Know how much you need to retire in three minutes. No card. No account.
It’s the same calculation Gold+ uses to build your plan.
How Gold+ works
Three minutes, and you have your first action. The one that saves you years.
Risk Monitor protectionEvery day, for everyone.
Still working
1What is enough?The number, and the fastest path to it.
2On track, or short?A step by step way to close the gap and retire sooner.
3Fund your accounts smarter.The same money, in a better order, compounds faster.
↻Each update starts from better numbers.
Retired
1Will your money last?And the steps that make it last longer.
2Will your income outlast the next crash?A step by step way to keep it steady when markets are not.
3Take it out in the right order.The order sets your tax bill, and I keep up with the rules so you do not have to.
↻Each update starts from better numbers.
Stay the Course means no allocation change. When that changes, you get a text and an email telling you exactly how to protect your portfolio.
The Refined FI Risk Monitor
Green means stay the course. Red means protect your portfolio.
Market risk is checked daily and translated into one clear portfolio
instruction. This is the view members see inside Gold+, and members get an
email and text alert the day risk changes.
The red band is not a backtest. That signal was live when it mattered.
Backtested to 1960Cadence tested across sixty-five years of market history.
Live since 2005Twenty years of signals issued in advance, not reconstructed afterward.
Refined FI Risk Monitor
The chart is unavailable right now.
Stay the course ProtectionS&P 500, monthly.
Historical cadence
About once every two years
The Refined FI Risk Monitor is designed to act rarely. Tested back to
1960, it stayed quiet for entire periods when conditions were healthy and
became more active when market risk clustered.
The goal is not to predict every market move. It is to reduce the chance
that one bad market sets your retirement back a decade.
Signals before 2005 are backtested and illustrate cadence. Signals from
2005 onward were issued on the day they happened. Past patterns do not guarantee
future results.
A 10% drop on a $1 million portfolio is $100,000. At $1,000 a month, that is more than eight years of saving, gone.$379 a year is a fraction of that risk. Protection can seem expensive, until the storm comes. Then it is an asset.
What each one gets you
A number, an hour, or the years.
Software or a spreadsheetA number$144 a year, or nothing if you build it yourself. It answers one question and then stops.
A plannerAn hourAbout $300, up to $500 in the big cities. Ongoing help assumes you have $500,000 and they have time.
Refined FIYears$379 a year. Three years sooner to retirement, and five years longer once you are there.
The plan, my portfolios and the Risk Monitor, running every day.
$379 a year, and you keep all three.
You are smart. You can build a spreadsheet and get a number. Whether that number means anything depends on the assumptions underneath it.
In my day job, I see what people get right and what they get wrong, including other advisers. Clients arrive from reputable firms with broken plans and broken portfolios. Unwinding the damage takes months. Sometimes years.
At my bank, management put in a minimum. Your portfolio balance should not exclude you from getting the right retirement answers. That is why I built Refined FI.
After I built it I tested it on myself. It told me I could retire 2 years and 8 months sooner, by making small changes.
I’ve been doing this for over two decades. I thought I had optimized everything.
Here is why. The IRS rewrites the rules every year. Hundreds of new funds launch every year. Keeping up is a full time job.
You already have a job. Gold+ does all of it for you.
What you needSoftware or a spreadsheetAn hour a year with a plannerGold+
Gives you a numberYesYesYes
Assumptions you can trustDid you pick correctly?YesYes. Real returns after inflation. Updated annually when IRS rules change.
Tells you exactly what to do nextMaybeYes, once a yearYes. Every time you test.
The best order to put money in and take it outNoMaybeYes
The best age to claim Social SecurityMaybeYesYes. Optimized from your own statement.
What to actually ownNoYesYes. Optimized for your stage.
Watches the market every day and tells you when to moveNoNoYes. Text and email alerts.
What you need before they will take you onNothing$500,000 +A desire to work less.
How often you can test it againWhenever you likeOnce a year, in the hour you paid forWhenever you like
The complete system matters. Cobbling together an online portfolio,
software or one-time advice may get you started, but you will never know when
you are off track.
Software prices are Boldin’s published plans. Planner rates are
SmartAsset’s national figures, where the median is $300 an hour.
Your first year is guaranteed. Run your numbers in the
calculators and follow your path. If Gold+ does not show you at least a year,
tell me within 60 days and I will refund you in full.
Everything included
What Gold+ members get
01 Plan
Refined FI Calculators
Your Retirement Plan Calculator
How much do I need to retire?
Which accounts should I fund first to retire sooner?
Portfolio Longevity CalculatorWill I run out of money in retirement?
Withdrawal Waterfall CalculatorHow do I pay less tax so my money lasts longer?
Simple steps show you what to do next. Pick up where you left off
See how many years your changes saved you
Know when to claim Social Security for the retirement you want
02 Portfolio
Refined FI portfolios
Accumulation PortfolioBuild wealth for retirement
Glidepath PortfolioProtect your progress in the final 10 years before you retire
Sustain PortfolioRetirement income built to keep up with inflation
Harbor PortfolioSteady income when you need more than 5% a year from your portfolio
Portfolio Stress TestWill my retirement survive a bad market?
