Start with the question that matters to you

How much should I save for retirement? How quickly could I repay a debt? What would an emergency savings buffer look like for my household?

Financial questions rarely arrive one at a time. Yet finding a useful starting point can mean moving between different websites, calculators and planning resources.

The GMFSI Financial Planning Toolkit brings 12 interactive planning questions into one convenient place. You can explore different priorities without opening a separate page for every calculation.

Choose a life stage or planning focus, then select a question. Replace the sample figures with your own, review the assumptions and calculate an illustrative estimate. You do not need to review every part of your financial life at once.

What would you like to explore?

You can move between questions as your priorities change, or choose “Explore every topic” to see all 12 questions.

A practical example: your emergency savings buffer

Suppose your household’s essential expenses are CAD $3,000 per month, and you choose to explore a buffer covering four months.

Your preferred buffer may differ according to income stability, family responsibilities and other available resources.

Explore your emergency savings estimate →

Understand the assumptions behind the number

A useful estimate should help you understand how it was calculated. The toolkit separates its disclosures into three areas:

1. User-entered assumptions: The figures, rates and timelines used.
2. Fixed model assumptions: How contributions, payments, withdrawals and other calculations are handled.
3. Excluded factors: Important considerations the calculation does not include.

For example, investment projections use constant returns. Actual markets fluctuate, and the order of gains and losses can affect retirement withdrawals. Retirement income estimates are simplified drawdown calculations, not guaranteed income or a determination of a safe withdrawal rate.

Canadian taxes, CPP and OAS entitlements, RESP grants, and registered-account limits are not automatically calculated. Other income is included only where you explicitly enter it in an applicable field.

Currency selection changes the labels displayed; it does not convert the amounts. Insurance results are illustrative funding gaps, not policy recommendations or quotes.

These details help you interpret the estimate and identify what needs further review.

Change one assumption and explore again

Your first result does not have to be your last. Try a different monthly saving amount, a later goal date or a lower assumed investment return. Recalculate and consider how the result changes.

This can help you identify which choices and assumptions influence the modeled outcome. It can also reveal useful questions for a planning conversation.

Save your estimate for the next step

Download a text summary or print a summary or full report, which your browser can save as a PDF. Keeping the inputs and assumptions alongside the result gives you something practical to revisit or bring to a meeting.