Adding Events to the Timeline
To illustrate how events are added to the timeline and used to schedule items in the plan, let’s add two events onto the timeline. There first will be used to show John’s plan to purchase a sports car at age 55. The other event will be used to plan for their daughter Martina’s future wedding.
There are two ways to add events to the timeline.
Option 1 - Use the Plus (+) menu to add an event to the timeline
1. Click the plus button (+) bottom right.
2. Select Event. The Event dialogue will display.
3. Name: Enter a name for the event - e.g. “John’s Sports Car”.
4. Owner: Select the owner of the event - e.g. John. Any future ages shown for the timing of the event will be those of the event’s owner, John. The event will also be shown on the timeline in John’s colour.
5. Type: Select in the event icon palette an appropriately representative symbol for the event. Considering this is a sports car purchase at age 55, the Mid-life Crisis event seems appropriate.
6. Edit Timing: Use the slider at the bottom of the dialogue to set the event at age 55. At you move the slider to the right, notice how the future Year and Age to the left change to show the year/age in which the slider is positioned. Move the slider until age 55 is shown in the Age field to the left.
7. Tip – If you prefer, rather than use the slider you could instead click the Year or Age fields to position the event by selecting the appropriate future year or future age of the event’s owner. Again, the future ages shown will be those of the event’s owner, John.
8. Click Save, top right.
The event will be added to the timeline in the year (and at the age) selected. It will also be shown in the list of events to the bottom right of the Timeline screen, as shown below.
Notice the icon’s colour. This is John’s randomly assigned colour, which in this case is green. All of John’s events on the timeline will be shown this colour, making them readily identifiable as belonging to him, whereas Julia’s events are shown in blue.
Option 2 - Double-click the timeline to add an event
In addition to using the Event option in the plus (+) menu, events can also be added by double-clicking any bar above the timeline.
For example, the Campbells would like to set aside funds to one day pay for their daughter’s wedding. Let’s add an event to the timeline to plan for this future goal. Let’s add an event using this option.
1. Double click any bar above the timeline. The Add Event dialogue will display, as shown below.
2. Name: Enter a name for the event, “Martina’s Wedding”.
3. Owner: Select Martina. Any future ages shown for the timing of the event will be those of the event’s owner, Martina. The event will also be shown on the timeline in Martina’s colour, which in this plan is pink.
4. Type: Select in the event icon palette the Wedding
5. Edit Timing: Use the slider at the bottom of the dialogue to set the event at age 25. At you move the slider to the right, notice how the future Year and Age to the left change to show the year/age in which the slider is positioned. Move the slider until age 25 is shown in the Age field to the left.
6. Tip – If you prefer, rather than use the slider you could instead click the Year or Age fields to position the event by selecting the appropriate future year or future age of the event’s owner. Again, the future ages shown will be those of the event’s owner, Martina.
7. Click Save, top right.
The event will be added to the timeline in the year (and at the age) selected. It will also be shown in the growing list of events to the bottom right of the Timeline screen, as shown below.
Notice the icon’s colour. This is Martina’s randomly assigned colour, which in this case is magenta. All of Martina’s events on the timeline will be shown this colour, making them readily identifiable as belonging to her, whereas John’s events are shown in green and Julia’s in blue.
We will later this event in a moment to schedule the Martina’s wedding as a future milestone goal.
Tip - Events can also be added on the fly on the Timing and Steps tabs
Events can be added on the fly not only on the Timeline screen but also on the Timing and Steps tabs, which you will use to set the timing of items such as incomes or goals and expenses as you enter them into a plan. Timing tabs set the overall timing of an item while Steps are used conditionally, if you need to change things about an item in the future - e.g. double future spending on travel at retirement.
If you need to add an event to time something but haven't added the event to the timeline in advance, simply double click the space above the timeline on the Timing or Steps tab to add a new event to the timeline and use it to time the item you are entering into the plan.
