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30-year loan. Property tax 1% of purchase price annually; insurance 0.5% annually. These two percentages are adjustable planning assumptions, not national averages or local quotes. Repairs start at 1% of price annually for a newer-home scenario. Closing costs start at 3% of price, before credits, excluding financed VA funding fees. VA purchase / first use / not exempt is the starting loan assumption. Conventional mortgage insurance is optional and simplified.
Default investment growth uses the 30-year historical U.S. stock benchmark (1996–2025), approximately 10.26%. Home-price growth uses the same historical window, approximately 4.75%. Neither is a forecast. Civilian / veteran employee-tax starter uses OECD’s 24.3% modeled single-worker benchmark; military basic-pay starter stays 20% as an editable assumption. Insurance and retirement are separate. This is not a withholding calculation. Optional retirement match uses entered terms. Contributions and health deductions are separate from the estimated tax/payroll rate. Actual take-home already includes health deductions.
The budget-based purchase ceiling solves for a home price whose complete housing cost fits estimated take-home after other bills, investment contributions, existing property costs and an editable monthly breathing-room target ($200 initially). It is not lender qualification. The wait estimate covers entered purchase cash plus the protected reserve, using monthly cash saving capped at the current budget’s available amount. With no savings capacity, no wait estimate is shown. A monthly affordability shortfall is identified separately; elapsed time does not fix it. Cash saving stops at purchase. Rates, income, rent and operating costs stay constant.
Starting price $478,700 is the U.S. average sale price of NEW single-family houses in August 2026, not all homes. Starting rate 7.40% is Freddie Mac’s October 8, 2026 conventional 30-year benchmark, not a VA or builder offer. Editable snapshots, not live feeds.
Mutual funds can generally be redeemed on business days, but proceeds are not immediate cash and values can fall. Enter investments separately; enter sale proceeds as cash only when available, reducing the investment balance to avoid counting twice. Purchase timing accumulates explicit monthly cash saving, holding entered price and rate constant.
Planning estimates, not lender approval or personalized financial advice. No automated tax estimate, BAH lookup, retirement offset, special monthly compensation or entitlement/down-payment calculation. Other workbook modules remain in the Excel companion.
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