{"id":107,"date":"2015-02-01T10:16:45","date_gmt":"2015-02-01T10:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/evolvemyretirement.com\/blog\/?p=107"},"modified":"2026-06-13T16:18:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T15:18:40","slug":"welcome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/evolvemyretirement.com\/blog\/welcome\/","title":{"rendered":"Company Introduction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My name is Nick May. I have a background in IT. I’ve architected and developed mission-critical systems for big companies. Much of my career has been with financial applications, like banking, accountancy, insurance and trading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until a few years ago, I\u2019d never analysed whether I was saving too little, too much or just enough, whatever that means. I\u2019d always been reasonably thrifty, investing a fair amount each month into a personal pension plan. But I had no real idea when I would retire. My main reason for paying into my pension plan was simply to reduce my tax bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plan 1: A Speadsheet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Eventually I decided to do my own cash flow planning using an Excel spreadsheet. I wanted to estimate how much I might be able to spend on the good things in life, things like holidays and meals out. I also wanted understand whether my discretionary spending might remain similar after retirement. My spreadsheet started simple, but gradually grew more complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some things kept bothering me. Were my assumptions reasonable? What if there was a market crash? What assumptions could I make for life expectancy? I started researching these issues, and gradually improved my spreadsheet. But there were limits. It was hard for me to be sure that my spreadsheet\u2019s predictions were reasonable. Also, whenever I needed to change numbers in the spreadsheet due to changes in my circumstances, it was tedious. I had to juggle\u00a0my levels of saving, investment and spending to try and achieve a satisfactory outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plan 2: A Calculator Program<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I decided that what I needed was a calculator program that had:<\/p>\n\n\n\n