Show HN: Fortunately – Understand the tradeoffs of financial decisions
I’m Gerad, CTO of Fortunately. I started Fortunately to help families with personal finance decisions. There’s tons of great (and bad) financial advice out there. And I knew which was which – I studied economics at Stanford and worked in finance.<p>But I struggled to put my knowledge into practice because it was too general: I knew I shouldn’t leave money in cash, but what about the down payment for my house? I knew I should save for retirement, but how much? I knew I should be saving for my kids’ college in a 529, but how much should I contribute this year? I knew I shouldn’t pay a financial advisor, but how do you answer these questions without one?<p>Eventually I met Seth, a former actuary who studied economics and math at Yale. He was using simulations to determine whether he’d be better off with an interest-only mortgage or a traditional 30 yr fixed one. We realized that we could use that same approach to provide people with better insight on all sorts of personal finance decisions.<p>Fortunately is the first tool that really helps people understand the tradeoffs between the major financial decisions in their lives. For example, we help families understand how a bigger mortgage might impact their retirement plans, how much to save in a 401k vs a 529, and how an upcoming purchase should impact asset allocation. We evaluate everything using best-in-class simulations that we license from the same data providers that supply hedge funds and the insurance industry.<p>Fortunately is free to use to get a financial plan that helps you understand how to save to hit your goals. Eventually, we’re planning on charging a low monthly fee (not a % of assets) to automatically manage your investments.<p>We’d love to hear your feedback.