Tool · Family Money

How much can you send home without sinking yourself?

Enter your take-home pay, your must-pay bills, and what your next money step needs each month: extra toward your credit cards and any other debt at 10% or more, or your emergency fund once they're paid off. The tool suggests a monthly family amount you can maintain while still taking that step, plus a short script for saying it out loud. That amount goes out with your bills on payday. General education, not personal advice. It runs in your browser, and what you enter isn't saved or sent.

Example numbers. Change them to yours.

Monthly take-home pay Monthly essentials (rent, utilities, groceries, transit, phone, insurance, minimum debt payments) What your next money step needs each month (extra toward credit cards and any other debt at 10% or more, or your emergency fund transfer once they're paid off; leave out a 401(k) that already comes out of your paycheck) Not getting your full 401(k) match yet? Add the extra it would take each month. Cushion you want to keep for yourself (fun and small surprises) What you send home each month now (optional: leave it blank if you're just starting)

Monthly	Amount
Left after essentials, your next money step and your cushion	—
Family amount you can maintain	—
Your cushion, still yours	—

Say it out loud

Your payday order: first, pay your bills and the family amount. Next come your 401(k) match and your credit card payments, then savings. Whatever's left is yours to spend without guilt. If the suggested amount comes out at zero or below, the fix is more income or lower bills. Either way, don't skip the match.

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