Time Value of Purchases

What is this purchase really costing you?

This is not a tool for talking you out of things. It prices the alternative, and you decide. If the purchase is worth it to you, it is worth it.

Purchase amount How often

Over how many years (max 10) Your hourly rate optional Leave blank and the tool works exactly the same. Fill it in and you also get the number of hours worked to pay for this.

Set it against a goal

Both optional, and both are needed together. Fill them in and the tool also tells you how much sooner you would reach your goal without this purchase. Leave them blank and nothing here changes.

Your goal, in today's money optional What you already invest each month optional A delay only exists against a plan you are already running. Without this there is nothing for the purchase to be late against, so the figure is left out rather than guessed at.

Assumptions

Expected return, after inflation (%) Default 7%, rounded up from a measured 6.7%. Basis: the S&P 500 returned 10.0% a year with dividends reinvested over 1928-2025 (Damodaran, NYU Stern), less 3.1% average CPI inflation over the same window (US Bureau of Labor Statistics). US-only, and an illustration of the past rather than a forecast - no single year looks like it. Inflation (%) Pro Annual fees (%) Pro

The free version covers one-time and monthly purchases up to 10 years. Pro adds the full 50-year horizon, weekly and annual purchases, your own inflation and fee assumptions, image and CSV export, and a shareable link. Opening a link someone shares with you is free.
Pro is a separate one-time purchase. If you already subscribe to DCA Simulator Pro, this is not included in it — worth knowing before you click, rather than at the checkout.

Educational content only — not financial advice. Past returns are past returns; nothing here is a projection of any specific asset, or a recommendation to buy or not buy anything.