Quick Start Manual
Everything you need to get Freedom Tracker running, enter your holdings, and see your real dividend income projections.
💿 1. Installation
Windows
Click Get it on the Microsoft Store. The Store installs Freedom Tracker with no security prompts and keeps it updated automatically — then skip to step 4. Prefer a direct installer? Download the Setup .exe from the homepage and continue with step 2.
(Direct installer only.) Double-click the setup file. Windows may show a SmartScreen prompt — click More info → Run anyway. This is normal for new apps that haven't yet built up a reputation score. The Microsoft Store version never shows this warning.
Accept the defaults. The app installs to your user folder — no admin password required. A shortcut appears on your Desktop and Start Menu.
Double-click the desktop shortcut or search "Freedom Tracker" in the Start Menu. The app opens maximized with a sample portfolio to explore.
Mac
Click Download for Mac on the homepage. You'll get the Freedom Tracker DMG (signed and notarized by Apple).
Double-click the DMG to mount it. Drag FreedomTracker into your Applications folder.
The first time, right-click → Open in Finder (instead of double-clicking). macOS may ask you to confirm opening an app from the internet — click Open. After this first launch, double-clicking works normally.
macOS shows a warning the first time you open any app downloaded from the internet. Freedom Tracker is signed and notarized by Apple — the prompt is a standard first-run gate, not an indication of a problem.
🚀 2. First Launch
Freedom Tracker comes with a 7-day free trial — no credit card, no sign-in. Every feature is unlocked during the trial so you can explore everything before deciding to buy.
A small banner at the top of the window shows how many trial days remain. When the trial ends, the app shows an activation screen. Your portfolio data is never deleted — enter a license key and everything picks up exactly where you left off.
On first launch, a sample portfolio loads so you can see what a live dividend portfolio looks like. Feel free to explore, or clear it with the 🧹 Clear All button and start fresh with your own holdings.
➕ 3. Adding a Purchase
The "Add New ETF Purchase" form sits at the top of the main window. Fill in four fields and click the button:
Enter the stock or ETF symbol in uppercase — for example SCHD, O, VYM, JEPI. Most US tickers work; mutual fund symbols are also supported.
The purchase date in YYYY-MM-DD format. Click the date field to open a calendar picker, or type it directly. This date is used to calculate how much dividend income you've earned since you owned the shares.
How many shares you bought. Fractional shares are supported (e.g., 2.5).
The price per share you paid. Click "Today + Current Price" to auto-fill today's date and the current market price — useful when adding a purchase you made today.
Click ➕ ADD PURCHASE + REWARD. The ticker appears in the main list, prices refresh automatically, and your Freedom Score updates.
Editing or Deleting a Transaction
Expand any ticker in the main list by clicking its row (or double-clicking). Individual transactions appear as child rows. Double-click a transaction to edit it, or select it and press Delete (or use the 🗑 Delete toolbar button).
freedom_portfolio.json) — see Section 8.
🏦 4. Importing from Your Broker
Supported Brokers
| Broker | What imports | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Charles Schwab | Buys, Sells, Dividends, DRIP | Header row auto-detected — skips the account info preamble automatically. |
| Fidelity | Buys, Sells, Dividends, DRIP | Uses "YOU BOUGHT" / "YOU SOLD" / "REINVESTMENT" in the action column — all recognized. |
| Vanguard | Buys, Sells, Dividends, DRIP | Accepts both YYYY-MM-DD and MM/DD/YYYY date formats. |
| Robinhood | Buys, Sells, Dividends, DRIP | Uses "Trans Code" column. CDIV = dividend; DRIP = reinvestment. |
| Interactive Brokers | Buys, Sells, Dividends | Export Trades and Dividends as separate CSV files and import each one. Multi-section exports may only import the first section. |
| E*TRADE | Buys, Sells, Dividends, DRIP | Select "E*TRADE" from the dropdown or use Auto-detect. |
| Webull | Buys, Sells, Dividends, DRIP | Uses "Side" column (Buy/Sell). Export transaction history from the app. |
| SoFi | Buys, Sells, Dividends, DRIP | Uses "Type" or "Description" column for action. |
| Other / Unknown | Buys, Sells, Dividends, DRIP | Use Auto-detect. If that fails, try a brokerage with similar column names. Most standard CSV layouts work. |
How to Export a CSV from Your Broker
Charles Schwab: Log in → Accounts → History → date range → Export. Save as CSV.
