Interpret the budget shortfall chart

Tip: For easier reading, click    (above).

This graph shows the years in which you'll need to reduce your discretionary spending in order to afford your scheduled savings contributions.

There may be some years in which you will have difficulty saving the amount you specified in the Savings & Investments place. This might be due to unusual expenses, such as paying for your child's college tuition. It's also possible that the numbers you've entered don't quite add up. (Don't worry ù many of the numbers in your plan are estimates.) For example, this would be the case if you take your income, then subtract taxes, loan payments, and savings contributions, and there isn't quite enough money left to cover your living expenses.

If there are years in which the Lifetime Planner knows you're trying to save money but you don't have quite enough, it assumes you are committed to your savings plan and reduces your discretionary living expenses. To change the percentage of your living expenses you'd be willing to cut in those years, click Options on Money's Tools menu, and then click the Planner tab.

If there are just a few years in which reductions in living expenses occur, or the magnitude of the reductions is small, don't fret. You'll probably be able to spend close to the amount you've planned for your expenses and still meet your savings contribution amounts.

If there are many years in which reductions in living expenses occur, or the magnitude of the reductions is large, your savings plan may be unrealistic.

You can adjust your planned living expenses in the Expenses place (in the Lifetime Planner). To reduce your planned savings contributions, go to the Savings & Investments place (in the Lifetime Planner).

How do I change a savings contribution?