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The basics
A life milestone asks when a condition first becomes true: reaching a net-worth target, paying off a loan, or turning a chosen age. Add it in Life milestones in the plan settings.
A milestone can be a marker you watch, or a date another part of the plan follows. Choosing it as a start or end date makes that event move when the milestone moves.
Illustrative numbers
Retirement after a loan is cleared
MilestoneMortgage balance at most $0
Retirement dateThis milestone
ChangeMake extra mortgage payments
If the modeled payoff moves earlier, the retirement date can move with it. Recheck the forecast because stopping work also changes how much money is available.
Calculation transparency
How it works in MoneyWhatIf
- 01
Criteria can use ages, calendar years, household figures, or a named account or debt. Thresholds can use today’s dollars, future dollars, or a multiple of another figure.
- 02
A multiple of annual spending or another annual measure uses a recent three-year average, so a single unusual year does not determine the threshold by itself.
- 03
A marker with no dependent dates does not change the financial result. A milestone used to date an entry does, and the plan resolves those dependencies as part of projecting.
- 04
Review dimmed or unreached milestones before relying on their dates. Removing a milestone preserves the last resolved date on entries that used it, making those dates fixed again.
Keep in mind
Model limits
Milestones are evaluated on the model’s annual forecast, not live account prices.
A condition affected by the event it triggers can produce a circular dependency. Review the resolved year and the resulting plan rather than assuming the target is guaranteed.
This explanation documents the planning model. It is educational, not individualized tax, legal, Medicare, or investment advice.
Where it appears
Where to use it
See this concept in context, with a guide to each page and its controls.
The words behind it
Related financial terms
Plain-English definitions, with 2026 figures and worked examples, from the financial terms glossary.