The Family Wealth Simulator is a free educational planning tool that shows you how much money your child's savings could grow to over time - based on how much you save each month, which country and investment vehicle you choose, and how long you invest.
It shows projections at three key milestones: when your child reaches college age (18), when you stop contributing (your chosen age), and the asset handover point at age 30.
You need five things to run a simulation:
Yes. Click "Add a child" to add as many children as you need. Each child has their own country, investment vehicle, savings amount, and contribution stop age. Each child also gets their own dedicated savings chart so currency differences never interfere with each other.
This lets you plan a future increase in your monthly savings. For example, if you currently save $200/month but expect to increase to $500/month from Year 5, set the base amount to $200 and add an additional contribution of $500 at Year 5. You can add multiple step-ups to reflect pay increases over time.
Yes. Parent 2 is entirely optional. Leave the Parent 2 fields blank and the simulator runs without them. The summary strip will only show Parent 1's retirement milestone. All child projections, charts, and tables work the same way.
Age 30 is the fixed handover point - the moment when the child is considered financially mature enough to take over managing the asset independently. Running projections beyond 30 would imply parents are still involved in decisions the child should be making themselves.
This also keeps the projections realistic. A parent contributing until a child is 40 defeats the purpose of the investment - the goal is to build a foundation the child eventually owns and manages.
This lets you tell the simulator when you will stop adding money each month. You choose an age between 18 and 25. After that age, your monthly contribution drops to zero - but the invested balance keeps compounding on its own all the way to age 30.
By age 25, most children who pursued higher education will have finished their degree - even in countries like Nigeria where university admission delays are common and students may not start until age 21-23. Contributing beyond 25 starts to blur the line between building a foundation for your child and funding an adult's ongoing expenses.
If you want to model contributions beyond 25, use the Custom Rate option and adjust your own scenario.
Because university completion age is not universal. In many countries - particularly Nigeria, Ghana, and other African nations - university admission is highly competitive. Students can spend 2-3 years attempting entry before gaining a place, meaning university might start at 21-23 and finish at 25-27.
Defaulting to 18 (secondary school completion in many countries) or 22 (a Western university completion assumption) would be wrong for a large portion of the tool's users. You know your child's situation best - you choose the age.
Each child's results show three milestone cards:
Each card shows the future account balance, what that is worth in today's money, the growth breakdown donut chart, and the access and withdrawal eligibility for your chosen vehicle.
Future Account Balance is the actual number you would see in your account - the raw cash value at that point in time.
Worth in Today's Money adjusts that figure for inflation to show what it is really worth in today's purchasing power. Because things cost more over time, a large future balance may buy less than it appears.
Growth after inflation (real return) tells you how much your money is actually growing in purchasing power after the cost of living is accounted for. Formula: (1 + investment growth rate) ÷ (1 + inflation rate) - 1
This is exactly why dollar-linked or equity vehicles are recommended in high-inflation countries - they grow faster than inflation.
The simulator uses monthly compound interest. Each month it multiplies your current balance by (1 + annual growth rate ÷ 12) to add that month's growth, then adds your monthly contribution. Contributions drop to zero after your chosen stop age but compounding continues. The "Worth in Today's Money" figure divides the future balance by cumulative inflation over the same period.
The donut chart shows the split between money you personally contributed and money that the investment grew through compounding. The coloured arc is compound growth. The grey arc is your contributions.
Each child has their own dedicated chart with three lines:
You will see the contribution line flatten at your chosen stop age - that is the point where you stop adding money and compound growth takes over completely. Key milestone ages are highlighted on the chart.
Each child has their own separate chart tab. This ensures different currencies never share the same scale and distort each other.
No lock-in period, no restrictions on when or why you can access your money. You can sell and withdraw the full balance at any time during normal market hours. Examples: S&P 500 index funds, UTMA custodial accounts, TFSA (Canada), ISK (Sweden), JSE ETFs (South Africa).
You can access the money but restrictions are attached. This could mean financial penalties for early withdrawal, lock-in periods, purpose restrictions (education only, home purchase only), or tax consequences. Always read the Access and Liquidity note on each milestone card for the full details of your specific vehicle.
