What Information You'll Need Before Getting Started

Getting started with ProjectionLab is faster and more accurate when you have some numbers on hand. Here are some tips on what to collect and where to find it.

What to Gather

• Birth month and year – for you and your spouse, if applicable.
• Location – the state or country you live in, for tax estimates.
• Account balances by account type – checking, savings, taxable brokerage, 401(k), IRA, HSA, and any other accounts, each with its current balance.
• Cost basis – for taxable investment accounts, what you originally paid for the holdings.
• Contribution basis – for Roth-type accounts only, the total amount you’ve contributed.
• Debts – balances and interest rates for each loan, credit card, or mortgage.
• Income – salary, side income, or other regular income amounts.
• Average monthly spending – an estimate is great to start, you can adjust this later if you need to.

Where to Find Each Number

• Account balances and cost basis: your brokerage or bank statements, or the account dashboard itself.
• Roth contributions: transaction records of your contributions, or your tax returns. If you’re unsure or can’t find records, use $0 to start.
• Income: your most recent pay stub.
• Debts: your loan servicer’s website or statement for the balance and rate.
• Social Security estimate: your Social Security statement at ssa.gov.

What Can Wait

You don’t need every number exact on your first pass. Approximate balances and estimated spending are enough to get a working plan – you can refine them later at any time.

What You Can’t Update Later

When you add a balance, you assign it to an account type (e.g. Taxable, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA), and that choice determines how ProjectionLab taxes it going forward. Unlike a balance or growth rate, the account type isn’t something you can casually change after the fact – pick the type that matches the real account before you move on.