I didn't learn finance in school, or from books, or from someone wiser taking me aside. I learned it while trying to plan my own future and realizing I had no idea what numbers to trust. I could write code, debug applications, and automate half my life — yet the one thing that controlled my future felt like a black box.

So I did the only thing that made sense to me.

I opened a blank TypeScript file.

Building a retirement calculator wasn't an act of mastery. It was me trying to understand the thing I avoided for too long. Not with spreadsheets, but with loops, functions, and math I could prove to myself.

That project became Common Cents Academy.

For most of my twenties and early thirties, money was something I earned and then disappeared. I made plenty, spent plenty, and told myself I'd worry about the future later. Later showed up faster than I expected.

When I finally tried to plan seriously, I hit a wall:

Most calculators told me what I'd have someday, not what I'd need to do today.

I wanted to ask real questions:

• •How much do I need to save monthly to reach my target retirement number?
• •What happens if my returns fall 2% lower than expected?
• •How fast should I shift from stocks to bonds as I age?

No tool gave me those answers.

So I built one that does.

Turning financial concepts into code made everything click. Returns weren't abstract anymore. They became something I could simulate. Risk wasn't a warning, it was a variable. Compound interest wasn't magic, it was a loop I could step through.

Here's a real excerpt from my core logic:

// Retirement projection using adjustable return assumptions
for (let year = 1; year <= years; year++) {
  const contribution = monthlyContribution * 12;
  const returnRate =
    typeof settings.rate === "function"
      ? settings.rate(year, balance)
      : settings.rate;

  balance = balance * (1 + returnRate) + contribution;
  history.push({ year, balance, returnRate });
}

That single loop taught me more than any article ever did.

You watch contributions stack. You watch growth accelerate. You watch how small delays hurt.

Seeing the math run changed my relationship with money permanently.

One of the features I'm proud of is dynamic allocation. The idea that your stock/bond mix should gradually shift as retirement approaches. Early on, growth matters. Later, preservation matters more.

From my repo:

const allocation = settings.glidepath
  ? settings.glidepath(currentAge + year)
  : { stocks: 0.8, bonds: 0.2 };

const stockReturn = randomizeReturn(allocation.stocks * stockMarketRate);
const bondReturn = randomizeReturn(allocation.bonds * bondMarketRate);
const growth = balance * (stockReturn + bondReturn);
balance += growth + monthlyContribution * 12;

Watching those curves change over time taught me more than reading words like "risk tolerance" ever could. This wasn't theory anymore. It was behavior over decades.

And I finally understood why starting early matters so much.

It's not just a calculator. It's a toolkit for people like me. People who want clarity without feeling stupid or overwhelmed.

Free to use. No account required. No gatekeeping. Core calculations will stay open source. The platform itself will remain free for the planning tools.

Premium AI features may come later, but understanding your retirement plan won't ever require a paywall.

Because I built this for the version of me who needed it.

Common Cents Academy is growing, and I'm building toward:

• •Inflation-adjusted projections
• •Social Security + pension modeling
• •Roth vs Traditional tax scenarios
• •"What if?" sliders & comparison graphs
• •Optional AI guidance for people who want hand holding (like myself)

But the core will remain simple:

I used to avoid thinking about retirement.

Now I write simulations about it.

Not because I'm a financial expert, but because I became one through code. Line by line, projection by projection, understanding by understanding.

Common Cents Academy isn't just a tool.

It's proof that confusion can become clarity if you're willing to build your way through it.

Common Cents Academy — built for people who don't want to guess.