
• Consulting/Freelancing: Keep 1-2 clients earning $30K/year. Work 10-15 hours/week on your own schedule. Covers most expenses, portfolio is just a safety net.
• Rental Income: Own a duplex that generates $18K/year net income after expenses. This is truly passive; doesn't require your time.
• Pension/Annuity: Have a pension starting at age 62 paying $24K/year. This kicks in mid-retirement, reducing portfolio withdrawals at that point.
• Passion Project: Start a small business (Etsy shop, blog, coaching) earning $12K/year. Not much, but every dollar of income is one less dollar you need from your portfolio.

📊 How Post-FIRE Income Affects Calculations

In Projections tab:

• Your FIRE target number is reduced. If you need $60K/year and have $20K post-FIRE income, your withdrawal need drops to $40K/year, so FIRE number drops from $1.5M to $1M.
• Years to FIRE decreases because you need less money to retire.
• Progress percentage accelerates (you're closer to the lower target).

In Monte Carlo simulations:

• Post-FIRE income is factored into withdrawal calculations. Each year of retirement, your portfolio withdrawal is (Expenses - Post-FIRE Income).
• Success rates often increase significantly. A plan with 72% success at zero income might jump to 88% success with $20K/year income.
• Income streams with different start/end ages are modeled accurately. Example: No income age 50-62, $24K/year income age 62-95 from pension.
• Inflation-adjusted income grows in simulations; fixed income stays flat.

In Scenarios tab:

• You can create scenarios with different income assumptions. Example: "Optimistic Scenario" with $30K consulting, "Conservative Scenario" with $15K, "Zero Income Scenario" to test full retirement.
• Compare how income changes your FIRE timeline and success rates side-by-side.

⚠️ Important Considerations

• Be conservative with income estimates: It's better to underestimate post-FIRE income and be pleasantly surprised than overestimate and fall short. If you think you can earn $25K consulting, model $18K to account for slow periods, health issues, or market downturns affecting demand.
• Health and ability: Part-time work assumes you're healthy and able. What if you can't work due to injury or illness at age 63? Have a backup plan (higher savings, lower expenses) or model scenarios without this income.
• Market dependency: Some income (like consulting or Etsy sales) is economically sensitive. In a recession, this income might dry up right when your portfolio is also down. This is bad sequence risk. Model this by running Monte Carlo without the income to see if your portfolio survives on its own.
• Taxes: Post-FIRE income is usually taxable. If you're modeling $20K rental income but lose $4K to taxes, your actual benefit is $16K. Adjust your income amounts to after-tax figures or model taxes separately.
• Flexibility vs. commitment: Some income sources (rental property) require ongoing management and can't easily be stopped. Others (part-time work) are flexible; you can quit anytime. Factor this into your planning. If flexibility is important, model the income as optional rather than guaranteed.

Best practice: Model multiple scenarios. Have a "baseline" scenario with conservative income estimates, an "optimistic" scenario with full expected income, and a "zero income" scenario where you assume no post-FIRE income at all. If even the zero-income scenario succeeds (80%+ Monte Carlo rate), you have tremendous safety margin.

📅 What Counts as a Life Event?

A life event is any significant financial occurrence that's not part of your regular monthly budget. Examples:

• One-Time Expenses: House down payment ($80K), wedding ($30K), car purchase ($25K), home renovation ($50K), college tuition lump sum ($40K).
• Windfall/Income: Inheritance ($150K), business sale ($200K), stock options vesting ($75K), tax refund ($5K), settlement ($100K).
• Recurring Changes: Having a child (expenses increase $15K/year ongoing), spouse stops working (income drops $50K/year), moving to lower cost area (expenses decrease $12K/year).
• Income Disruptions: Sabbatical (6 months no income), grad school (2 years reduced income), job loss (estimated 6 months between jobs).

When NOT to use Life Events: Regular monthly expenses (rent, groceries, utilities) go in your baseline expense number. Small purchases under $2K aren't worth modeling separately. Truly unpredictable events (medical emergencies, accidents) are better handled through Monte Carlo risk testing, not life events.

📊 How Life Events Affect Your Plan

In Projections tab:

• Events appear in the "Events" column for their year. Example: Year 2027 shows "🏠 House Down Payment".
• Net worth adjusts accordingly. A $80K down payment in Year 5 shows net worth drop that year. A $150K inheritance in Year 8 shows net worth jump.
• Recurring changes affect all subsequent years. If "Kid #1" adds $15K expenses/year starting in Year 3, all years after Year 3 show reduced savings due to higher expenses.
• The chart and table update to show realistic timeline accounting for these events.

In Monte Carlo simulations:

• Checkbox in Monte Carlo tab: "Include Life Events" (checked by default). When checked, all life events are factored into the 500 simulations.
• One-time events occur in that specific year of each simulation. Example: Every simulation experiences the $80K house down payment in Year 5.
• Recurring events adjust ongoing cash flows in all simulations.
• Income drops temporarily reduce portfolio contributions during those years, testing your plan's resilience to income disruptions.
• You can uncheck "Include Life Events" to run a baseline simulation without these events, then compare. This shows you: "My baseline plan has 85% success rate. With the house purchase and kid expenses, it drops to 78% success. Is that acceptable?"

