What-If Scenarios
Premium Feature
What-If Scenarios is a premium feature. Upgrade to unlock financial planning and modeling tools.
The Scenarios page lets you model "what-if" situations to see how financial changes would affect your cash flow before you make them.
Overview
Life is full of financial decisions:
- Can I afford this purchase?
- What if I cut back on dining out?
- How would a bonus affect my runway?
Scenarios helps you answer these questions with real projections based on your actual financial data.
Features
Baseline vs Scenario Comparison
The page shows two projections side by side:
Current Trajectory (Baseline)
- Your cash flow based on current patterns
- How long until your balance hits zero (runway)
- Your lowest balance point
- Daily burn rate
Your Scenario
- Your cash flow with hypothetical changes
- How the changes affect your runway
- Impact on your lowest balance
- New burn rate after changes
Scenario Components
Build your scenario by adding:
One-Time Expenses
Model a large purchase:
- Description (e.g., "New laptop")
- Amount
- Date of purchase
See how it affects your balance and when you can safely afford it.
One-Time Income
Model expected money coming in:
- Description (e.g., "Tax refund")
- Amount
- Date expected
See how additional income improves your runway.
Category Overrides
Model spending changes:
- Select a category (e.g., "Dining")
- Set a new weekly budget
- Choose duration (e.g., 30 days)
See the impact of reducing spending in specific areas.
Scenario Ideas
Based on your spending patterns compared to Canadian benchmarks, CshFlow suggests scenario ideas:
- Categories where you spend more than average
- Potential savings if you reduce to benchmark levels
- One-click application of suggested changes
Click "Try This" to instantly add a category override to your scenario.
How It Works
90-Day Projections
Scenarios project your cash flow 90 days into the future, showing:
- Daily balance changes
- Cumulative impact of your changes
- Visual charts comparing baseline vs scenario
Real-Time Recalculation
As you add or modify scenario components:
- Projections update automatically
- Comparison metrics refresh instantly
- Charts animate to show the difference
No Permanent Changes
Scenarios are purely hypothetical:
- Nothing is saved to your account
- Your actual data remains unchanged
- Experiment freely without consequences
Building a Scenario
Step 1: Review Your Baseline
Start by understanding your current trajectory:
- How many days of runway do you have?
- What's your daily burn rate?
- Where will your balance be lowest?
Step 2: Add Components
Click the buttons to add:
- Add Expense - For planned purchases
- Add Income - For expected money coming in
- Category Override - For spending changes
Step 3: Compare Results
Watch the scenario card update:
- Green numbers = improvement over baseline
- Red numbers = worse than baseline
- The chart shows both trajectories
Step 4: Make Decisions
Use the insights to:
- Decide if you can afford a purchase
- Plan when to make large expenses
- Understand the value of cutting back
Affordability Timeline
When you add expenses, the Affordability Timeline shows:
- When you can afford it - The date your balance can absorb the expense
- Impact on your runway - How many days of buffer you'll have
- Safety assessment - Whether the purchase is safe, risky, or unaffordable
Example Scenarios
Can I Afford a New Phone?
- Add a one-time expense: "$1,200 on March 15"
- See how it affects your lowest balance
- Check if you'll still have positive runway
What If I Cut Back on Dining?
- Add a category override: "Dining at $50/week for 60 days"
- See how much you'd save
- See how it extends your runway
What If I Get a Bonus?
- Add one-time income: "$2,000 on April 1"
- See how it improves your trajectory
- Model what you could afford with the extra funds
Premium Features
With What-If Scenarios, you get:
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Unlimited Scenarios | Model as many what-ifs as you want |
| 90-Day Projections | See far into the future |
| Side-by-Side Comparison | Baseline vs scenario visualization |
| Intelligent Suggestions | AI-powered scenario ideas |
| Affordability Calculator | Know exactly when you can afford purchases |
Next Steps
- Review Insights to understand your spending patterns
- Use the Payback Machine to model debt payoff
- Check your Calendar for your actual forecast