What if I lived off my investments?
Living from investments means turning part of the portfolio’s modelled return into spendable cash instead of reinvesting it. Whether that cashflow supports the plan depends on spending, portfolio size, the assumed return, other income and how long the money needs to last.
What shapes the answer
- The value and composition of the investment buckets that pay out income.
- The return assumed for each bucket and the month payouts begin.
- Regular spending, other passive cashflow and any remaining earned income.
- Whether other contributions, withdrawals or allocation changes continue.
- The plan horizon, accessible reserve and periods of weaker-than-assumed performance.
Compare paying out with continuing to reinvest
Keep reinvestment in the baseline plan. In a duplicate, change the relevant bucket to pay out its modelled return from the chosen month while leaving the other assumptions consistent.
Check the passive cashflow created and whether accessible money remains sufficient, then follow the portfolio value across the whole horizon. A payout can support spending while reducing the growth that reinvestment would otherwise add.
Questions worth testing
- How much of regular spending does the modelled payout cover?
- Does the plan remain solvent if the assumed return is lower?
- How does starting the payout earlier or later change the portfolio path?
- What happens when another large expense or income change occurs at the same time?
How to read the result
The payout is calculated from the return assumptions entered in the plan; it is not a promised dividend, interest payment or safe withdrawal rate. Actual returns, income, inflation, fees and taxes can differ, and Worthifi does not determine whether a withdrawal strategy is sustainable or suitable. This is not financial, investment, tax or pension advice.
How it works in the app
Switch an investment bucket's planned change to pay out its interest as cash instead of reinvesting it — the classic “live off the returns” path. Passive cashflow picks up the payout, and the Dashboard shows whether runway and solvency hold under the drawdown.
- Open Investments → Edit portfolio.
- On a bucket, add a “Reinvest / pay out income” change.
- Choose “Pay out as income” from the month you pick, then check passive cashflow.
Model this yourself