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The basics
A future $100,000 may buy less than $100,000 buys today. Today’s-money mode discounts each finished future-year amount so values across distant years are easier to compare in purchasing-power terms.
Illustrative numbers
A purchasing-power translation
Future amount$100,000 in year 11
Inflation assumption3%
Today’s-money valueabout $74,400
The same settled plan row is displayed at a lower purchasing-power value. No income, tax, contribution, or withdrawal is recalculated.
Calculation transparency
How it works in MoneyWhatIf
- 01
The annual engine first settles every year in nominal future dollars.
- 02
The chart then divides all displayed fields for that row by the same cumulative plan-inflation factor.
- 03
Toggling the control changes chart labels, bars, lines, and details consistently; it does not create another forecast.
Keep in mind
Model limits
One general inflation assumption cannot capture different personal inflation rates for housing, healthcare, education, or a specific spending basket.
Today’s money is not a market-return adjustment and does not remove investment risk.
Comparisons should stay in one dollar basis—do not mix a today’s-money chart with nominal input values without translating them.
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.