In Scenarios tab:

• Scenarios can include or exclude life events. Example: Create "Optimistic Scenario" that includes inheritance, "Conservative Scenario" that excludes it.
• Test how major events change your timeline. "What if we don't have kids?" vs "What if we have two kids?" can show 3-5 year difference in FIRE date.

💡 Life Events Best Practices

• Model realistic, not hopeful: If you think you might get a $100K inheritance but it's uncertain, create two scenarios: one with it, one without. Base your primary plan on the scenario without the windfall. If it happens, great; if not, you're still on track.
• Overestimate expenses, underestimate windfalls: Plan for $35K wedding even if you hope to do it for $25K. Plan for $12K/year kid expenses even if your friend says they spend $8K. This builds safety margin.
• Update regularly: Life events change. You might plan for a 2029 house purchase, but in 2027 you decide to keep renting. Delete or postpone the event. Keep your plan current.
• Don't over-model: You don't need to add every possible event. Focus on high-impact items (>$10K or >$5K/year ongoing). Adding 20 tiny events clutters your plan without improving accuracy.
• Use "Events" column as a planning tool: Review the Projections tab Events column annually. It shows you: "Next year, I'm planning to spend $30K on the wedding. Am I on track to have that money?" This prevents surprises.
• Combine with Scenarios for sensitivity analysis: Create scenarios like "House Purchase Delayed 3 Years", "Bigger House (higher down payment)", "No House Purchase (keep renting)". See how these change your FIRE timeline. This helps you make informed decisions about major life choices.

📋 Example: Complete Life Events Plan

Alex, age 28, creates a realistic FIRE plan with life events:

• 2026 (age 30): Wedding (-$28,000) - One-Time
• 2028 (age 32): House Down Payment (-$75,000) - One-Time
• 2029 (age 33): First Child (+$14,000 annual expenses) - Recurring, 18 years
• 2032 (age 36): Second Child (+$14,000 annual expenses) - Recurring, 18 years
• 2034 (age 38): Expected Inheritance (+$120,000) - One-Time (modeled conservatively at $80K)
• 2040 (age 44): Sabbatical (Income Drop -$60,000) - Income Drop, 1 year

Result: Without life events, Alex's FIRE age was 48. With events included: FIRE age pushed to 52 due to kids and house. The inheritance in 2034 helps, but the sabbatical in 2040 delays FIRE by another year. Monte Carlo success rate: 83% with events, 91% without events. Alex decides this is acceptable and focuses on maintaining high savings rate to offset the kid expenses.

⚙️ Settings Tabs Overview

• Profile: Personal information, profile picture, usage statistics, and account details
• Preferences: Display currency, date format, theme, language, table styles, pagination, startup tab, and local backup configuration
• Security: Master password, security questions, auto-lock, encryption settings
• Currency Management: Exchange rates and multi-currency support (see Multi-Currency Support)
• Data Management: Backup, restore, export, and data reset tools (see Data Management)
• Budget Management: Budget creation and management (see Budget System)
• Category Management: Income and expense category customization (referenced throughout documentation)
• Merchant Mapping: Automatic transaction categorization rules (see Merchant Mapping System)
• Financial Account Management: Account types and asset class configuration (see Account Types & Asset Classes)

👤 Personal Information

• Full Name: Displayed in the sidebar header and throughout the application
• Email: Optional field for personal record-keeping (not used for authentication or communications)
• Profile Picture: Upload custom image (JPG, PNG, GIF supported) displayed in sidebar and settings
• Storage: Profile data stored locally in your SavePoint database - never transmitted externally

💾 Manual Backup & Restore

Create manual backups on demand or restore from existing backup files. This is separate from the automated backup system configured in the Preferences tab.

Create Backup: Manually create a backup of your entire database

• One-Click Backup: Click "Create Backup" to save complete database copy with timestamp
• Backup Location: Choose where to save the backup file (default: SavePoint/backups folder)
• Filename Format: Backups named as "SavePoint_Backup_YYYY-MM-DD_HHMMSS.db"
• Complete Database: Includes all transactions, accounts, budgets, settings, categories, merchant mappings, and user profile
• Use Cases: Before major changes, before software updates, before data cleanup operations, or for manual archival

Restore Backup: Replace current database with a previously saved backup

• File Selection: Browse to select backup file to restore
• Confirmation Required: System warns that restore will replace ALL current data
• Automatic Current Backup: Before restore, SavePoint automatically backs up your current database
• Complete Replacement: Restore replaces entire database - all current data is replaced with backup contents
• Post-Restore: Application automatically reloads with restored data

💱 Currency Conversion Optimization

If using multi-currency features, optimize exchange rate uploads to balance accuracy with performance. SavePoint doesn't require exchange rates for every single day to function properly.

Upload Strategy:

• Selective Currency Uploads: Only upload exchange rates for currencies you actually use - no need to upload rates for 150+ currencies
• Upload Frequency Options:
  • Monthly: Upload rates on 1st of each month - sufficient for most users tracking investments or savings in foreign currencies
  • Weekly: Upload rates every Monday - good balance for users with frequent foreign currency transactions
  • Daily: Upload rates daily - only needed if you require precise daily conversion accuracy for active foreign currency trading
• Date Interpolation: SavePoint uses the most recent available exchange rate for conversions - if you have rates for Jan 1 and Feb 1, transactions on Jan 15 use Jan 1 rate
• Performance Impact: More exchange rate records = slightly slower currency conversion calculations, but only noticeable with 1,000+ exchange rate records

Finding Your Balance:

• Test Different Frequencies: Start with monthly uploads, see if that accuracy level works for your needs
• Consider Your Use Case: Tracking EUR savings account with transactions once a month? Monthly rates sufficient. Trading forex actively? Daily rates needed
• Storage Consideration: 2 currencies with daily rates for 5 years = 3,650 exchange rate records. 10 currencies = 36,500 records. Impacts database size

📊 Collapsible Table Styles

Collapsible table styles change how data tables display by making sections expandable/collapsible, similar to how the Balance Sheet works. Instead of showing all data at once, you can collapse sections you're not currently reviewing.