Funds are legally locked and cannot be accessed until a specific age or qualifying life event. Examples: Superannuation in Australia (locked until preservation age 55-60), iDeCo in Japan (locked until age 60), AFORE in Mexico (locked until retirement at 65).
The simulator covers 30 countries across 6 continents:
Yes. Each child has their own independent country, currency, and investment vehicle. Each child also gets their own separate chart - so Nigeria's naira billions never crush US dollar values on the same scale. Switch between children using the tab above each chart.
Yes, mathematically correct - but context is everything. The simulator uses Nigeria's verified 10-year average inflation rate of 16.2% (2014-2024). The 2024 actual rate was 31.4% - significantly higher. The country info strip shows both figures so you can see the gap.
Jamaica (J$, 5.5% 10-yr avg inflation) has four vehicles:
No. All values are shown in each child's local currency. The tool does not convert or compare values across currencies - exchange rates change constantly over decades and modelling them would make projections less reliable. Each child's chart and table are completely independent.
Inflation is the rate at which the cost of goods and services increases over time. If inflation is 3% per year, something that costs $100 today costs $103 next year. For savings, this means money in a low-growth account gradually loses purchasing power even as the number grows.
All inflation rates are verified 10-year historical averages (2014-2024) from IMF and World Bank data via FocusEconomics and Macrobond.
Key verified rates: Nigeria 16.2%, Ghana 17.6%, Egypt 15.8%, Turkey 25.8%, Argentina 65%, Jamaica 5.5%.
A 10-year average is used because this tool models 20-30 year projections. Using a single recent year (e.g. Nigeria was 31.4% in 2024) would significantly overstate long-run inflation and produce misleading projections. The country information strip shows both the 10-year average being used AND the 2024 actual rate so you can see the difference.
Countries with 10-year average inflation above 15% (Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, Argentina, Turkey) show a red warning because the gap between nominal and real returns is so large that headline numbers can be seriously misleading without context. Even at the 10-year average rates, local currency purchasing power erodes quickly over 30 years.
Yes. In the inflation bar at the top of the simulator, switch from "Per-country average" to "Custom rate" and enter your own percentage. This applies your custom rate to all children. Use this to model higher recent inflation scenarios or test different assumptions.
No. This is an educational planning tool only. Nothing shown constitutes investment advice, financial planning advice, legal advice, or tax advice. The numbers are estimates based on historical averages - not personalised to your situation, risk tolerance, or tax position.
No. All projected values are estimates based on long-run historical averages. Actual returns will vary significantly from year to year. In any given year you could earn more or less than the historical average - or lose money entirely. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
No. Taxes on gains, dividends, interest, withdrawals, and contributions are not modelled. Tax treatment varies significantly by country, account type, and individual circumstances. Your actual after-tax returns will be lower than the numbers shown. Consult a tax professional in your country.
No. This simulator runs entirely in your browser. No data you enter is sent to any server, stored anywhere, or shared with any third party. All calculations happen locally on your device. Closing or refreshing the tab clears everything.
Educational use only. The Family Wealth Simulator is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a registered financial product, investment service, or advisory platform. Nothing in this tool constitutes investment advice, financial planning advice, legal advice, or tax advice.
No guarantee of accuracy. BeadsGuy LLC makes no warranty regarding the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or suitability of the information. Reliance on any information provided by this tool is solely at your own risk.
Investment risk. All investments carry risk, including the risk of losing some or all of your invested capital. Past performance does not indicate future results. Return rates used are long-run historical averages and are not predictions or guarantees.
No tax advice. Tax laws vary by jurisdiction and individual circumstances. Seek professional tax advice before making investment decisions.
No fiduciary duty. BeadsGuy LLC does not act as a fiduciary, investment advisor, broker-dealer, or financial planner. Use of this tool does not create any advisory relationship.
Jurisdictional variation. Investment rules, tax treatment, withdrawal conditions, and regulatory requirements vary by country, provider, and individual circumstances. Always verify with your local financial institution or a licensed advisor.
Limitation of liability. To the fullest extent permitted by law, BeadsGuy LLC shall not be liable for any loss or damage, direct or indirect, arising from use of or reliance on this simulator.