Key takeaways
- Every figure is a measurement, a projection, or an assumption — they earn trust in that order.
- Position and cash flow read first; long-range projections read last.
- The action plan is deterministic triage — each item names its calculation and severity.
Three kinds of numbers
Every figure in a report is one of three things. Measurements: net worth, cash flow, current allocation — arithmetic on what you entered, reliable to the penny of your entries. Projections: FIRE dates, ending balances — measurements extended by assumptions. Assumptions themselves: return, inflation, withdrawal rate — the levers everything else hangs from. Reports here label all three; the reading skill is refusing to grant projections the certainty of measurements.
Example · one line, three readings
“Projected at retirement: $1,140,000.” As a measurement it is false — nothing is measured. As a projection it is your $850/mo contribution compounded at your 7% assumption. As a sentence it should be read: if those two numbers hold for decades, then this.
Read in order of trust
Start with position and cash flow — the measured present. Then the debt plan and emergency coverage — near-term arithmetic with few assumptions. Only then the long-range material: FIRE, scenarios, dividend projections. This ordering keeps the sturdy floor under the speculative ceiling.
What the action plan is (and is not)
The action plan ranks findings by severity and traceability — each item names its category, its estimated impact, and the exact calculation it came from. It is deterministic triage of your own data: it can say a goal is behind and by how much; what to do about that remains yours.
Habits of a good reader
Check the assumptions table first — it is the report’s constitution. Prefer today’s-money figures. When a number surprises you, trace its source line before believing or dismissing it. And re-run the report after real changes, not daily: plans move at the speed of decisions, not markets.
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