Create a baseline

A baseline is the scenario that represents the household plan you want to treat as the reference point. It will usually describe your current position, but it can also describe the expected position at the start of a decision you are evaluating.

The baseline does not need to be a perfect financial inventory. It should contain the assumptions that materially affect the period you want to project, using estimates that are realistic enough to make later comparisons useful.

• Starting cash, such as the checking and savings funds available when the projection begins.
• Usable take-home income for each household income source.
• Predictable bills, with their amounts, recurrence schedules, and relevant dates.
• Monthly estimates for flexible or grouped Living Costs.
• Positive or negative one-time events that belong in the period being modeled.
• A projection length that covers the decision or transition you want to understand.

1. 1

   Describe the current plan

   Choose a clear name, enter starting cash, and select the number of months to project.

2. 2

   Add take-home income

   Enter each source separately so changes to one source remain easy to understand later.

3. 3

   Add Bills and Living Costs

   Keep predictable obligations separate from flexible monthly estimates and check for overlap.

4. 4

   Review the first projection

   Check the starting cash, typical inflows and outflows, and projected ending cash for obvious omissions.

New accounts are guided through these steps during onboarding. The completed onboarding scenario becomes the household's initial baseline and can be edited afterward.

Update the baseline when a lasting assumption changes: a new take-home pay amount, a refinanced loan, a material change in household spending, or a different starting cash position. Short-lived possibilities usually belong in a copied what-if scenario instead.

Revisit dates as well as amounts. A correct value with an outdated start or end date can make the projection include it in the wrong calendar months.

A comparison is easiest to interpret when its reference is trustworthy. An accurate baseline lets you see which changes come from the decision being tested rather than from missing or stale household assumptions.