Hello, I am new, and wonder if anyone can speak from experience whether it would speed up climbing the learning curve by first practicing with the Bronze because it is less involved. Thanks.
@old_healthy I guess you could but it's so much different from Pralana Online I don't know if it's worth the hassle of setting it up under MS Excel, etc. If you aren't sure what you're doing, maybe just grab a copy of my book Plan Your Money Path (not trying to sell anything, you can order it free from your library in addition to the usual amazon, b&n, etc choices) and dig in as the book walks you through the primary stuff. Or, use us or another advisor/planner that knows Pralana to guide you through building your plan right the first time. The forum here and online user manual are also excellent resources. Go for it!
Quick third to say Bronze won't really prep you for the "real" program.
Thanks for all the responses. However, I was seeking help only for how to learn Pralana as a software tool faster, as I am pressed in time to figure out a Roth conversion strategy for the next 10 to 15 years. I will work to improve my all-around knowledge on personal finance DIY at a later time.
I think you might have misunderstood the advice. Bill was suggesting his book could teach you how to use the program, including the roth optimizer, not learn finance before using Pralana.
The Roth conversion optimizer isn't all that complicated but it's not intuitive either. The manual for the online edition (which is free) is a quick way to learn how it works and see some screen shots so you can tell how quickly you'd learn it. You can look at the manual for ACA subsidies and QCDs too, since they play a big role in optimization. Bill Hines' book is even better of course because it's designed to teach not just a manual. But the manual is free, accessible, well written, and does clearly explain how the optimizer works.
I also recommend reading Bill Hines' cautions in this forum: he often makes the point that many optimizations only "pay off" in one's 90s, and you should consider not just whether it make sense monetarily but whether the timing is worth all the effort.
My own two cents is rather than rushing, you could spend 3 months learning the program and then run a strategy starting next year, years 11-15. You could start sooner if you hire an advisor.
Thanks @jkandell, for you clarification and pointers. I did not know that the book covers how to use Pralana.
My RMD starts next year. So I would like to get a sufficiently reliable "base" model by early November, from which to test some what-if's for Roth-conversion up to the next higher tax bracket (22% or 24%) for 2025 and next couple years or longer.
