Tools · calculators, checklists, workflows
Use the calculators for quick estimates, the checklists for paperwork-heavy moments, and the workflows when you need the right order of operations.
Interactive wizard · 5–8 min · no sign-up
Answer questions about your income, bills, debts, and goals, and get a personalized waterfall map showing exactly where each dollar should land every month. Built on the r/personalfinance flowchart that 15 million people trust.
Try the wizard →Calculators
These tools are meant to create a useful estimate, not a final answer. Change the default numbers to match your actual cash flow, then use the result to decide what to inspect next.
Runway check
Intent: separate scary uncertainty from a concrete monthly gap. Count only money you could actually use, then compare it with the essential bills you would keep paying while looking for work.
Use this before quitting, after a layoff warning, or any time your job feels less stable.
Under 3 months is a tight window, most job searches take 3–6 months. Over 6 months gives you room to search without financial pressure affecting your decisions.
Rule of thumb
Intent: show why time and consistent contributions matter more than trying to perfectly guess a return. The result is an illustration, not a promise.
Use this to compare starting now, raising monthly contributions, or waiting a few years.
Growth comes mostly from time, not contribution size. Starting 5 years earlier often beats doubling the monthly contribution. The "estimated growth" row shows how much the returns are doing versus what you put in.
Readiness score
Intent: identify the weakest part of your financial buffer. A good score is not about being rich; it is about having fewer ways one bad month can knock you over.
Use this as a quarterly checkup, especially after a move, new job, new debt, or major bill.
Fragile: one emergency away from debt. Building: basics are in place but thin. Solid: can absorb most surprises. Strong: financial shocks are an inconvenience, not a crisis.
Rule of thumb
Intent: test whether rent leaves enough room for the rest of your real life. Landlord approval is one test; surviving the lease comfortably is another.
Use this before touring, applying, renewing, or adding a roommate.
If the max rent leaves little room after your other bills, consider a roommate, a smaller unit, or a different neighborhood before signing a 12-month lease.
Rule of thumb
Intent: keep the purchase price anchored to monthly payment reality. It does not replace lender underwriting, closing cost estimates, PMI, repairs, or local taxes.
Use this early, before a preapproval number turns into a shopping budget.
A lender may approve you for significantly more than this estimate. That is not a signal to spend it. Your comfort with the monthly payment matters more than the maximum the bank will allow.
Rule of thumb
Intent: show what extra principal can do and what it costs in cash flow. This illustrates principal and interest only; escrow, fees, and prepayment rules can change the math.
Use this when choosing between extra mortgage payments, investing, debt payoff, or more cash savings.
Extra principal reduces your balance faster and saves the most interest early in the loan, when each payment is mostly interest. The same extra amount matters less at year 25 than at year 3.
Rule of thumb
Intent: estimate the income, debt, and future costs someone else would need to cover if you died. It's a needs estimate, not insurance advice.
Use this if a partner, child, parent, or co-signer depends on your income or unpaid labor.
A positive gap means you are likely underinsured for your dependents' needs. Term life insurance for the gap amount is generally inexpensive if you are young and healthy, a 20-year term quote takes about 10 minutes to get.
Rule of thumb
Intent: turn "I should save more" into a target and a monthly pace. The right target depends on job stability, health, family support, and irregular bills.
Use this before increasing investing, taking on a lease, or choosing a higher insurance deductible.
Three months works if your job is stable and you have no dependents. Six months is better if you are self-employed, in a volatile field, or if others depend on your income.
Rule of thumb
Intent: show how payment size affects payoff time and interest. Minimum-payment rules, fees, promo rates, and new charges can change actual results.
Use this to compare a minimum-only plan with a fixed extra payment.
Every dollar above the minimum is a guaranteed return equal to your interest rate. Paying off 22% credit card debt is the same as earning 22% on that money, risk-free.
Checklists
These are not meant to be read like articles. Use them when you are about to do the task and need to know what to gather, what to verify, and what the next move is.
Tax prep
0 / 11Reduce the scramble before you open tax software or sit down with a preparer.
Use before filing, especially if you changed jobs, freelanced, moved, invested, paid student loans, or had marketplace health insurance.
Next: Make one folder, physical or digital, for the tax year and add each form as it arrives. Then use the first-time tax filing guide before you submit.
New job
0 / 10Show up ready for payroll setup, I-9 verification, and benefits enrollment without scrambling.
Use after accepting an offer and before orientation, especially if this is your first full-time job.
Next: Enrollment windows for benefits often close within 30 days of your start date. Write down every question before day one.
Payday
0 / 10Turn the first paycheck from a confusing surprise into a repeatable monthly system.
Use when your first paycheck lands, or any time pay changes after a raise, new job, bonus, or benefits change.
Next: Set up one automatic transfer to savings on payday, even if it is small, the habit matters more than the amount.
Maintenance
0 / 11Keep the adult paperwork from piling up into a once-a-decade panic project.
Use as an annual checkup, a birthday works well, or after a big life change: moving, getting married, having a child, or changing jobs.
Next: Pick the oldest unfinished item, not the most interesting one, and schedule the first concrete step before you close this tab.
Workflows
Follow these step by step. Each one is sequenced so earlier steps create the conditions for later ones to work.
Order of operations
Avoid investing money you may need for rent, repairs, medical bills, or a sudden job loss.
Next: If you have less than one month saved, your next dollar usually belongs in cash rather than a brokerage account.
Before you apply
Check whether the apartment works in your monthly life, not just whether the landlord might approve you.
Next: If the numbers only work when every month goes perfectly, the apartment is not affordable yet.
Coverage stack
Prioritize coverage for losses that could seriously damage your finances, not just losses that feel bad.
Next: If you can only fix one gap, start with the uninsured risk that would create the largest bill this year.
First 7 days
Handle the paperwork and financial triage first so you can search for work from a stable position.
Next: The first 48 hours matter most for paperwork. After that, starting the search early is the single most important move.
Start to signed
Avoid the most common first-apartment mistakes: underestimating real cost, skipping the lease read, and missing move-in damage.
Next: The lease read and the move-in documentation are the two steps that protect you for the entire time you live there.
First 30 days
Create a spending plan based on what actually moves through your bank account, not what you think you should be spending.
Next: The goal is not a perfect budget on the first try. It is to understand what you actually spend and adjust from there.