Available for 4 Table Types:

• Budget Tables: Makes Income Plan and Expense Plan tables collapsible by category
• Cashflow Tables: Makes Income and Expense sections expandable/collapsible
• Accounts Table: Groups accounts by type with expand/collapse controls
• Transactions Table: Adds expandable detail rows for each transaction

How It Works:

• Toggle Enabled: Each table type has its own on/off toggle - enable only the ones you want
• Instant Application: Changes apply immediately when you save preferences - no restart needed
• Persistent State: Collapse/expand state saves across sessions (if you collapse Groceries in Budget, it stays collapsed)

When to Use Collapsible Tables:

• Many Categories: Budget/Cashflow with 15+ categories benefits from collapsing unused categories
• Many Accounts: Accounts table with 10+ accounts easier to navigate when grouped and collapsible
• Screen Space: Smaller screens or side-by-side windows benefit from collapsing sections
• Focused Review: When reviewing specific categories, collapse others to reduce scrolling

⚡ Transaction Pagination

Transaction pagination splits your transaction list into pages, loading only one page at a time instead of all transactions at once. This significantly improves performance for large transaction datasets.

Pagination Settings:

• Enable Pagination: Toggle on/off (recommended for 1,000+ transactions)
• Page Size Options: 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, or 500 transactions per page
• Applies to Transactions Page: Only affects the main Transactions page, not reports or other tables
• Instant Application: Changes take effect immediately when you save preferences

Performance Impact:

• Faster Initial Load: Transactions page loads 50-90% faster with pagination enabled
• Reduced Memory: Browser uses less memory rendering 50 rows vs 5,000 rows
• Improved Responsiveness: Edit Mode, filtering, and search operations respond faster
• Trade-off: Requires clicking through pages to see all transactions

Choosing Page Size:

• 25-50: Best for reviewing/editing transactions - less scrolling, faster load per page
• 100: Balanced option for most users - good performance, reasonable viewing
• 200-300: When you need to see more transactions at once - still provides performance benefit
• 500: Minimal performance benefit - only use if you absolutely need to see 500 rows at once

When Pagination Helps vs. Hurts:

• 1,000+ Transactions: Pagination significantly improves performance
• 5,000+ Transactions: Pagination essential - without it, page may freeze or crash
• Under 1,000 Transactions: Pagination adds unnecessary clicking - better to show all at once
• Under 500 Transactions: Pagination actually slows down workflow - don't enable it

🔍 Transaction Search & Filtering

Filter and search transactions to quickly find specific records. Filters work together and persist across sessions, so your most-used filter combination loads automatically next time you open SavePoint.

Available Filters:

• Date Range: Custom start and end date selection - filter to specific months, quarters, or years
• Account Filter: Dropdown to show transactions from one specific account only
• Category Filter: Dropdown to show transactions from one specific category only
• Text Search: Search transaction descriptions (searches across all accounts and categories)

How Filters Work Together:

• Cumulative: All active filters apply simultaneously (AND logic, not OR)
• Example: Account = "Checking" + Category = "Groceries" + Date Range = "Jan 2025" shows only January 2025 grocery transactions from Checking
• Clear Filters: Set dropdown to "All Accounts" or "All Categories" to remove that filter
• Date Range Persistence: If you set custom date range, it persists until you clear it

Filter Persistence Across Sessions:

• Saved Automatically: Your current account, category, and date range filters save when you change them
• Restored on Startup: Next time you open SavePoint, your last-used filters automatically apply
• Use Case: If you always review your checking account transactions, set filter to Checking once and it stays that way
• Reset: Change filters back to "All Accounts" / "All Categories" and clear date range to reset to showing everything

📋 Bulk Operations

Bulk operations let you delete multiple transactions at once instead of one-by-one. Currently, bulk delete is the only bulk operation available.

How Bulk Delete Works:

• Enable Checkboxes: Checkboxes appear in leftmost column of transaction table
• Manual Selection: Click individual transaction checkboxes to select specific transactions
• Select All: Click checkbox in table header to select all visible transactions on current page
• Delete Button Appears: "Delete Selected (X)" button appears when 1+ transactions selected
• Confirmation Required: System asks for confirmation before deleting
• Permanent Deletion: Deleted transactions cannot be recovered - no undo

Selection Counter:

• Live Count: Delete button shows "Delete Selected (5)" where 5 is number of selected transactions
• Visual Feedback: Helps prevent accidental deletion - you can see exactly how many you're about to delete

Bulk Delete Limitations:

• Current Page Only: If pagination enabled, "Select All" only selects current page, not all pages
• Filtered View Only: "Select All" selects only visible filtered transactions, not all transactions in database
• Example: If you have 5,000 transactions, filter to "Groceries" (500 results), enable pagination (showing 100 per page), clicking "Select All" selects only those 100 groceries on page 1
• No Bulk Edit: You cannot bulk-edit categories, dates, or amounts - only bulk delete

Common Use Cases:

• Removing Duplicates: Filter to specific date/amount, select duplicate transactions, bulk delete
• Cleaning Test Data: Filter to test transactions, select all, delete
• Account Closure: Filter to closed account, bulk delete old transactions if no longer needed
• Category Cleanup: Filter to incorrect category, bulk delete, reimport correctly

📊 Chart Layout Controls

Dashboard chart reordering lets you customize which charts appear and in what order. Arrange charts to match your workflow - put the most important charts at the top where you see them first.

