diff --git a/src/components/CareerRoadmap.js b/src/components/CareerRoadmap.js
index 9f594db..8924e41 100644
--- a/src/components/CareerRoadmap.js
+++ b/src/components/CareerRoadmap.js
@@ -368,6 +368,7 @@ export default function CareerRoadmap({ selectedCareer: initialCareer }) {
   const [drawerMilestone, setDrawerMilestone] = useState(null);
   const [impactsById, setImpactsById] = useState({});   // id → [impacts]
   const [addingNewMilestone, setAddingNewMilestone] = useState(false);
+  const [showMissingBanner, setShowMissingBanner] = useState(false);
 
   
   // Config
@@ -573,16 +574,14 @@ useEffect(() => {
 const dataReady = !!scenarioRow && !!financialProfile && collegeProfile !== null;
 
 useEffect(() => {
+  if (!dataReady || !careerProfileId) return;   // wait for all rows
 
-  if (!dataReady || !careerProfileId) return;
+  /* run once per profile‑id ------------------------------------------------ */
+  if (modalGuard.current.checked) return;
+  modalGuard.current.checked = true;
 
-  // one key per career profile
-  const key = `modalChecked:${careerProfileId}`;
-
-  // already checked in this browser session?
-  if (sessionStorage.getItem(key) === '1') return;
-
-  const status = (scenarioRow.college_enrollment_status || '').toLowerCase();
+  /* derive once, local to this effect -------------------------------------- */
+  const status = (scenarioRow?.college_enrollment_status || '').toLowerCase();
   const requireCollege = ['currently_enrolled','prospective_student','deferred']
     .includes(status);
 
@@ -591,18 +590,24 @@ useEffect(() => {
     { requireCollegeData: requireCollege }
   );
 
-  if (missing.length) setShowEditModal(true);
-
-  sessionStorage.setItem(key, '1'); // remember for this tab
-
+  if (missing.length) {
+    /* if we arrived *directly* from onboarding we silently skip the banner
+       once, but we still want the Edit‑Scenario modal to open */
+    if (modalGuard.current.skip) {
+      setShowEditModal(true);
+    } else {
+      setShowMissingBanner(true);
+    }
+  }
 }, [dataReady, scenarioRow, financialProfile, collegeProfile, careerProfileId]);
 
+
+
 useEffect(() => {
   if (
     financialProfile &&
     scenarioRow &&
-    collegeProfile &&
-    scenarioMilestones.length
+    collegeProfile
   ) {
     buildProjection(scenarioMilestones);          // uses the latest scenarioMilestones
   }
@@ -949,7 +954,7 @@ useEffect(() => {
   // 8) Build financial projection
   async function buildProjection(milestones) {
     if (!milestones?.length) return;
-    const allMilestones = milestones;
+    const allMilestones = milestones || [];
     try {
         setScenarioMilestones(allMilestones);
 
@@ -1302,9 +1307,8 @@ const fetchMilestones = useCallback(async () => {
                 setScenarioRow={setScenarioRow}
                 careerProfileId={careerProfileId}
                 collegeProfile={collegeProfile}
-                onMilestonesCreated={() => {
-                  /* refresh or reload logic here */
-                }}
+                onMilestonesCreated={handleMilestonesCreated}
+                
             
 
             onAiRiskFetched={(riskData) => {
@@ -1447,6 +1451,28 @@ const fetchMilestones = useCallback(async () => {
       </div>*/}
 
       {/* --- FINANCIAL PROJECTION SECTION -------------------------------- */}
+
+              {showMissingBanner && (
+          <div className="bg-yellow-100 border-l-4 border-yellow-500 p-4 rounded shadow mb-4">
+            <p className="text-sm text-gray-800">
+              We need a few basics (income, expenses, etc.) before we can show a full
+              projection.
+            </p>
+            <Button
+              className="mt-2"
+              onClick={() => { setShowEditModal(true); setShowMissingBanner(false); }}
+            >
+              Add Details
+            </Button>
+            <button
+              className="ml-3 text-xs text-gray-600 underline"
+              onClick={() => setShowMissingBanner(false)}
+            >
+              Dismiss
+            </button>
+          </div>
+        )}
+
         <div className="bg-white p-4 rounded shadow">
           <h3 className="text-lg font-semibold mb-2 flex items-center justify-center gap-1">
             Financial Projection
@@ -1600,8 +1626,8 @@ const fetchMilestones = useCallback(async () => {
                   milestone={milestoneForModal}          /* ← edit mode */
                   fetchMilestones={fetchMilestones}
                   onClose={(didSave) => {
+                    if (didSave) handleMilestonesCreated();
                     setMilestoneForModal(null);
-                    if (didSave) fetchMilestones();
                   }}
                 />
               )}
diff --git a/src/components/RetirementPlanner.js b/src/components/RetirementPlanner.js
index c6a105b..4a6dbbb 100644
--- a/src/components/RetirementPlanner.js
+++ b/src/components/RetirementPlanner.js
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ export default function RetirementPlanner () {
   const isMobile = useIsMobile();
   const { openRetire } = useContext(ChatCtx);
 