Fidelity: Log in → Activity & Orders → History → Date range → Download CSV.
Vanguard: Log in → My Accounts → Transaction History → Export to spreadsheet.
Robinhood: Account → Statements & History → Brokerage → Download CSV.
Interactive Brokers: Reports → Tax Documents → Activity Statement → CSV format. For clean results, export Trades and Dividends as separate files.
E*TRADE: Accounts → Transactions → Download CSV.
Webull: Menu → Transactions → Export → CSV.
SoFi: Activity → Transactions → Export.
Import Steps
This opens the Import Brokerage CSV dialog. (Note: "📥 Import CSV" is for Freedom Tracker's own backup format — not your broker's export.)
The dropdown defaults to Auto-detect, which works for most files. If the auto-detection isn't right, select your broker from the list.
Select the CSV file you downloaded from your broker. Freedom Tracker previews all recognized transactions instantly — you can see what will be imported before committing.
Green/yellow rows = transactions ready to import. Red rows = skipped (the reason is shown in the Status column). The summary bar shows "X to import · Y duplicate(s) · Z skipped."
Confirmed. Prices refresh automatically. Re-importing the same file is safe — duplicates are detected and skipped.
Troubleshooting Imports
This usually means the action column words weren't recognized. Try these fixes in order:
① Select your specific brokerage from the dropdown instead of Auto-detect.
② Look at the "Skipped row X: unrecognised action '...'" messages in the preview — they tell you exactly what word the importer couldn't classify.
③ If the action says something like "Market Buy" or "Stock Dividend", report it — we add new keywords regularly.
Freedom Tracker accepts standard US ticker symbols (letters, numbers, dots, and dashes up to 12 characters). If your broker exports Berkshire as BRK/B (with a slash), it will be skipped. The fix: after importing, add BRK.B manually with the quick-add form and enter your purchases by hand. Most brokers use BRK.B (with a dot) which imports fine.
IBKR's "Activity Statement" CSV has multiple sections (Trades, Dividends, etc.), each with its own header row. Freedom Tracker reads from the first header it finds. To import everything: go to Reports → generate separate CSV exports for Trades and for Dividends, then import each file individually.
If you plan to enable DRIP in Freedom Tracker (which auto-rebuilds reinvestment history from Yahoo Finance), do not also import your broker's DRIP rows. The app rebuilds DRIP from scratch using Yahoo's dividend history — if you also have imported DRIP as buys, the share counts will be doubled. Choose one approach: either enable the DRIP toggle in Freedom Tracker, or import your actual broker DRIP transactions (but leave DRIP toggled off). See Section 5 for details.
💧 5. DRIP (Dividend Reinvestment)
DRIP Enabled (Freedom Tracker mode)
The app fetches every historical dividend from Yahoo Finance and calculates how many extra shares you would have received if every dividend was reinvested at the closing price on that date. Share counts and income grow automatically each time prices refresh.
DRIP Disabled (cash mode)
No reinvestment is applied. Dividends are recorded as cash income only. Use this if you take dividends as cash, or if you imported your actual DRIP transactions from your broker.
How to Toggle DRIP
Select a ticker in the main list, then either:
• Click 🔁 Toggle DRIP in the toolbar, or
• Right-click the ticker → Enable/Disable DRIP
The DRIP column in the main list shows ON or OFF for each ticker. When you enable DRIP, the app immediately rebuilds the reinvestment history and updates share counts.
If you imported your broker's DRIP transactions (they show as BUY rows), then turn on the DRIP toggle, the app will reinvest dividends on top of the already-imported shares — effectively double-counting them. Pick one source of truth: the toggle (Yahoo-based, automatic) or your broker CSV (manual). See the import troubleshooting note above.