How Chart Reordering Works:

• Drag Handle: Each chart has a drag handle (usually at top of chart card)
• Drag to New Position: Click and hold drag handle, drag chart up or down, release to drop
• Visual Feedback: While dragging, drop zones show where chart will land
• Instant Save: When you drop chart, new position saves immediately to preferences
• Persistent Order: Chart order persists across sessions - your custom order loads every time

Chart Visibility Control:

• Settings Button: Click settings/gear icon on Dashboard to manage enabled charts
• Toggle Charts On/Off: Checkboxes let you hide charts you don't use
• Reorder in Settings: Settings modal shows list of charts - drag to reorder there too
• Hidden Charts: Disabled charts don't appear on Dashboard at all - saves scrolling

Workflow Optimization:

• Daily Review: Put "Recent Transactions" and "Spending by Category" at top
• Monthly Planning: Put "Budget Progress" and "Monthly Trends" at top
• Investment Focus: Put "Net Worth Over Time" and "Asset Allocation" at top
• FIRE Planning: Put "FIRE Progress" and "Milestone Tracker" at top

⌨️ Available Shortcuts (Transactions Page Only)

Ctrl+S - Save Without Exiting Edit Mode:

• When: Transactions page, Edit Mode enabled
• What It Does: Saves all changed/new transactions without exiting Edit Mode
• Use Case: Adding multiple transaction batches - add 10 transactions, Ctrl+S to save, add 10 more, Ctrl+S again
• Benefit: Saves progress without losing Edit Mode, prevents data loss if crash occurs
• Visual Feedback: Success message appears confirming transactions saved

Ctrl+A - Add New Transaction Row:

• When: Transactions page, Edit Mode enabled
• What It Does: Adds one new empty transaction row at bottom of transaction table
• Use Case: Entering many transactions. Instead of clicking "Add Row" button, just press Ctrl+A repeatedly to add multiple rows quickly
• Benefit: Much faster than moving mouse to "Add Row" button each time
• Smart Behavior: If you're typing text in a field, Ctrl+A selects all text like normal. If the field is empty or you're not in a field, Ctrl+A adds a new row instead. This means you can spam Ctrl+A to add multiple rows even if your cursor lands in an empty field
• Example: Press Ctrl+A five times quickly to add five transaction rows at once, then fill them in

Tab - Navigate Between Fields (Edit Mode):

• When: Transactions page, Edit Mode, cursor in a field
• What It Does: Standard Tab behavior - moves to next field
• Field Order: Date → Description → Category → Amount → Account → Next Row's Date
• Use Case: Keyboard-only transaction entry without touching mouse

📥 CSV Transaction Import

Import transactions from bank/credit card CSV exports. See full import documentation earlier in this help document.

Import Features:

• Manual Column Mapping: You manually select which CSV columns map to SavePoint fields (Date, Amount, Description, etc.)
• Import Preview: First 5 rows shown before import to verify correct file and column mapping
• Duplicate Detection: System flags potential duplicates based on matching account, date, amount, and similar description
• No Saved Mappings: Column mappings don't save between imports - must remap every time

📁 Drag & Drop File Selection:

Instead of clicking "Browse" to select your CSV file, drag the file directly from file explorer onto the import drop zone.

• How It Works: Click Import button → Drop zone appears → Drag CSV/XLSX file from file explorer onto drop zone → File processes immediately
• Visual Feedback: Drop zone changes color when file is over it, indicating valid drop target
• Accepted Files: CSV (.csv) and Excel (.xlsx) files only - other file types rejected with error message
• File Size Check: Very large files may be rejected if they exceed size limits
• One at a Time: Can only drop one file at a time - complete first import before dropping next file
• Still Need Mapping: Drag & drop only skips the Browse button - you still map columns, select account, review duplicates normally

📤 CSV Data Export

Export your SavePoint data to CSV files for external analysis. See Data Management Tab Features for complete export documentation.

• 4 Export Types: Transactions, Accounts, Budgets, Daily Balances
• CSV Format: Standard CSV format that opens in Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet application
• Complete Export: Each export includes ALL data of that type - no date range or filter options during export
• Timestamped Filenames: Exports named with current date (e.g., "SavePoint_Transactions_2025-01-15.csv")

