This report shows ESPlanner’s saving, consumption, and life insurance recommendations for the current year and compares these recommendations with your family’s actual (referred to as current) consumption, saving, and holdings of life insurance. This report only shows current year accounting and is not showing you the annual living standard over time, which is the most important piece of information provided. Annual living standard is revealed in the Annual Recommendations Report (described in the next section).

Using the Help drop down menu, you can choose Customize and enter global program settings. One of the most useful settings here is the ability to choose to begin calculations in a future year. The amount you enter for regular assets or retirement assets is assumed to be reflect your balances on Dec. 31 of the previous year. When you find yourself using ESPlanner late in a calendar year you may want to choose the next year. When you are entering regular asset balances and retirement asset balances, enter the balances as of the very end of the previous year or January 1 of the current year.