Money Priority Planner

Most money tools answer one question at a time. Real life does not. The same extra dollar might be needed for emergency savings, expensive debt, an employer retirement match, or simply getting this month’s cash flow above zero.

This planner puts those four decisions on one screen. It calculates a current snapshot, identifies the condition creating the most immediate pressure, and builds a 30-day action map. It also shows what the same monthly margin could do in different directions, so the trade-off is visible instead of buried.

Your financial inputs stay in this browser. The planner has no account, save button, analytics event, or server submission. Resetting or closing the page clears the result.

1 Monthly cash flow

Use an average month. Keep required debt minimums separate so they are not counted twice.

Monthly take-home income ($)

Income that actually reaches checking after payroll deductions.

Essential monthly expenses, excluding debt minimums ($)

Housing, food, utilities, transport, insurance, medicine, and other must-pay costs.

Liquid emergency savings ($)

Cash you can reach without selling an investment or paying a penalty.

2 Expensive debt

Enter one high-rate balance, or combine balances only if their APRs are close. Leave all three at zero if this does not apply.

Current balance ($)

APR (%)

Required minimum payment ($/month)

3 Income risk

These choices change only the emergency-reserve comparison. The planner starts at three months and adds one month for each selected risk factor, capped at six.

Income varies, is seasonal, or depends on commissions The household depends on one main income Children or other dependents rely on this income

4 Employer retirement match optional

Use the exact formula in the plan document if you have it. For "50% of contributions up to 6% of pay," enter 50 for match rate and 6 for match cap.

Annual gross salary ($)

Your current contribution (% of pay)

Employer match per contributed dollar (%)

Employer match cap (% of pay)

The result is an educational comparison, not a recommendation. Verify employer-plan rules and account terms before acting.

What the planner calculates

The output begins with four numbers:

Measure	Calculation	What it reveals
Cash-flow margin	Take-home income minus essential expenses and required debt minimums	Whether the month has room for an additional goal
Emergency runway	Liquid emergency savings divided by one month of essential obligations	How long the current cash reserve could cover the must-pay list
Illustrative debt cost	Current high-rate balance multiplied by APR	A simple annual snapshot of the rate pressure, before balance reduction
Possible unclaimed match	Maximum employer match under the entered formula minus match captured at the current contribution rate	An amount to verify against the employer plan document

The annual debt cost is deliberately simple. If a balance is $9,000 at 21.6% APR, the opening-balance calculation is $9,000 x 0.216 = $1,944. Actual interest should be lower when payments reduce the balance, and fees or a variable rate can make it higher.

How the 30-day map chooses a stage

The planner does not pretend there is one perfect order for every household. It uses a visible sequence of conditions:

Negative monthly margin comes first. If essential expenses and required debt payments exceed take-home income, the result focuses on verifying the gap, protecting must-pay bills, and contacting a creditor or service provider before a missed payment. A negative margin cannot be solved by optimizing investments.
One month of essential obligations is the first reserve checkpoint. If cash is below that line, the map shows the gap and how long the current monthly margin would take to close it. This is a checkpoint, not a universal emergency-fund rule.
A possible unclaimed employer match is surfaced next. The planner shows the employer dollars and the employee contribution needed to reach the entered cap. It does not assume immediate vesting or eligibility.
The fuller reserve and expensive debt become a decision fork. Once the earlier conditions are stable, the result compares what the available monthly margin could do if directed to the reserve or to the entered debt.

That sequence is intentionally open to disagreement. Someone facing an urgent medical cost, job loss, legal deadline, delinquent tax debt, or another high-consequence situation may need a different order. The value of the map is that it shows which condition triggered the result and exposes the numbers behind it.

Worked example

Suppose a household enters:

$4,700 monthly take-home income
$3,900 of essential expenses, excluding debt minimums
$160 required debt minimum
$2,842 in liquid emergency savings
$9,000 of credit card debt at 21.6% APR
$60,000 annual salary, 3% current retirement contribution, and an employer matching 50% of contributions up to 6% of pay

The cash-flow margin is $4,700 - $3,900 - $160 = $640 per month. One month of essential obligations is $4,060, so the current reserve covers $2,842 / $4,060 = 0.7 months. The simple opening-balance debt cost is $9,000 x 21.6% = $1,944 per year.

The maximum employer match under the entered formula is $60,000 x 6% x 50% = $1,800 per year. The 3% current contribution captures $60,000 x 3% x 50% = $900, leaving an estimated $900 per year to verify.

Because the reserve is below one month, the map identifies the starter-reserve checkpoint first. The gap is $4,060 - $2,842 = $1,218. At a $640 monthly margin, the simple timeline is about two months. The output still displays the debt cost and possible match so they do not disappear from the decision.

What this tool cannot know

No browser calculator can see the full situation. This planner does not know:

whether an expense can actually be reduced without creating another problem;
whether a debt rate changes, fees apply, or a promotional period is ending;
an employer plan’s eligibility, vesting, true-up, payroll, or withdrawal rules;
whether take-home pay already reflects a planned contribution change;
tax effects from changing a pre-tax retirement contribution;
job-search time, insurance deductibles, family support, health needs, or upcoming large bills;
a person’s tolerance for risk or the value of professional advice in a high-stakes case.

The result should be treated as a structured set of questions and comparisons. It is useful when it helps you spot the number that needs verification next.

Privacy and printing

The planner uses client-side JavaScript. Values are read from the form, calculated in memory, and written into the result panel on this page. The script does not contain a network request, storage call, or account system. The print button uses the browser’s normal print dialog, which can also save the result as a PDF.

Sources & further reading

This tool provides general educational comparisons, not personalized financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Its sequence may not fit urgent or unusual circumstances. See our disclaimer and verify material decisions with the relevant account provider or a qualified professional.