🔄 Data & Import Issues

• CSV Import Failures: When CSV imports fail, first verify the file is valid by opening it in Excel or Google Sheets. If it won't open there, SavePoint can't import it either. Next, check that your column mapping is correct during the import wizard. The Date column in your CSV should map to SavePoint's Date field, Amount to Amount, Description to Description, etc. If dates aren't importing correctly, verify your date format in Settings (Settings → Preferences → Date Format) matches your CSV dates. Banks use different formats like MM/DD/YYYY (US), DD/MM/YYYY (UK/EU), or YYYY-MM-DD (ISO). SavePoint expects exactly one header row followed by data rows, so remove any extra header rows your bank may have added. Finally, ensure amounts in your CSV are numeric only (123.45) without currency symbols ($123.45) or text. SavePoint may have issues parsing amounts with symbols in some cases.
• Missing Transactions: If transactions seem to have disappeared, the most common cause is active filters on the Transactions page. Check if your date range filter is set to a specific month like "January 2025". You won't see February transactions until you clear or expand the date range. Verify the Account filter dropdown isn't set to a specific account when you're trying to view transactions from all accounts. Similarly, if the Category filter is set to "Groceries", you'll only see grocery transactions. To reset and see all transactions, set Account filter to "All Accounts", Category filter to "All Categories", and clear any custom date range. Filter persistence means these settings remain active even after closing and reopening SavePoint, which often causes confusion.
• Duplicate Transactions: To find and remove duplicate transactions, use the Transactions page filters to narrow your search. Filter by the date range and amount range where you suspect duplicates exist, then manually review the filtered results. When you identify duplicates, enable the checkboxes in the leftmost column, select the duplicate transactions you want to remove, and click the "Delete Selected" button that appears. Always create a backup before bulk deleting (Settings → Data Management → Create Backup). If you accidentally delete legitimate transactions, you can restore from backup. To prevent duplicates, avoid importing the same CSV file twice, as SavePoint doesn't track which files have been previously imported. The duplicate detection during import helps but isn't foolproof, especially for identical transactions on the same day.
• Incorrect Categorization: When transactions are categorized incorrectly, first review your merchant mapping patterns at Settings → Merchant Mapping Tab to see if an overly broad pattern is causing the issue. For example, if your pattern "store" matches both "GROCERY STORE" and "DEPARTMENT STORE" incorrectly, make it more specific like "grocery store" instead. Check your categorization priority setting (Settings → Merchant Mapping → Priority). If set to Pattern-First, patterns override your manual categorization. If set to Historical Override (default), your manual changes should stick. Also verify that you haven't manually categorized that specific merchant incorrectly in the past, as Historical Override mode remembers those choices. For immediate fixes, enable Edit Mode on the Transactions page, change the category dropdown for affected transactions, and save your changes.

📊 Reports & Charts Issues

• Charts Not Loading or Show "No Data": When Dashboard charts display "No Data" or fail to load, first verify you have transactions in the selected date range. The Dashboard defaults to "This Month", so if you haven't entered any transactions yet this month, charts will be empty. Try changing the Dashboard date range dropdown to "Last 12 Months" or "All Time" to see if data appears. For category-specific charts (like Spending by Category), ensure your transactions have categories assigned. Uncategorized transactions don't appear in category charts. If one specific chart fails while others load successfully, the issue may be specific to that chart type. Try refreshing the page or restarting SavePoint. Charts requiring multiple accounts or specific data types may not render until you have sufficient data configured.
• CSV Export Failures: Export failures typically occur due to insufficient disk space, permission issues, or file locks. Check your available disk space before exporting. Exports need free space to write CSV files, especially for large transaction sets. Try exporting to a different location like your Desktop instead of Documents folder to rule out permission issues. If you previously opened an exported CSV file in Excel, close Excel before exporting again. Windows can't overwrite files that are currently open. For persistent permission errors, try running SavePoint as administrator (right-click SavePoint → Run as Administrator) to ensure write permissions. Very large exports (10,000+ transactions) may timeout on slower computers. Consider exporting smaller date ranges in multiple segments.
• Missing Data in Reports: When expected data doesn't appear in reports, first check transaction dates carefully. A transaction dated December 31 won't appear in a January report. Verify your transactions have correct categories assigned, as "Uncategorized" transactions are excluded from category-based reports and analyses. Some reports apply automatic account filters. For example, investment reports may only show Investment account types while excluding Checking and Savings. Check if accounts are archived or closed, as some reports exclude inactive accounts by default. Finally, verify the report's date range matches your expectations. Reports showing "This Month" won't include last month's transactions even if you just entered them.
• Theme/Display Issues: If you encounter visual problems with a specific theme, switch to a different theme temporarily via Settings → Preferences → Theme and select an alternative. This helps determine if the issue is theme-specific or affects the entire application. If a particular theme is broken or displaying incorrectly, continue using a working theme and report the bug to support with details about which theme caused issues. After changing themes, restart SavePoint if the display doesn't immediately update. Theme changes sometimes require a restart to fully apply. Check whether the issue affects only specific charts/pages or the entire application, as this information helps troubleshoot whether it's a theme problem or a broader display issue.

