What this tool does
The Money Runway Calculator helps you understand how long your current savings and liquid assets would last if your income stopped or significantly decreased. It analyzes your financial situation across multiple scenarios: current spending levels, a lean budget with reduced discretionary spending, and bare minimum essential expenses only. The AI-powered analysis provides personalized projections considering factors like income stability, debt levels, and number of dependents. Key terms include 'runway' (the number of months your money would last), 'burn rate' (your monthly spending), 'liquid assets' (money you can access quickly), and 'essential expenses' (necessary costs like housing, food, and utilities that cannot easily be reduced).
How it calculates
The calculation uses multiple runway formulas to project different scenarios:
**Current Runway:** Total Assets / Monthly Expenses **Lean Runway:** Total Assets / (Essential Expenses + 50% of Discretionary) **Essential Runway:** Total Assets / Essential Expenses Only
Where: - **Total Assets** = Savings + Emergency Fund + Liquid Investments - **Monthly Expenses** = All regular monthly spending - **Essential Expenses** = Fixed costs (housing, utilities, food, insurance) - **Discretionary Spending** = Variable costs (entertainment, dining out)
The AI analysis goes further by considering income stability, debt obligations, dependents, and economic factors to provide confidence-weighted projections and personalized recommendations.
Who should use this
Job seekers planning their financial buffer during a career transition; freelancers and gig workers assessing their financial resilience between projects; anyone contemplating a career change or sabbatical who needs to know how long their savings will last; entrepreneurs evaluating their personal runway before starting a business; retirees or pre-retirees calculating how long their savings might need to last; and anyone building an emergency fund who wants to know their target savings goal based on their expenses.
Worked examples
Example 1: A professional with \$30,000 in savings, \$5,000 emergency fund, \$15,000 in investments, monthly expenses of \$4,000, essential expenses of \$2,500, and \$1,500 discretionary spending. Total Assets = \$30,000 + \$5,000 + \$15,000 = \$50,000 Current Runway = \$50,000 / \$4,000 = 12.5 months Lean Runway = \$50,000 / (\$2,500 + \$750) = 15.4 months Essential Runway = \$50,000 / \$2,500 = 20 months
Example 2: A freelancer with \$10,000 savings, no emergency fund, monthly expenses of \$3,000, and essential expenses of \$2,000. Total Assets = \$10,000 Current Runway = \$10,000 / \$3,000 = 3.3 months Essential Runway = \$10,000 / \$2,000 = 5 months This indicates a higher risk situation requiring immediate attention.
Limitations
The calculator assumes expenses remain constant, which may not reflect real-life fluctuations due to inflation, unexpected costs, or lifestyle changes. It does not account for investment returns or losses during the runway period. Liquid investments may face penalties or delays when accessing funds. The tool cannot predict job market conditions, health emergencies, or other unpredictable events. AI projections are based on general financial principles and may not account for unique personal circumstances. Tax implications of withdrawing from certain investment accounts are not calculated. The accuracy depends entirely on the honesty and precision of user-provided financial data.
FAQs
Q: What counts as a liquid asset? A: Liquid assets are funds you can access quickly without significant penalties. This includes checking/savings accounts, money market accounts, and easily-sold investments. Retirement accounts (401k, IRA) typically have withdrawal penalties and should not be counted as fully liquid.
Q: How much runway should I have? A: Financial experts typically recommend 3-6 months of expenses for those with stable income, and 6-12 months for those with variable income or self-employed individuals. The more dependents and debt you have, the larger your runway should be.
Q: Should I include my partner's income and savings? A: If you share finances and expenses with a partner, you can include their contributions. However, for conservative planning, consider calculating your individual runway first.
Q: How often should I recalculate my runway? A: Review your runway quarterly or whenever you have a major financial change (job change, large expense, significant savings milestone, or change in monthly expenses).
Q: What if the AI analysis is different from the quick calculation? A: The AI analysis considers additional factors like income stability, debt burden, and economic conditions that the quick calculation does not. The AI provides a more nuanced projection but both are useful benchmarks.
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