How to Add Savings and Cash Accounts

Every plan needs a place for cash to sit – whether it’s your everyday checking account or an emergency savings fund, you can add it to your ProjectionLab plan. You can add a savings or cash account during initial plan setup, or anytime afterward in Current Finances.

During Initial Plan Setup

You’ll be asked to check off the account types you want to add – Savings, Investments, Real Assets, and Debts. Checking Savings will prompt you to enter your starting balance and owner right away, alongside your other accounts.

Updating in Current Finances

Go to Current Finances in the left sidebar > Savings > click + Add Savings. Choose an account type (see below), then name the account and enter its balance.

How to Set Balance, Owner, and Growth

Once your account is added, click into it to configure the details:

• Balance – your current total in the account.
• Owner – you, your spouse, or joint, if applicable. This matters for tax and beneficiary purposes elsewhere in your plan.
• Interest Rate – expand the account’s growth settings to set an annual interest rate. This determines how your balance grows over time, separate from any contributions or withdrawals.

Generic vs. Country-Specific Cash Accounts

The account picker includes a generic Savings or Cash option alongside country-specific cash account types (i.e., ISAs in the UK or TFSAs in Canada, depending on your selected region). If your account doesn’t have a special tax treatment, the generic option is usually the right fit. Country-specific types often come with their own contribution limits or tax rules, which ProjectionLab models differently from a plain savings account.

How Cash Fits Into Your Plan

Cash accounts play an active role in your plan, not just a place to park money:

• Drawdown order: When your expenses exceed your income, ProjectionLab pulls from your accounts in a set order. Cash is typically drawn down first, before investments, since it’s the most liquid and doesn’t trigger capital gains. Learn more in Drawdown Order Visualization.
• Emergency fund and cash reserves: Many people use a Flow to automatically build and maintain a cash cushion – i.e., contributing until a savings account reaches a target balance, then redirecting money elsewhere. See Cash Flow Priorities for the full walkthrough.