Security & Access Issues

• Forgot Master Password: If you've forgotten your master password, click "Forgot Password?" on the login screen and answer the security questions you configured during password setup. Security questions are the ONLY way to recover access if you forget your password. There is no backdoor or master key. If you didn't configure security questions or you've forgotten the answers to your security questions, your data is permanently inaccessible with absolutely no recovery option. This is by design for security. The cryptographic hashing means even the SavePoint team cannot recover your password. To prevent this situation, document your password and security question answers in a secure location like a password manager or physical safe stored off-site. Consider this documentation as important as the data itself, because without it, your financial data could be permanently lost.
• Auto-Lock Not Working: Auto-lock requires master password protection to be enabled, so first verify you have a master password set (Settings → Security → Master Password). Check that auto-lock is actually enabled and has a timeout configured by going to Settings → Security → Auto-Lock and ensuring the toggle is on and you've selected a timeout period (5, 10, 15, or 30 minutes). Test the feature by waiting for the timeout period. Note that mouse movement or keyboard input resets the timer, so if your 5-minute timeout hasn't triggered, try moving your mouse at the 4-minute mark to verify the timer is working. Be aware that computer sleep may bypass auto-lock depending on your operating system settings. Configure your computer to require password on wake for additional security. Auto-lock only works when SavePoint is running and visible, not when minimized or if your computer goes to sleep.
• Database Encryption Issues: If you're having trouble accessing an encrypted database, first verify you're entering the encryption key correctly. Encryption keys are case-sensitive, so "MyKey" and "mykey" are different keys. If you've lost your encryption key, understand that there is no recovery option. Encrypted databases are permanently inaccessible without the correct key, even if you have the database file. When initially encrypting an existing database, if the encryption process fails, create a backup of your unencrypted database first before retrying, so you can restore from backup if the encryption fails again. Remember that backup files of encrypted databases require the same encryption key as the original database. You can't decrypt backup files without the key, so document your encryption key in a secure location separate from your database and backups.
• Multi-Database Management: SavePoint allows multiple database files, but each database is completely separate with no shared data between files. Transactions, accounts, and settings in one database don't appear in another. To open a specific database, use File → Open Database and browse to your .db file. If you open the wrong database accidentally, simply close SavePoint and open the correct file. To avoid confusion between databases, name your database files clearly with descriptive names like "JohnSmith-Personal.db" for personal finances and "JohnSmith-Business.db" for business finances. Some users maintain separate databases for different purposes (personal vs. business, or one per family member), and clear naming prevents opening the wrong database and entering transactions in the incorrect file. Note only one database can be used at a time.

🔑 License & Authentication Issues

• Program Won't Launch - Not Activated: If SavePoint won't start or displays an activation message, you need to activate your license. Open SavePoint and locate your unique Hardware ID (displayed in the licensor notification window in the top right part of the screen). Visit savepointfinance.com and navigate to the license activation page. Enter your Hardware ID to generate your unique activation key. Copy the activation key and paste it into SavePoint to complete activation
• License Invalid After Hardware Change: If you've upgraded your computer (new motherboard, CPU, or built a new PC) and your license no longer works, this is expected behavior as licenses are tied to your hardware configuration. Each user is entitled to one hardware replacement every two years to account for computer upgrades or new systems. Contact support through the website with your original purchase email and new Hardware ID, and our team will issue a replacement license key
• Multiple Computers: Each SavePoint purchase includes two licenses, allowing you to use the software on multiple computers (such as home and work, or desktop and laptop). If you need additional licenses beyond the two included, contact SavePoint support to discuss licensing options and volume pricing if needed
• Hardware ID Not Displaying: If you can't locate your Hardware ID, ensure you're running the latest version of SavePoint. The Hardware ID appears in the licensor notification window in the top right part of the screen, or in the activation prompt on first launch. If still not visible, try running SavePoint as administrator or contact support for assistance
• Activation Key Not Working: Verify you've copied the complete activation key without extra spaces. Ensure the key was generated for the correct Hardware ID shown in your SavePoint installation. Keys are case-sensitive and must match exactly. If problems persist, generate a fresh key from the website or contact support

⚡ Performance Issues

• Transactions Page Loading Slowly (5+ seconds): If the Transactions page takes 5 or more seconds to load, you likely have over 1,000 transactions and should enable pagination. Go to Settings → Preferences → Transaction Pagination, enable the feature, and set page size to 100 transactions per page. This immediately improves load time by 50-90% because the page only renders 100 transactions instead of loading all 5,000+ at once. If the page is still slow after enabling pagination, try reducing the page size to 50 transactions per page. This provides even faster loading at the expense of more frequent page navigation. Pagination becomes essential once you exceed 5,000 transactions, as the page may freeze or crash without it on some computers.
• Dashboard Slow or Freezing: Dashboard performance degrades when too many charts are enabled or when displaying data across very long time periods. Access Dashboard settings by clicking the gear icon and uncheck any charts you don't regularly review. Displaying 8 charts loads significantly faster than rendering 15 charts. Change the Dashboard date range from "All Time" to "Last 12 Months" or "Last 6 Months" to reduce the amount of data each chart must process. If the Dashboard remains sluggish after viewing multiple charts or changing date ranges frequently, close and reopen SavePoint to clear accumulated chart memory cache. Some users find that disabling 5-7 unused charts and limiting the date range to 6 months makes the Dashboard responsive even with 10+ years of financial data.
• Application Using Too Much Memory: High memory usage typically results from prolonged sessions with extensive chart viewing or large transaction datasets. The simplest solution is restarting SavePoint, which clears accumulated memory from charts and database operations. Close other resource-intensive applications like web browsers with dozens of tabs to free system memory for SavePoint. If you have 10,000+ transactions and haven't enabled pagination, do so immediately as described above. Pagination significantly reduces memory usage on the Transactions page. Check memory usage in Windows Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc → Processes tab → find SavePoint). If SavePoint is using over 1GB of RAM, a restart is recommended. Memory usage over 1.5GB suggests pagination isn't enabled or you have an unusual number of charts/operations running simultaneously.
• CSV Export Taking Long Time or Failing: Large CSV exports naturally require processing time. Exporting 5,000+ transactions typically takes 10-30 seconds, while 20,000+ transactions may take 45-60 seconds on slower computers. This is normal and unavoidable for large datasets. Close other applications to free system resources and ensure adequate disk space is available. You need free space at least equal to the export file size. Don't click the export button multiple times if the export seems slow. Multiple clicks trigger multiple concurrent exports which compete for resources and slow everything down further. Wait for the first export to complete, as indicated by a success message or the export file appearing in your chosen location. If exports consistently fail, try exporting to a different location like your Desktop to rule out permission issues with your Documents folder.
• FIRE Planning Calculations Slow: Monte Carlo simulations generating 10,000 scenarios typically take 5-15 seconds to calculate. This is completely normal given the computational complexity of running thousands of lifetime financial projections. If simulations take longer than 20 seconds and you find this disruptive, reduce the scenario count by going to FIRE Planning → Settings → Scenario Count and selecting 5,000 or 1,000 scenarios instead. Fewer scenarios calculate faster but may provide less statistical confidence in the results. 1,000 scenarios is usually sufficient for most users. Avoid running multiple simulations simultaneously. If you click "Run Simulation" on one FIRE plan while another is still calculating, both will run slowly as they compete for CPU resources. Wait for the first simulation to complete before running another, or close SavePoint and restart to cancel a stuck simulation.