+
   /* ----------------------- data loading -------------------------- */
   const loadAll = useCallback(async () => {
     try {
diff --git a/src/components/ScenarioContainer.js b/src/components/ScenarioContainer.js
index 7bedb4c..644501c 100644
--- a/src/components/ScenarioContainer.js
+++ b/src/components/ScenarioContainer.js
@@ -230,10 +230,7 @@ export default function ScenarioContainer({
     };
 
     // Gather milestoneImpacts
-    let allImpacts = [];
-    Object.keys(impactsByMilestone).forEach((mId) => {
-      allImpacts = allImpacts.concat(impactsByMilestone[mId]);
-    });
+    const allImpacts = Object.values(impactsByMilestone).flat(); // safe even if []
 
     const simYears = parseInt(simulationYearsInput, 10) || 20;
     const simYearsUI = Math.max(1, parseInt(simulationYearsInput, 10) || 20);
@@ -315,13 +312,20 @@ export default function ScenarioContainer({
       surplusEmergencyAllocation: scenarioOverrides.surplusEmergencyAllocation,
       surplusRetirementAllocation: scenarioOverrides.surplusRetirementAllocation,
       additionalIncome: scenarioOverrides.additionalIncome,
-      retirement_start_date:             localScenario.retirement_start_date
-                                      || localScenario.projected_end_date
-                                      || null,
-      desired_retirement_income_monthly:  parseScenarioOverride(
-                                              localScenario.desired_retirement_income_monthly,
-                                              0
-                                            ),
+          retirement_start_date:
+            localScenario.retirement_start_date                 // user picked
+          || (localScenario.projected_end_date  // often set for college scenarios
+              ? moment(localScenario.projected_end_date)
+                  .startOf('month')
+                  .add(1,'month')               // start drawing a month later
+                  .format('YYYY-MM-DD')
+              : null),
+
+      desired_retirement_income_monthly:
+            parseScenarioOverride(
+              localScenario.desired_retirement_income_monthly,
+              scenarioOverrides.monthlyExpenses          // ← fallback to current spend
+            ),
 
       studentLoanAmount: collegeData.studentLoanAmount,
       interestRate: collegeData.interestRate,
@@ -354,13 +358,12 @@ export default function ScenarioContainer({
       simulateFinancialProjection(mergedProfile);
 
   
-   const sliceTo = simYearsUI * 12;              // months we want to keep
-    let cumulative = mergedProfile.emergencySavings || 0;
-
-    const finalData = pData.slice(0, sliceTo).map(row => {
-      cumulative += row.netSavings || 0;
-      return { ...row, cumulativeNetSavings: cumulative };
-    });
+   const sliceTo = simYearsUI * 12;
+      let cumulative = mergedProfile.emergencySavings || 0;
+      const finalData = pData.map(row => {
+     cumulative += row.netSavings || 0;
+     return { ...row, cumulativeNetSavings: cumulative };
+     }).slice(0, sliceTo);
 
     if (typeof onSimDone === 'function') {
       onSimDone(localScenario.id, yc);
@@ -958,6 +961,23 @@ return (
           <Line data={chartData} options={chartOptions} />
         </div>
 
+          {(!localScenario?.retirement_start_date ||
+            !localScenario?.desired_retirement_income_monthly) && (
+            <div className="bg-yellow-100 border-l-4 border-yellow-500 p-3 rounded mb-3 text-sm">
+              <p className="text-gray-800">
+                Add a retirement date and spending goal to see&nbsp;
+                <em>Money Lasts</em>.
+              </p>
+              <Button
+                size="sm"
+                className="mt-1"
+                onClick={() => setShowScenarioModal(true)}
+              >
+                Edit Scenario
+              </Button>
+            </div>
+          )}
+
         {/* ───────────── KPI Bar ───────────── */}
           {projectionData.length > 0 && (
             <div className="space-y-1 text-sm">
diff --git a/user_profile.db b/user_profile.db
index 140a195..20d3853 100644
Binary files a/user_profile.db and b/user_profile.db differ