About the Project

Inspiration

This project was inspired by the PNC Financial Wellness Challenge, which encouraged innovative solutions to help individuals take control of their financial futures. We wanted to create a tool that everyone, regardless of age or financial background, could use to develop a long-term savings strategy. Many financial tools cater to professionals or those with prior investment knowledge, but we aimed to build something truly accessible—helping people in every community make informed decisions about their Roth IRA investments.

What We Built

We developed a user-friendly Roth IRA calculator using JavaFX that allows users to:

Input their starting age, monthly investment amount, and planned retirement age
Select an expected annual return rate (6%-10%) using an intuitive slider
Receive a projection of their total investment growth
Be informed of potential penalties for early withdrawals before age 59½ or not meeting the five-year holding period
See tax deductions applied when penalties are triggered

By integrating these key features, our tool ensures that users not only see potential earnings but also understand the rules and tax implications of withdrawing from a Roth IRA.

Challenges Faced

Ensuring Accuracy: We had to implement precise compound interest calculations while factoring in Roth IRA rules.
User Experience & Clarity: Making complex financial concepts accessible to all ages required clear, actionable feedback in the UI.
Handling Edge Cases: We had to properly account for invalid inputs, ensure the monthly investment limit of $583, and apply penalty deductions dynamically based on user choices.

What We Learned

This project deepened our understanding of financial planning principles and how software can be used to empower individuals to make better investment decisions. We also gained hands-on experience with:

JavaFX & FXML for building a responsive UI
Event handling & form validation for user inputs
Financial calculations and applying tax penalties programmatically

Conclusion

By creating this accessible Roth IRA planner, we hope to encourage more people to start investing early and strategically—helping them reach their financial goals with confidence. Whether someone is just beginning their career or planning for retirement, this tool provides a clear, structured approach to long-term savings that benefits all communities.