Plotting Your Wealth Curve From After-Tax Pay and Savings Rate
Two people can earn the same salary and end up in very different places financially — the real driver of wealth isn't how much you earn, it's how much you consistently save and invest. No matter how high your gross salary is, the money that actually lands in your account is your after-tax pay, so any realistic savings plan should start from that take-home figure.
This simulator takes your after-tax salary and savings rate to work out how much you can save each month, then projects what that amount grows to if invested consistently at your expected annual return, compounding over 10, 20, and 30 years. The table makes it easy to see how compounding accelerates over longer time horizons and higher returns, giving you a feel for how much you'd need to raise your savings rate to hit a given target.
This simulation is a simplified estimate that assumes your after-tax salary, savings rate, and return stay constant the whole time. In reality, raises, changing savings habits, and market swings will all affect the outcome, so it's worth revisiting the numbers periodically. It's also worth watching how, early on, your contributions make up most of the total — but the longer you go, the more investment gains start to outpace your own contributions, which is the power of compounding in action.
Frequently Asked Questions
The money you can actually save comes from your take-home pay after taxes and payroll deductions, so entering after-tax salary rather than gross salary gives a more accurate savings projection.
No. This is a simplified model that assumes your after-tax salary and savings rate stay constant throughout the simulation. Since real income and savings habits change over time, it's worth updating your inputs periodically and re-running the projection.
Safe assets like savings accounts or CDs often use 3-4% annually, while stock funds or ETFs commonly use a long-term average of 6-8%. Actual returns vary year to year, so treat this as an assumption, not a guarantee.