I have been using Boldin for a year. The problem is with Scenarios. When you create a new scenario certain line items automatically transfer to the new scenario. Asset/savings accounts automatically transfer. The only way to add or subtract an asset is to enter it and print. Then go back recenter the original number so you can compare. You can not have different asset scenarios. This sucks
Great comparison! Thanks. I have used Boldin for several years, and I am pretty happy with it. Before that, I had used my own spreadsheet. I still use my spreadsheet, but in my mind, Boldin is now primary, and the spreadsheet secondary. I had looked at Projection Lab a few years ago, but I did not have time to make a fair comparison before my free trial timed out. At the time, Boldin (then New Retirement) and my spreadsheet agreed pretty well, but I had not gotten far enough with PL to get a good agreement. I liked the concept of milestones that PL uses. I also like the feature you showed that Projection Lab can track historical Net Worth. I maintain my own spreadsheet for that, but it would be nice to have it in the same software. I would like to see you compare plans in each, developed from scratch with the same data. I assume that there are somewhat-hidden assumptions in each program that will make exact comparison hard. One thing I would like to see in each, is how to check that I am actually following the plan. For example, I have modeled some Roth conversions and money flows that work in the model, but I can forget to do them in real life, or use slightly different numbers. This may sound silly, but because Boldin is forward looking, it can be easy to forget to make money flows that are now in the past on the model. Thanks for the review.
Hi, thanks for the input. My initial plan was to build an identical plan in each from scratch to see how they compared. But this was going to be too tedious, so I kept my existing Boldin plan from a previous review and put some basic information into ProjectionLab. Both handle the projection functionality very well, and the inputs are nearly endless. So, in this video, I decided to make it side-by-side, trying to point out significant differences. Most people don't need both like I have. Pick one and go with it. I am using the Progress tracker on PL for personal use, and it's making up for my frustrations with Empower.
I just spent a couple of hours exploring PL. I find it severely lacking in it's Social Security handling. From what I can tell it's a totally manual endeavor for something as complex as social security when you get into filing dates, survivor benefits etc.
PL is a more bootstrapped software that is not as mature as Boldin. Hopefully they build out more SS features in the future. Here's a link to the software change map: changemap.co/projectifi/projectifi/
big fan of ProjectionLab, great to see it get some attention here!
It's a great tool, no doubt about it. They're just getting started.
Appreciate the video. This review is what I needed as I prepare to do my DIY retirement planning for 2025 and beyond.
Thanks, I'm glad you found it useful.
Thanks for the video! Does ProjectionLab do as good of a job with Roth covnersion modeling as Boldin?
I have not used it to model Roth Conversions. But ProjectionLab does have a way to model them. projectionlab.com/help/roth-conversion
I have been using Boldin for a year. The problem is with Scenarios. When you create a new scenario certain line items automatically transfer to the new scenario. Asset/savings accounts automatically transfer. The only way to add or subtract an asset is to enter it and print. Then go back recenter the original number so you can compare. You can not have different asset scenarios. This sucks
For any account you can toggle the exclude from withdrawal strategies to prevent it from using the money in the plan computations.
Projection Lab is good for Canadians. Boldin hasn't bothered with us.
This is a key distinction. Thanks for sharing. Canadians often left out of U.S. fintech products, but usually due to some kind of regulation.
Great comparison! Thanks. I have used Boldin for several years, and I am pretty happy with it. Before that, I had used my own spreadsheet. I still use my spreadsheet, but in my mind, Boldin is now primary, and the spreadsheet secondary. I had looked at Projection Lab a few years ago, but I did not have time to make a fair comparison before my free trial timed out. At the time, Boldin (then New Retirement) and my spreadsheet agreed pretty well, but I had not gotten far enough with PL to get a good agreement. I liked the concept of milestones that PL uses. I also like the feature you showed that Projection Lab can track historical Net Worth. I maintain my own spreadsheet for that, but it would be nice to have it in the same software. I would like to see you compare plans in each, developed from scratch with the same data. I assume that there are somewhat-hidden assumptions in each program that will make exact comparison hard. One thing I would like to see in each, is how to check that I am actually following the plan. For example, I have modeled some Roth conversions and money flows that work in the model, but I can forget to do them in real life, or use slightly different numbers. This may sound silly, but because Boldin is forward looking, it can be easy to forget to make money flows that are now in the past on the model. Thanks for the review.
Hi, thanks for the input. My initial plan was to build an identical plan in each from scratch to see how they compared. But this was going to be too tedious, so I kept my existing Boldin plan from a previous review and put some basic information into ProjectionLab. Both handle the projection functionality very well, and the inputs are nearly endless. So, in this video, I decided to make it side-by-side, trying to point out significant differences. Most people don't need both like I have. Pick one and go with it. I am using the Progress tracker on PL for personal use, and it's making up for my frustrations with Empower.
I just spent a couple of hours exploring PL. I find it severely lacking in it's Social Security handling. From what I can tell it's a totally manual endeavor for something as complex as social security when you get into filing dates, survivor benefits etc.
PL is a more bootstrapped software that is not as mature as Boldin. Hopefully they build out more SS features in the future. Here's a link to the software change map: changemap.co/projectifi/projectifi/
I feel he is pushing projection labs more than boldin just my opinion