⚡ Transaction Management Performance

As your transaction history grows, the Transactions page can slow down when loading and displaying thousands of records. The primary solution is enabling pagination, which dramatically improves responsiveness by loading only a subset of transactions at a time instead of all records simultaneously.

Enable Pagination: Go to Settings → Preferences → Transaction Pagination and enable the feature. Start with 100 transactions per page. This provides good balance between seeing enough data and maintaining fast load times. For databases with 1,000+ transactions, pagination typically improves page load time by 50-90%. If you have 5,000+ transactions, pagination becomes essential as the page may freeze or crash without it.

Filter Before Bulk Operations: When you need to bulk delete transactions, always filter to a specific date range or category first. For example, if you're removing duplicate transactions from January, filter to January first, then select and delete. Operating on 100 filtered transactions is significantly faster than trying to select from 5,000 unfiltered records. Additionally, "Select All" only works on the current page when pagination is enabled, so filtering makes bulk operations more manageable.

Batch Your Data Entry: If manually entering transactions in Edit Mode, work in batches of 10-20 transactions. Add your batch, press Ctrl+S to save, then add the next batch. This approach prevents data loss if SavePoint crashes during entry. You'll only lose the current unsaved batch rather than an hour's worth of work. Batching also reduces memory pressure from having too many unsaved changes in memory.

Import Regularly: Import bank statements weekly or monthly instead of once a year. Importing 100 transactions 12 times per year is much easier to review and categorize than importing 1,200 transactions all at once. Smaller, frequent imports also make it easier to spot errors or duplicates before they accumulate. The import process itself runs faster with smaller files, and you're less likely to encounter timeout issues.

📊 Dashboard & Charts Performance

Dashboard charts consume significant memory and processing power, especially when displaying data across multiple years or generating complex visualizations. Optimizing chart display improves both load times and overall application responsiveness.

Disable Unused Charts: Access Dashboard settings via the gear icon and uncheck any charts you don't regularly review. Each active chart requires memory and processing to render. Displaying 8 charts loads noticeably faster than 15 charts. If you only check certain charts quarterly, disable them and re-enable when needed rather than keeping them active constantly.

Use Shorter Date Ranges: The Dashboard defaults to showing data for your selected time period. If you're viewing "All Time" with 5 years of data, every chart must process 5 years of transactions. Switching to "Last 12 Months" or "Last 6 Months" dramatically reduces the data each chart must process, resulting in faster rendering. You can always expand the date range when you need historical perspective.

Restart After Heavy Chart Use: If you've spent an extended session reviewing different charts across multiple tabs (Dashboard, Budget, Cashflow, FIRE Planning), the application may feel sluggish as chart memory accumulates. Simply restarting SavePoint clears the chart cache and restores snappy performance. Consider restarting if you notice charts loading slowly or if memory usage seems high.

FIRE Planning Memory Management: Monte Carlo simulations generate thousands of scenario calculations and use substantial memory to render projection charts. After reviewing your FIRE projections, switch to a different tab to free up these resources. If you're actively working with FIRE planning, close other resource-intensive tabs temporarily to ensure smooth simulation performance.

💱 Multi-Currency Performance

If you use SavePoint's multi-currency features, the frequency and volume of exchange rate uploads directly impacts both database size and currency conversion performance. Finding the right balance between accuracy and efficiency depends on your specific use case.

Upload Only What You Need: SavePoint supports 150+ currencies, but you should only upload exchange rates for currencies you actually use. If you only have USD and EUR accounts, don't upload rates for JPY, GBP, CAD, and dozens of other currencies. Each unnecessary currency pair adds database records that slow conversions without providing value.

Choose Appropriate Frequency: Monthly uploads (rates on the 1st of each month) are sufficient for most users tracking investments or savings in foreign currencies. This frequency provides adequate accuracy for investment performance tracking and foreign account balance snapshots while keeping database records minimal. Weekly uploads (every Monday) work well for users with frequent foreign currency activity. You capture most rate movement without overwhelming the database. Daily uploads should only be used if you require precise daily conversion accuracy, such as for active forex trading or businesses with daily foreign currency transactions.

