Paths and Proofs
A small family of calculators for a few big, hard-to-reverse money choices — when to start Social Security, whether to convert to a Roth, whether to rent or buy. Each one finds your tipping point — the breakeven, where waiting or acting starts to pay off.
Why one site. These tools share an engine, so the same method — and the same show-your-work transparency — carries across all of them. The idea is to earn your trust on one decision and keep it on the next, not to be a wall of features. So this page is honest about what's finished and what isn't.
Each mark shows the tool's state: a resolved crossover for what's live, lines still approaching for what's in testing, faint lines for what's planned.
When each spouse should start benefits. Models survivor and spousal benefits and shows the age past which waiting pays off — with every rule linked to its source at the Social Security Administration.
Whether to move money from a traditional retirement account — an IRA or 401(k) — into a Roth, paying the tax now so it grows tax-free. It models the things that quietly change the answer: how the move affects the tax on your Social Security, your Medicare costs, and how long each spouse is likely to live. It has its own look, built before the others, and now lives alongside them.
How many years you'd need to stay for buying to overtake renting. Built and working, still basic — getting the same depth and testing as the others before it's called done.
Medicare: Medigap vs Medicare Advantage
plannedThe coverage choice at 65, genuinely underserved by honest tools. The next one I most want to build.
College return on investment
plannedWhen a degree's cost pays itself back. The clearest way to widen the family beyond retirement decisions.
I'm an independent developer, and I build these one at a time — and don't ship one until it's honest. No accounts, no ads, nothing sold. Each calculator runs entirely in your browser, so your numbers never leave your device, and shows its work, with every rule linked to its source so you can check it yourself.
I also built “In case I'm not there” — a private, offline tool for leaving your family the information they'd need if something happened to you. It's not a calculator, so it lives on its own — have a look if that's useful.