The True Cost Engine
● Live Calc
Tool 01 / 30 — Lifetime Financial Impact

Find out exactly how much
wealth your decisions
are delaying.

Enter any habit, purchase, or debt. WealthDelay shows the exact future wealth destroyed, retirement months lost, and life-hours traded — to the dollar, adjusted for inflation.

$0–$80
Finance AdSense RPM
7 Metrics
Per calculation
100% Static
No backend · No login
Google AdSense — 728×90 Leaderboard — Finance Niche ($15–50 RPM)
// Input Parameters
Real-time
Habit
Purchase
Debt
Invest
The Decision
Your Profile
Used to calculate life-hours equivalent
Market Assumptions
S&P 500 historical real return ≈ 7%
4% rule = 25× annual spend. Adjust to your goal.
// Total Wealth Destroyed by This Decision
$0
— real opportunity cost over your investing horizon
Adjust inputs to see your personalized impact.
Inflation-Adj Cost
$0
today's purchasing power
Retire Delayed
0 mo
extra months of work
Life-Hours Cost
0 hrs
at your wage rate
⬡ Behavioral Economics Framing
Enter your decision above to receive your behavioral impact analysis.
// Wealth Trajectory
If Invested
Cash Spent
// Full Breakdown
Total cash spent (nominal)
—
Opportunity cost (future value if invested)
—
Real value today (inflation-adjusted)
—
Months of financial delay
—
Life-hours consumed at wage
—
Daily opportunity cost
—
Break-even year (investment catches up)
—
Google AdSense — 336×280 Rectangle — ($20–60 RPM)
// Compounding Milestones
Investment Path

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the opportunity cost calculated?
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The opportunity cost uses the Future Value of an Annuity formula: FV = PMT × [((1 + r)^n − 1) / r] where PMT is your monthly spending, r is monthly return rate (annual ÷ 12), and n is the total months. This represents what your spending money would compound to if invested in a broad market index instead. For one-time purchases, we use the simpler FV = PV × (1 + r)^n.
What does inflation adjustment mean in practice?
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Nominal future value overstates purchasing power. We adjust with: Real FV = Nominal FV ÷ (1 + inflation)^years. At 3% inflation, $1 today becomes worth about $0.41 in 30 years. This means a nominally impressive $500,000 might only represent $206,000 of today's buying power. We show both so you understand the true magnitude.
How is the retirement delay calculated?
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We calculate years-to-target in two scenarios: with and without the spending habit. Using Years = log(Target ÷ Current) ÷ log(1 + r), the difference between those two scenarios gives you the retirement delay. Intuitively: the habit both costs you money directly and reduces the compounding base that would otherwise get you to your target faster.
Is a 7% annual return realistic?
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The S&P 500 has returned approximately 10% nominal and ~7% inflation-adjusted annually over the past century. Individual results vary enormously based on market timing, asset allocation, fees, and behavior. 7% is a standard assumption in financial planning literature — conservative by historical standards, but not guaranteed. Always use a range of scenarios.
Does this tool store any of my data?
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No. All calculations run entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Nothing is transmitted to any server. No cookies are set by the calculator. No personal or financial information is retained in any way. You can verify this by running the tool offline.
What is the "life-hours equivalent" metric?
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This converts the total opportunity cost (what the money would have been worth if invested) into hours of work at your specified wage. The framing is deliberately confrontational: every spending decision is ultimately a trade of irreplaceable time for consumption. Hours = Opportunity Cost ÷ Hourly Wage. If your $5/day coffee habit destroys $180,000 of future wealth and you earn $35/hr, that's 5,143 hours — over 2 years of full-time work.
What is the 4% rule used in the retirement target?
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The Trinity Study found that retirees who withdraw 4% of their portfolio annually have historically sustained their portfolio for 30+ years. This means you need approximately 25× your annual expenses saved. If you spend $60,000/year, your target is $1,500,000. Set the retirement target slider accordingly — the delay calculation will recalibrate in real time.

The 30-Tool Portfolio Roadmap

Disclaimer: WealthDelay tools are for educational and informational purposes only. They do not constitute financial advice, tax advice, or investment recommendations. All projections are estimates based on user-provided assumptions and historical averages. Actual investment returns are not guaranteed and may differ materially from projections. Past market performance does not predict future results. Consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment, debt, or retirement decisions. Affiliate links marked as sponsored may result in compensation when clicked.