Free Calculators
Free calculators for common money decisions. No sign-up, no data storage. Works in your browser and stays there.
Best Practice
Is It Worth It? Calculator
Open calculator →Problem it solves: You want to buy something, but you need to know if the time, money, and trade-offs are actually worth it.
How it helps: Estimate break-even time and value trade-offs. Compare the purchase against alternatives or the hours you need to work to pay for it.
Recommendations
- Run this before impulse buys
- Compare two options by entering both scenarios
- Use your take-home hourly rate for realistic break-even
Take-Home Pay Calculator
Open calculator →Problem it solves: You're considering a job offer and need to know your real after-tax income before comparing it to your current salary.
How it helps: Enter gross salary, state, filing status, and optional pre-tax deductions (401k, health insurance). Instantly see net monthly and annual take-home pay.
Recommendations
- Use this before negotiating a raise — know your actual delta after tax
- Compare two job offers by running both through the calculator
- Include 401k contribution to see its actual paycheck impact
Self-Employment Tax Calculator
Open calculator →Problem it solves: Freelancers and contractors often underpay quarterly taxes because they don't account for both halves of FICA (employer + employee).
How it helps: Calculates self-employment tax (15.3% on net earnings up to the Social Security wage base) plus estimated federal income tax, giving quarterly payment recommendations.
Recommendations
- Run this at the start of each quarter with your projected income
- Always set aside SE tax before spending any freelance income
- Pair with the Take-Home Pay calculator to compare W2 vs 1099 offers
Debt-to-Income Ratio
Open calculator →Problem it solves: Lenders use DTI to approve mortgages and loans. Most people don't know their DTI until they're rejected at the closing table.
How it helps: Enter monthly gross income and all recurring debt payments (mortgage/rent, car loans, student loans, credit card minimums). See your front-end and back-end DTI ratios with color-coded risk ratings.
Recommendations
- Target below 36% total DTI for best mortgage rates
- Use this to plan debt payoff order — which payoff drops DTI fastest?
- Check DTI 6 months before applying for a major loan to have time to improve it
Emergency Fund Calculator
Open calculator →Problem it solves: Most people set arbitrary emergency fund targets without factoring in their actual monthly expenses, job stability, or dependents.
How it helps: Enter your fixed and variable monthly expenses, job type (salaried, hourly, freelance), number of dependents, and risk tolerance. Returns a personalized 3–6 month target range and monthly savings plan.
Recommendations
- Build your emergency fund before aggressively investing
- Revisit after any major life change (new job, child, home purchase)
- Keep emergency funds in a high-yield savings account, not checking
Compound Growth Calculator
Open calculator →Problem it solves: People dramatically underestimate the long-term impact of small changes in contribution amount, return rate, or time horizon.
How it helps: Enter initial principal, monthly contribution, annual return rate, and time horizon. See ending balance, total contributions, and interest earned — with a decade-by-decade breakdown.
Recommendations
- Use this to model your 401k or Roth IRA contributions
- Show it to yourself when tempted to skip a monthly savings contribution
- Try the "what if I start 5 years later" scenario — the result is shocking
Capital Gains Tax Calculator
Open calculator →Problem it solves: Investors often sell assets without realizing the full tax impact — especially the difference between short-term and long-term capital gains rates.
How it helps: Enter cost basis, sale price, holding period, and income bracket. Calculates short-term vs long-term rate, estimated tax owed, and net after-tax proceeds.
Recommendations
- Always run this before selling an appreciated asset
- Check if holding 1–2 more months qualifies for long-term rates
- Factor in state capital gains tax — some states tax it as ordinary income
Credit Score Factor Simulator
Open calculator →Problem it solves: Credit scores feel opaque — people change one habit without seeing how utilization, payment history, account age, inquiries, and mix interact.
How it helps: Enter balance, credit limit, on-time payment rate, average account age, recent inquiries, and account types (optional known score). Simulate actions — pay down a balance, raise a limit, open a card, miss a payment, or apply for credit — and see how the estimated score band moves.
Recommendations
- Try paying down utilization before opening a new card
- Compare “raise limit” vs “pay down” for the same utilization target
- Treat the band estimate as educational — not a FICO/VantageScore quote
Loan Amortization Calculator
Open calculator →Problem it solves: Borrowers often know the monthly payment but not how much interest they will pay over 15–30 years — or how extra payments change the timeline.
How it helps: Enter principal, rate, and term (optional extra payment). See monthly payment, total interest, total paid, and a year-by-year principal vs interest breakdown.
Recommendations
- Try a modest extra payment and compare total interest saved
- Use this before refinancing to compare remaining interest
- Remember taxes, insurance, and fees are separate from principal/interest
Savings Goal Timeline Calculator
Open calculator →Problem it solves: People set a dollar goal without knowing whether their monthly savings rate (or deadline) actually gets them there.
How it helps: Toggle between “how long will it take” and “how much do I need monthly.” Optional return rate models compounding; 0% is pure cash savings.
Recommendations
- Run both modes before committing to a vacation or down-payment date
- Use a conservative return assumption for goals under 5 years
- Revisit after raises or expense cuts — small monthly changes compound
Inflation & Purchasing Power Calculator
Open calculator →Problem it solves: Cash feels safe until inflation quietly cuts what it can buy — and past prices are hard to compare to today without adjusting.
How it helps: Enter an amount, years, and inflation rate (default ~3% based on typical government data). See eroded buying power, the future dollars needed to match today, or past amounts in today’s dollars.
Recommendations
- Do not treat the default rate as live government data — adjust it for your scenario
- Pair with the compound growth tool to see if returns beat inflation
- Use past→today mode when comparing old salaries or sticker prices
Split the Bill
Open tool →Problem it solves: Splitting a restaurant or group bill with item assignment, tax, and tip usually means a spreadsheet or awkward mental math.
How it helps: Unlike the single-output calculators above, this is a full interactive tool: add people, assign line items, apply proportional tax and tip, export a CSV, and optionally scan a receipt on-device on the full /split page (a lightweight browser fill-helper — distinct from the iOS app’s receipt-scanning feature still in development). No signup — friends do not need the app.
Recommendations
- Assign shared items to everyone before adding tax/tip
- Use the web receipt scan when typing a long check is slower than photographing it
- Export CSV if you want a record outside the browser session
Using calculators with your Spend Sense budget
| Calculator | How to use alongside the app |
|---|---|
| Take-Home Pay | Enter your calculator result as your monthly income in Spend Sense budget setup |
| Emergency Fund | Create a Savings Goal in the app with the calculated target amount |
| Compound Growth | Use the monthly contribution figure to set a Savings Goal contribution schedule |
| Debt-to-Income | Log your monthly debt payments as fixed budget categories to track progress |
| Capital Gains | Add the net proceeds from asset sales as income in the month you sell |
| Self-Employment Tax | Create a "Tax Reserve" savings goal and contribute the quarterly estimate each month |
| Credit Score Simulator | After a pay-down or limit change, update related budget categories so spending stays within the new utilization target |
| Split the Bill | Use the web tool with friends who do not have the app; log your own share as an expense in Spend Sense afterward |
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