Financial Adviser

A quick, honest snapshot of your finances

Enter your numbers to see where you stand against common budgeting, emergency-fund, debt-payoff, and retirement-savings rules of thumb — all calculated instantly in your browser.

This is educational information, not personalized financial advice. Everything below is based on general, publicly-known rules of thumb. It doesn't know your full financial picture, isn't a licensed financial advisor, and shouldn't be the basis for investment, tax, or major money decisions on its own — for that, talk to a licensed financial planner, CPA, or advisor.

Monthly Budget

Monthly Take-Home Income

Essential Expenses (housing, bills, groceries, insurance, min. debt payments)

Discretionary Spending (dining out, entertainment, shopping)

Monthly Savings / Investing Contribution

Emergency Fund

Current Emergency Fund Balance

Cash set aside for unexpected expenses, separate from investments.

Debt Payoff (optional)

Total Debt Balance (credit cards, personal loans)

Average Interest Rate (APR %)

Monthly Payment Toward This Debt

Retirement Benchmark (optional)

Your Current Age

Annual Salary (before tax)

Total Retirement Savings So Far

Budget vs. the 50/30/20 Guideline

The 50/30/20 rule is a common general guideline (roughly 50% needs, 30% wants, 20% savings/debt paydown) — not a rule that fits every situation, especially in high cost-of-living areas.

Emergency Fund Coverage

Plain-English Summary

Turns the numbers above into a short, plain-English overview of where things stand and general areas worth thinking about — still general education, not a personalized recommendation.

What this tool does and doesn't do

This tool applies well-known, public budgeting formulas to the numbers you enter: the 50/30/20 budget split, a 3–6 month emergency fund target, standard loan amortization math for debt payoff, and commonly-cited age-based retirement savings milestones. All of it runs in your browser — nothing you enter is required to be sent anywhere unless you use the optional AI summary.

It does not know your tax situation, employer benefits, insurance needs, family circumstances, existing investments, or risk tolerance in any real depth, and it never recommends specific stocks, funds, insurance products, or investment strategies.

For anything beyond general education — how to actually invest, how to structure debt payoff around your specific accounts, retirement account strategy, or tax planning — a licensed, ideally fee-only fiduciary financial advisor can look at your complete picture in a way this tool cannot.

This tool provides general educational information only and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Calculations are estimates based on the figures you enter and standard public formulas, and may not reflect your complete financial situation.

About Financial Adviser

The Financial Adviser gives visitors a quick, honest snapshot of where they stand against common, publicly-known personal finance rules of thumb: the 50/30/20 budget split, a 3-6 month emergency fund target, standard loan amortization math for debt payoff timelines, and commonly-cited age-based retirement savings milestones. Every calculation runs instantly in the visitor's browser from the numbers they enter. This tool is intentionally built to give general education rather than personalized recommendations - it displays clear disclaimers, never suggests specific investments or financial products, and encourages visitors to consult a licensed financial advisor for decisions specific to their situation. When AI is configured on this site, an optional plain-English summary can be generated from the calculated figures, using a prompt that keeps the same educational, non-prescriptive framing.

Financial Adviser