Understand the Impact: Consider the long-term storage implications of your upload frequency. If you track 2 currency pairs with monthly rates for 5 years, you'll have 120 exchange rate records. Switch to daily rates and you'll have 3,650 records. A 30x increase. With 10 currency pairs and daily rates, that's 36,500 records over 5 years. More records mean slightly slower currency conversions and a larger database file, though the performance impact is only noticeable once you exceed 1,000+ exchange rate records.

🗄️ Database Size Management

Your SavePoint database grows over time with transactions, exchange rates, daily balance snapshots, and historical data. Monitoring and managing database size helps maintain optimal performance, especially as you approach years of financial history.

Monitor Your Database: Check Settings → Profile Tab to see your current database size. Database size varies significantly based on transaction volume, multi-currency usage (exchange rates consume space), and frequency of daily balance snapshots. If your database exceeds 100MB and you're experiencing performance issues, consider optimization strategies. Database size over 200MB warrants attention unless you have extensive multi-year transaction history with frequent currency conversions.

Archive Old Data: For transactions older than 5 years that you rarely reference, consider archiving: Export the old transactions to CSV (Settings → Data Management → Export Transactions), verify the CSV file opens correctly and contains your data, then delete those old transactions from SavePoint. Keep the CSV files for permanent records and tax purposes. This reduces your active database size while preserving historical data in a portable format.

Manage Backups: SavePoint's automatic backup system keeps your 10 most recent backups and permanently deletes older ones. However, if you've created numerous manual backups, these accumulate separately. Periodically review your backup folder and delete manual backups older than 6-12 months. While old backups don't affect SavePoint performance directly, they consume disk space which can slow system-wide operations when your drive fills up.

Ensure Adequate Disk Space: SavePoint operations can slow or fail when disk space runs low. Keep at least 1GB of free space on the drive where SavePoint stores your database. If your disk is 90%+ full, you may experience slow saves, failed backups, or export errors.

💻 System-Level Optimizations

Beyond SavePoint-specific settings, system-level optimizations can significantly impact performance, especially for users with large datasets or resource-constrained computers.

Close Other Applications: SavePoint with 10,000+ transactions typically uses 500MB-1GB of RAM during normal operation. If you're simultaneously running a web browser with 20+ tabs, email client, and other applications, your system may run low on available memory. Close unnecessary applications to free resources, particularly when importing large CSV files or running FIRE planning simulations.

Restart Regularly: If you keep SavePoint running continuously for days or weeks, memory usage gradually increases as chart caches and operation history accumulate. Restarting SavePoint every few days clears this accumulated memory and restores optimal performance. Think of it like restarting your web browser when it starts feeling sluggish after days of use with hundreds of tabs opened and closed.

Use SSD Instead of HDD: If your SavePoint database is stored on a traditional hard drive (HDD), moving it to a solid-state drive (SSD) provides dramatic performance improvements. Database operations are disk-intensive. SSDs can load and save the database 3-5x faster than HDDs. If you're experiencing slow startup times (10+ seconds), slow transaction saves, or sluggish page transitions, check if your database is on an HDD and consider moving it to an SSD.

Antivirus Considerations: Real-time antivirus scanning can slow database operations as the antivirus checks the database file every time SavePoint reads or writes to it. Consider adding your SavePoint folder to your antivirus's exclusion list. Since SavePoint doesn't download files from the internet or execute suspicious code, the security risk is minimal, while the performance benefit can be significant for users with large databases.

📚 Built-in Help System

SavePoint includes comprehensive contextual help accessible from every major page via the Help button (? icon). This built-in documentation provides immediate guidance without requiring internet access or external documentation searches.

How to Access: Click the Help button (usually located in the top-right corner of each page) to open a modal window with tabbed help content specific to that page's features. Help modals typically contain 3-5 tabs organized by topic - Overview, Getting Started, feature-specific tabs, and Tips/Best Practices.

Content Coverage: Built-in help covers all major features with step-by-step instructions, practical examples, and troubleshooting guidance. Complex features like FIRE Planning and Monte Carlo simulations include detailed workflows walking you through each step of setup and usage. Help content updates with each SavePoint version, ensuring documentation always matches your installed features.

When to Use Built-in Help vs. This Web Documentation: Use built-in help for quick task-specific guidance while working in SavePoint - "How do I create a budget?" or "How do I import transactions?" Use this web documentation for comprehensive feature understanding, comparing features before purchase, or troubleshooting complex issues requiring detailed explanations.

🆘 Support Channels

• Video Tutorials: Visit our support page to access comprehensive video guides covering setup, features, and workflows. Our video library includes step-by-step tutorials for getting started, budget creation, transaction management, and advanced features like FIRE planning and multi-currency support
• Email Support: Contact our support team directly through the contact form on our website at savepointfinance.com. Our team responds to technical questions, feature requests, bug reports, and general inquiries. Please include relevant details such as your operating system, SavePoint version, and steps to reproduce any issues
• Discord Community: Join our Discord server for real-time community support, tips and tricks from other users, feature discussions, and direct access to the SavePoint team. Our Discord community is active with users sharing workflows, templates, and best practices for financial management
• Website Resources: Visit savepointfinance.com for the latest updates, release notes, feature announcements, and downloadable resources including user guides and quick reference sheets