Re-applying DRIP
If you add a new purchase to a ticker that has DRIP enabled, click 💧 Re-apply DRIP to rebuild the reinvestment history including the new lot. This runs automatically on price refresh too.
💰 6. Reading Your Income Numbers
Annual / Monthly / Weekly
Projected income based on your current share count and the trailing 12-month dividends per share from Yahoo Finance. This is what you'd earn going forward if dividends stay the same.
Lifetime Dividends
Actual dividends earned since you owned the shares. Calculated from your buy dates and Yahoo's historical dividend records — only counts dividends for periods you actually held the shares.
Monthly Income Goal
Edit the "Monthly Income Goal: $___" field at the bottom of the window. Your Freedom Journey level and progress bar update in real time. The default goal is $3,000/month — change it to whatever financial independence means to you.
If Prices Show "—"
The em-dash means the app couldn't fetch a price for that ticker. Common causes:
• No internet connection. Press F5 to retry once you're online.
• Yahoo Finance is temporarily unavailable. Try again in a few minutes.
• The ticker symbol is wrong. Double-check spelling — e.g., it should be SCHD not SHCD.
• The ticker is delisted or doesn't trade. Some older or foreign tickers may not be available via Yahoo Finance.
🌙 7. Builder
Where the Playground shows what a portfolio pays today, the Builder shows where you end up if you keep investing. Set a recurring contribution, choose your funds and a time horizon, and the Builder compounds reinvested distributions month by month to estimate the income your portfolio could produce at the end.
Opening It
Click 🌙 Builder in the toolbar (next to Playground). The window opens with a short disclaimer banner and a sample scenario you can edit.
Building a Projection
Enter a dollar amount and pick a frequency — Weekly, Biweekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly, or Custom ("every N days/weeks/months"). For example, $500 monthly or $250 weekly.
Type a ticker and a weight %, then click Add. Add as many funds as you like — weights are auto-normalized. Double-click or right-click a fund to edit it, set a custom rate, or remove it.
Enter a number and pick Years or Months — say, 10 years.
Conservative (the default) trims each fund's current distribution rate by a haircut you control — recommended for high-distribution ETFs. Current rate uses today's headline yield. You can also set a custom rate per fund by right-clicking it.
See projected monthly, yearly, and weekly income at the end of your horizon, total contributed, projected balance, blended yield, and a growth curve. Toggle Reinvest distributions (DRIP) to compare compounding on vs. off.
Save, Compare & Connect
Click Save Scenario to name and store a plan, and Load to bring it back later. Use Send to Playground to drop the projected end-state portfolio into the Playground, or Send to Budget to add the projected monthly income to your Budget as an income line.
The Builder assumes a flat share price (no appreciation or NAV erosion), distributions reinvested, a constant rate, and pre-tax figures. It's a planning tool based on current and historical distribution data — actual results will vary with market conditions.
💾 8. Backing Up Your Data
Freedom Tracker stores your entire portfolio in a file called freedom_portfolio.json located in the same folder as the app itself.
Finding the File
Windows: Look in the folder where Freedom Tracker is installed — typically C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Local\Programs\FreedomTracker\, or wherever you chose during installation.
Mac: Look inside the app's support folder (see below if you're having trouble finding it).
Moving to Another Computer
Use 📤 Export CSV to save your portfolio to a USB drive, cloud storage, or email it to yourself.
Download and install Freedom Tracker. Your license key works on any machine you own.
Click 📥 Import CSV and select the file you exported. Your full portfolio, settings, and income goal are restored instantly.
🔑 9. License Activation
Go to myfreedomtracker.com and complete checkout. Your license key is emailed to you immediately after purchase.
When the trial expires, the app shows an activation screen automatically. If you need to activate manually, look for the "Activate License" option in the app menu.
Paste the license key from your email. The app verifies it and unlocks immediately — no internet required after activation. Your license is a one-time purchase and never expires — it's yours for life.
That's it — one payment, no renewals, no subscription. Your license never expires, and every update to this version is free. We hate subscriptions too.