Economic Freedom Analysis and Juan's Path

The Economic Freedom Analysis, or EFA, is a projection tool that helps you answer one critical question: how long will your money last, and will you run out during retirement? The EFA works by modeling two phases. The first is the build phase, which happens before retirement. During this time, you save each year and your money may grow based on your investment growth rate. The second is the retirement phase. After you stop working full time, you begin spending every year, and your savings start declining. Three forces heavily affect whether you run out of money. First is the money you save each year, which is your savings growth rate. Second is the investment growth rate, which measures how fast your investments grow on average. Third is inflation, the rising prices over time that quietly reduce your purchasing power and can shorten how long your money lasts. This is why inflation is called the silent thief. The goal of the EFA is not to predict the future. It is to learn which levers matter most and which levers you can realistically control, so you can design a plan that avoids running out of money later in life.