The exact funds to use in your 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), or TSP
Turn any account balance into a dollar amount for each fund
See why I chose each fund, in plain English
03 Protection
Refined FI Risk Monitor
Market risk, watched for youThe Risk Monitor checks it every day, tested back to 1960
Most days, relaxGreen means stay the course. Your monthly email confirms it
When risk changes, you will knowGet a same-day text and email. Then see exactly how many dollars go in each fund
Put your cash to workThe short-term Treasury funds that pay the most after state tax, updated each weekday
Always getting betterI keep improving the Risk Monitor. My 2020 upgrade warned clients before the 2022 drop
Also included
Stay current with new retirement research, added about twice a month
Get quick help from short walkthroughs when a tool or portfolio needs more explanation
Find money that could pay for your first year. A member-only search
for money you may have left behind. Anything you find was already yours.
Member experiences and independence
What Gold+ members say
The calculators showed me I was behind. That was disappointing at first, but I wasn’t left with just a number. Gold+ gave me clear actions to get back on track, and I followed every one.
I didn’t know what to expect. Imagine my relief when I learned I could retire 2 years sooner than I thought.
Using the Harbor Portfolio, I could take the income I needed without sacrificing my quality of life.
What it costs
$379 per year
About $32 a month, paid once a year.
Everything in Gold+ is included in one flat annual price. Not a
percentage of your portfolio.
Build your plan. Put it into action. Keep it current.
Choose your retirement stage and see your starting path on the dashboard.
At your pace
Complete one saved step at a time. Get quick help from short walkthroughs when a tool or portfolio needs more explanation.
Ongoing
Your monthly status email keeps you current, and you get an email, and a text, whenever guidance calls for a portfolio change.
I continually test the portfolios, calculators, cash guidance, and
underlying assumptions against new research and changing markets. When
the evidence supports an improvement, Gold+ is updated.
Before, I was always worried about the markets. I love knowing I’m protected. It helps me sleep at night.
Your first year is guaranteed. Run your numbers in the
calculators and follow your path. If Gold+ does not show you at least a year,
tell me within 60 days and I will refund you in full.
Gold+ renews automatically each year until you cancel, and a reminder email
arrives 30 days before renewal. Cancel future renewals from your account in
two clicks; your access runs through the period you paid for.
What you have learned is yours to keep.
See it before you pay.
Know how much you need to retire in three minutes. No card. No account.
It’s the same calculation Gold+ uses to build your plan.
Frequently asked questions
How involved do I need to be?
Expect some work upfront. Gold+ breaks it into clear steps and saves your progress. Get quick help from short walkthroughs when a tool or portfolio needs more explanation. Once your setup is complete, I keep the system current and email you when guidance calls for a portfolio action. You make any changes in your own accounts.
Does Gold+ manage my money?
No. Gold+ does not connect to brokerage accounts, place trades, rebalance, or manage money. It shows you the portfolio action and the reasoning behind it. You decide whether to act and make any changes yourself.
Does Refined FI collect my detailed financial data?
Only what you enter yourself. Refined FI never connects to your brokerage, never sees your account numbers, logins, or actual holdings, and never asks for them. What you type into the calculators, and the results they produce, are saved to your account so they are waiting when you return and your path can show what you have worked out. That data is never sold, never shared, and never used for advertising, and you can erase all of it yourself from your Account page at any time.
What if I already have an advisor?
You can use Gold+ alongside an advisor. It gives you calculators to retest your plan, a Refined FI portfolio matched to your retirement stage, and daily market-risk monitoring with an email, and a text when guidance calls for a change. You decide whether Gold+ provides more value than your advisor.
Do I need a big portfolio to benefit?
No. The calculators, Refined FI portfolios, and market-risk guidance work across portfolio sizes. The dollar amounts change; the process does not.
What if Gold+ does not work for me?
Your first year is guaranteed. Run your numbers in the calculators and follow your path. If Gold+ does not show you at least a year, tell me within 60 days and I will refund you in full.
Does Gold+ renew automatically?
Yes. Gold+ renews automatically each year until you cancel. A reminder email arrives 30 days before renewal, and you can cancel future renewals from your Account page at any time.
Will you push me to buy specific products?
No. No commissions. No affiliate links. No sponsored content. The only commercial relationship is with Gold+ members.
How often do you publish research?
Expect roughly two new research pieces each month, plus portfolio, calculator, and guidance updates when the evidence warrants. Your monthly status email links to anything new.
Is this financial advice?
No. Gold+ provides educational calculators, model portfolios, research, and market-risk guidance. It does not provide personalized financial, tax, or legal advice. See full disclosures.
Three years sooner. Five years longer.
Build your plan. Follow one clear step at a time. Retest whenever life changes.
Immediate access · Renews automatically · Cancel anytime · First year guaranteed
Guidance, not account management. Gold+ breaks the work into
clear steps and saves your progress. You decide whether to act, and you make
every change in your own accounts.
Educational only, not investment advice. Historical indicators and returns do
not predict future results. Figures are modelled from Refined FI portfolios and
the Risk Monitor, live since 2005; your own numbers will differ.