I've entered my regular assets and they are showing up correctly on the "Inputs and Assumptions" page. However, on the net worth and Regular Assets reports (under "Suggestions") they are shown as being 28% lower. This is cascading into the total net worth calculation, resulting in a lower number than actual as well.

Please advise!

Regular assets include cash, money market, mutual funds, etc. It appears that all regular assets are lumped together when implementing (selecting) a portfolio in monte carlo mode. Obviously, each of these asset classes have different rates of return. Are these classes treated differently? If not, how can I better segregate these classes?

I am wondering how the Nominal Assets Income figure on the Federal Taxes Report is calculated.

Our Regular Assets portfolio as input into the Monte Carlo data entry screen consists of about 50% cash and CDs, 21% large cap stock mutual funds, and 29% state specific muni bond mutual funds (although I chose Long Term Government Bonds as the portfolio component).

In the Economic Assumptions/Taxes screen, I input the 29% share for the tax free muni funds.

Your reports are clear about the annuity/ social security and retirement fund withdrawals, but I don't see where the annual withdrawals from regular assets is stated. In my report the (savings) from the Regular Assets report is not equal to this number. I have to calculate it manually (total expenses + taxes - non-asset income - retirement withdrawal). I have already entered retirement. Am I missing something?? Thanks, C-

I've been using ESPlus for almost 2 years and I have a question concerning how one should periodically update the program with actual asset performance.

Does the regular assets income column of the total income report include unrealized growth of assets (such as increase in a stock or fund price), or only interest and dividends generated by the asset?

It has been my experience that you don't get the same interest rate for borrowing versus saving - hence banks make money. Does ESPlanner use the same interest rate for negative regular assets (i.e. borrowing money) and positive regular assets (i.e. money in a bank account)? Is this interest rate set by "Assumptions/Nominal RoR/Regular Assets"? If rate is the same for borrowing and saving, then how can I indicate/set a difference? If rate is not the same, explain how ESPlanner accounts for this and how I need to set inputs.

I'm new to the program, and I'm trying to understand how the Regular Asset Income column is calculated in the Total Income Report.

The report is generating a sizeable negative number every year even though the Current Savings Report shows the correct positive income on regular assets for this year. What's also puzzling is that increasing or decreasing the nominal rate of return on regular assets does not seem to impact the numbers generated in the regular asset income column.

Thanks,
Lorena

I just purchased ESP and my wife and I are not clear on how the spend down is done.
1. Does the program tell you when and how much to take from Regular Assets and IRA in a given year? Our assets are are almost 50/50. Do you have to make the decisions Would you please explain? We have purchased the 199.00 program and it shows as a feature. Is there a report that breaks out amounts respectively?
thanks in advance

What are other ESPlanner users assuming for investment rates of return, annually, over the next 20-30 years?

This factor seems critical, at least in our case. So I'm very interested to hear what you're using. Many financial analysts today are saying that "it's a whole new ball game" (for a variety of reasons), i.e. you can no longer look at historic stock market returns, for example, to predict what we can earn from now on. Even 6% seems a bit optimistic given this new attitude.