You don't need millions to use the rules the wealthy already use — you need someone to finally explain them. Five honest, interactive decisions: no jargon, no sales pitch, no login. Your numbers never leave this page.
Wall Street sells you "more." The honest question is "enough." The point of money was never the biggest pile — it's the life you actually want. Name what that life costs, and we'll work backward to the portfolio it really takes. Most people are closer than anyone ever told them.
There's a bracket where long-term capital gains are taxed at 0% federally — and it's far bigger than most people think. In a low-income year you can sell winners, owe nothing federal on the gain, and reset your cost basis higher for free. Nobody markets this because nobody earns a fee on it. Move the sliders and watch your window.
The same $10,000 gain can cost you thousands now, something later, or nothing at all — decided not by what you bought, but by which of three buckets it sits in. Most people obsess over the pick and never think about the bucket.
Every dividend, interest payment, or sale is taxed the year it happens (you get a 1099). But it's the only account that gets the step-up in basis at death — heirs can inherit the gains tax-free.
Best for: the 0% harvest above, and positions you plan to hold for life.
Run the 0% harvest on this bucket ↑ Tax laterYou contribute pre-tax and grow untaxed — but every dollar you withdraw is taxed as ordinary income. No step-up in basis. Your heirs pay tax too.
Best for: shrinking today's tax bill while you're working and high-income.
See what withdrawals mean for spending ↓ Tax neverYou contribute after-tax, and then it's done — growth and withdrawals are never taxed again. Selling inside a Roth triggers zero capital gains tax, ever.
Best for: your highest-growth bets — and the safest place to run a trailing stop.
Set a tax-free floor here →You're up big and nervous about a pullback. Wall Street's answer is always "stay the course" — it earns fees either way. The honest answer hangs on three things almost no one weighs together: the account, your stomach, and the tax year. Answer honestly; the plan updates instantly.
1 · Which account is the position in?
2 · Could you calmly hold through a 30% drop without selling in a panic?
3 · Are these gains huge and this a low-income year?
There's the spending your portfolio could support — and the spending retirees like you actually do. The gap between those two numbers is enormous, and seeing yours is one of the most freeing moments in personal finance. Set your numbers and look at both lines.
Every number on this page assumes the market doesn't take it back at the worst moment. The best investor alive spent an hour warning that the biggest bubble in history won't ring a bell at the top — and no advisor will tell you to protect yourself, because it's bad for their business. A defined exit rule is the one thing that decides for you when you can't.
See the case for a rule →