Money Tools · The Order of Operations

What to fund first, decided with your numbers.

Six numbers in. You build the order. The tool runs five years of it, month by month, then shows the other orders beside yours. Nothing is ranked and nothing is recommended; the math is.

What this tool is NOT

Not a recommendation, and not a plan built for you. It runs the same five-year math in whatever order you choose, with every assumption shown, so the trade-offs are visible instead of hidden inside a rule of thumb. Your real numbers will move in ways this model does not: raises, taxes, new bills, a different match formula.

Why the balance matters

A $4,200 balance at 24.9% adds about $1,174 in interest over a year if nothing is paid.

Interest is charged on whatever is owed, every month, at the APR. Each dollar paid down stops costing that rate.

Source: CFPB, What is a credit card interest rate? What does APR mean?

APR, in the glossary

Why the match matters

The match is money that exists only if you contribute.

With these numbers, contributing $204 a month brings $102 a month from your employer. Employer contributions can follow a vesting schedule, which decides when that money is yours to keep.

Source: IRS, 401(k) Plan Overview

The 401(k) lesson

Why the fund matters

The fund is what keeps the next surprise from becoming new debt.

A bill with no savings behind it often lands on a card or a loan; at 24.9%, it would join the balance above. This tool's fund target is three months of essentials, $7,200.

Source: CFPB, An essential guide to building an emergency fund

The emergency fund lesson

Step 1 of 4: your numbers

Kept in this browser only. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Monthly take-home$What lands in your account each monthEssentials each month$Rent, food, utilities, transport; not the cardHigh-interest balance$What you owe on the card or loanIts APR%From your statementEmployer match% of payThe most your employer adds, as a percent of payEmergency fund today$Savings set aside for surprises

Free cash each month (take-home minus essentials): $1,000. Fund target: $7,200.

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The math, shown

Each month starts with free cash: take-home pay minus essentials. Interest is added to the balance at the APR divided by twelve, and the card's minimum is paid first: the interest plus 1% of the balance, at least $35. What is left goes to the three moves in your order, each until it is done: the fund up to its target, the balance down to zero, and contributions up to the amount that earns the full match. Anything still left goes to retirement. The employer match is added in proportion to what you contributed, and the retirement balance grows each month at the illustrative rate.

Assumptions

The emergency fund target is 3 months of essentials. The fund is shown without interest.
Retirement grows at 7% a year, compounded monthly. Illustrative, not a forecast.
Contributing 6% of pay earns the full match, and the match you enter is the most your employer adds, as a percent of pay. Illustrative: your plan's formula is in its summary plan description.
Take-home pay stands in for pay, which understates a match calculated on gross pay.
No taxes, no raises, no new debt, and the card minimum is paid every month that free cash allows.
Five years, 60 months.