What Is a Scenario?

A scenario is a complete set of assumptions about your household’s finances, stored in a single TOML file inside the scenarios/ directory. It’s the central unit of work in Net Worth Navigator — everything revolves around scenarios.

What a Scenario Contains

Each scenario TOML includes these sections:

Section	Purpose
[scenario]	Name, slug (ID), description, household type (single/couple)
[display]	Chart title
[data_source]	How starting balances are obtained (manual, Monarch, CSV)
[synthetic_start]	Starting balances for manual entry mode
[person1] / [person2]	Household members: name, DOB, income, benefit estimates, and contribution settings
[spending]	Retirement and survivor spending targets
[withdrawal_policy]	Cash reserve targets, withdrawal order, surplus routing
[assumptions]	Investment returns, inflation, asset allocation
[accounts]	Account classification and ownership (for Monarch/CSV mode)
[[liabilities]]	Amortized loans: mortgage, auto, etc.
[[events]]	Life events and the source of truth for retirement, Social Security, and end-of-plan timing

Creating Scenarios

You have two paths:

Web UI (recommended): Open the Setup Panel, click New from Template, choose Single or Couple, and enter a name. The panel guides you through filling in your details.

Command line: Copy a starter template:

cp scenarios/starter.toml scenarios/myplan.toml

Edit the file, set every field marked ← YOUR VALUE, then run:

.venv/bin/python run.py --scenario myplan

Starter Templates

The project includes two blank-slate templates:

• starter.toml — single-person template (no [person2] section)
• starter-couple.toml — couples template (full [person2] section)

Both are hidden from the projection shell dropdown — they’re only available through the New from Template button in the Setup Panel.

Sample Scenarios

Four pre-built sample scenarios are included to help you explore the app before entering your own data. They use fictional households and synthetic balances — nothing real.

Scenario	Slug	Description
Sample Plan (Single-Person)	sample	Fictional “Alex” (b. 1972), single professional, home owner with mortgage
Sample Plan (Couples)	sample-couples	Fictional “Alex” and “Sam” — dual-income couple, two retirement dates
Sample A	sample-a	Moderate assumptions, later retirement, lower spending
Sample B	sample-b	Growth assumptions, earlier retirement, higher spending, delayed SS

Comparing Scenarios

Because each scenario is an independent TOML file, you can create multiple variants and compare them:

• Different retirement ages or spending levels
• Different investment return assumptions
• Different event plans (early mortgage payoff, home sale, career break)

The Compare Page lets you view two or more scenarios side by side, with overlay charts and delta tracking.