Investing
S&P 500 vs Investment Property (2026 Edition)
Index funds or a rental in 2026? We run the numbers on returns, leverage, taxes and cash flow with a $100K worked example and metro yield tables.
Investing
Investing calculators show what long-term investing math actually does to your money, for buy-and-hold investors and options traders. The Compound Interest Calculator is the foundation: a starting amount plus regular contributions, grown at an assumed return. Portfolio Growth extends it with contributions that can rise each year, Dollar-Cost Averaging shows a fixed amount invested on a schedule, and the Investment Goal Calculator inverts the question, finding the monthly investment that reaches a target by a date. Two tools cover options strategies: the Options Profit and Loss Calculator maps a single call or put position, its break-even, and its maximum profit and loss at expiry, and the Wheel Strategy Calculator estimates one full cycle of cash-secured puts and covered calls. Real estate deal analysis lives in its own Real Estate Investing category, and the Capital Gains Tax Calculator below estimates the tax when you sell a winner.
Calculators
Compound Interest See how an investment grows from a starting amount plus regular contributions, with an optional yearly contribution increase, in today's dollars and after tax. Options Profit and Loss Find a single option's profit or loss at expiry, its break-even price, and the maximum profit and loss, for calls and puts, long or short. Wheel Strategy Estimate one wheel cycle: cash-secured put premium, covered call premium, dividends, and the return on capital if assigned and called away, at your prices. Portfolio Growth Project an investment portfolio from a starting balance plus regular contributions that can rise each year, and see how much is your money versus growth. Investment Goal Find how much to invest each month or year to reach a savings goal by a target date, given an assumed return and any amount you have already saved. Dollar-Cost Averaging See how investing a fixed amount on a regular schedule could grow under a steady assumed return, with the balance and amount invested tracked period by period.
Also useful here
These calculators live in another category but come up often in Investing decisions.
Capital Gains Tax Estimate the 2026 federal tax on an investment gain: long-term 0/15/20 percent rates, short-term ordinary rates, and the 3.8 percent net investment income tax. Opportunity Cost See what a big purchase costs in future dollars: the same money invested at your return, in today's dollars too, and against a home down payment.
Playbooks
Investing
How Much Should I Invest Each Month to Reach My Goal?
Work backward from a savings goal to the exact monthly investment you need, accounting for what you have already saved and the return you assume.
Investing
The Wheel Strategy: How the Options Income Cycle Actually Works
The wheel sells cash-secured puts then covered calls for premium income. Here is the full cycle, the real return math, and the downside risk it hides.
Investing
How Compound Interest Works (and Why Most People Underestimate It)
How compound interest works, with a worked dollar example, the simple-versus-compound gap, the Rule of 72, and why starting early beats starting big.