Try the calculator, no sign-up
Make work optional.
Not retirement. Not FIRE. See the date when work becomes a choice — and play with what happens after. Try it in the panel, no sign-up needed.
10%
Funded — eligible portfolio
Years to Optional
OPTIONAL — SEP 2049
What if you did something different?
Assumes a 7% average real return (after inflation) and a 4% withdrawal rate — adjustable inside.
Point at any of these.
See what it does to your Optional Date.
$25k bonus into brokerage
4 mo sooner
Sell the rental (+$180k)
12 mo sooner
Downsize the house (+$120k)
8 mo sooner
Inheritance ($50k → 401k)
6 mo sooner
Extra $500/mo forever
2.5 yr sooner
Max the 401(k) match
18 mo sooner
Refinance saves $200/mo
10 mo sooner
Cut $150/mo of subscriptions
6 mo sooner
HSA maxed every year
14 mo sooner
Side income $1k/mo
2 yr sooner
Roth conversion at low bracket
tax-optimized
Employer stock sale ($40k)
9 mo sooner
$25k bonus into brokerage
4 mo sooner
Sell the rental (+$180k)
12 mo sooner
Downsize the house (+$120k)
8 mo sooner
Inheritance ($50k → 401k)
6 mo sooner
Extra $500/mo forever
2.5 yr sooner
Max the 401(k) match
18 mo sooner
Refinance saves $200/mo
10 mo sooner
Cut $150/mo of subscriptions
6 mo sooner
HSA maxed every year
14 mo sooner
Side income $1k/mo
2 yr sooner
Roth conversion at low bracket
tax-optimized
Employer stock sale ($40k)
9 mo sooner
1-year sabbatical starting now
14 mo later
Part-time 50% for 3 years
32 mo later
6-month layoff, weathered
5 mo later
Career switch, year off
18 mo later
Move to a HCOL city (+$1k/mo)
8 mo later
Nonprofit job, $20k paycut
3 yr later
New car ($400/mo payment)
11 mo later
Grad school ($30k tuition)
6 mo later
Kid arrives (+$800/mo)
18 mo later
Support parents (+$500/mo)
14 mo later
Health-crisis fund ($50k)
10 mo later
Take a whole year off at 45
16 mo later
1-year sabbatical starting now
14 mo later
Part-time 50% for 3 years
32 mo later
6-month layoff, weathered
5 mo later
Career switch, year off
18 mo later
Move to a HCOL city (+$1k/mo)
8 mo later
Nonprofit job, $20k paycut
3 yr later
New car ($400/mo payment)
11 mo later
Grad school ($30k tuition)
6 mo later
Kid arrives (+$800/mo)
18 mo later
Support parents (+$500/mo)
14 mo later
Health-crisis fund ($50k)
10 mo later
Take a whole year off at 45
16 mo later
Every one of these is a saveable scenario in the Lab
The instrument panel, not the playbook
This isn’t the retirement you were sold.
Privacy, by design
You enter the numbers. That’s the whole system.
- No brokerage credentials required, ever.
- No bank passwords required, ever.
- Enter only the information you choose.
- Projections are based on what you tell us — nothing more.
Project Optional provides educational projections, not financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. Actual outcomes may differ materially from modeled results. See how the math works.
What’s included
One membership. Every part of the app.
- ✓Your real Optional Date, recalculated every visit
- ✓Your plan, saved — pick up exactly where you left off
- ✓The full scenario library (sabbatical, layoff, part-time, sell the house, more)
- ✓Any number of lump sums — bonuses, sales, inheritances
- ✓Unlimited investment accounts
- ✓Life-after-Optional projections and drawdown modeling
- ✓Named saved scenarios you can re-run as your numbers change
- ✓Every feature we ship after you join
No free tier — a small team can’t sustainably support one, and this app is small on purpose. Try the calculator above without signing up. Sign up when you want to save it.
Pricing
Cheaper than the stress it replaces.
Founding member
$79/yr
Rate locked while subscribed
- ✓Founder badge with your number (#001–#100)
- ✓$79/year — rate never increases as long as you're subscribed (cancel any time)
- ✓2× vote weight on the Roadmap
- ✓A direct line to the founder for questions and suggestions
- ✓Founding pricing on future Competitive Bearings apps
First 100 members. Founding rate ends 90 days after launch.
Become a FounderCancel any time. Monthly and annual plans can be cancelled from your profile whenever you want — access continues through the end of the billing period you’ve already paid for.