Disclosures

Education, never advice

BrickByBrick teaches financial concepts and lets you explore hypothetical scenarios built from numbers you enter yourself. It does not provide individualized investment, tax, or legal advice, and it never recommends specific securities, funds, or products. Investment categories and “paths” describe how kinds of investments generally work — they are a vocabulary lesson, not a portfolio.

How projections are calculated

• Projections compound monthly from your stated contributions and a fixed annual return assumption you control (7% by default — in the neighborhood of long-run diversified stock-market averages, but no more than an assumption).
• Take-home pay is estimated from simplified 2024 US federal tax brackets, the standard deduction for a single filer, and FICA. State and local taxes, credits, and personal circumstances are not modeled.
• Income growth applies your chosen annual rate to future contributions. Inflation is not subtracted unless a control says otherwise — figures are nominal.
• Market prices on the Markets page may be simulated or delayed; the page labels which. They are context, not quotes you can trade on.

What projections are not

A projection is arithmetic on assumptions, not a prediction. Real markets fall as well as rise, returns arrive unevenly, and past performance does not guarantee future results. A figure like “$1.1M at 65” describes one smooth hypothetical path; your actual outcome will differ, possibly substantially, and could include losing money you invest.

The framework is general

The seven-step ladder (cash flow → saving habit → emergency fund → costly debt → investing → growth → long-term wealth) reflects widely taught personal-finance ordering. It is a reasonable default, not a rule for every life. Edge cases — employer matches, irregular income, family obligations — can legitimately reorder the steps. When in doubt, talk to a qualified professional who can see your whole picture.

Questions

Ask us anything about how a number on your screen was produced: [email protected].