Buying a home
Test the mortgage, insurance, utilities, moving costs, and commute - and see which months could leave you with less room.
Cashflow planning for real-life decisions
See how your next financial decision could affect your cashflow.
Start with your household as it is today. Change the income, bills, living costs, or one-time events behind a new home, job, or other major move - then compare the months ahead before you commit.
No bank connection requiredStart with estimatesStart free
Compare the choice
Baseline vs. New Home
BaselineNew Home
New Home selected. Both scenarios stay above zero; New Home has a lower projected cash balance over the period.
- Tightest cash position
- $8,450
- First month below $0
- None
- Projected net change
- +$2,180
Decisions change more than one number
See the full monthly impact of the change.
A new home, job, or family plan can change several parts of your cashflow at once. Put them in one scenario and see how they work together.
Changing jobs
Compare take-home pay, benefits, bonuses, commuting costs, and any gap between roles before you accept the change.
Living on one income
See how reducing hours, taking leave, or temporarily stepping away from work could change your monthly breathing room.
Growing your family
Bring parental leave, childcare, medical costs, and everyday spending changes into one month-by-month view.
Making a major purchase
See the immediate and ongoing impact of a vehicle, boat, renovation, or other large purchase before you commit.
Preparing for uncertainty
Test an income drop, a temporary expense, or a backup plan now - before you need to rely on it.
Built for decisions, not daily budgeting
Test a choice without turning it into a full financial plan.
Traditional budgeting tools help track the money you have already spent. Comprehensive platforms connect a decision to retirement, investments, taxes, and long-term wealth.
Cashflow Scenarios answers a different question: how could this specific change affect the cash your household has month by month?
Build the baseline, test the change, and see the tradeoff.
Quick check
Calculator
A quick result for one isolated question.
Decision view
Cashflow Scenarios
A month-by-month comparison of the choice.
Full picture
Planning platform
Long-range modeling across your financial life.
How it works
Capture today. Test the change. Compare the outcome.
Give every what-if a real starting point, then change only the assumptions the decision would affect.
Step 01
Build your baseline
Enter starting cash, take-home income, recurring bills, and living costs. This becomes the reference point for every what-if.
Step 02
Change the assumptions
Duplicate the baseline, then update whatever the decision would change - a mortgage, salary, childcare cost, major purchase, or other estimate.
Step 03
See the tradeoff
Compare the same months side by side. See where cash could tighten, improve, or fall below $0 under each option.
See the timing, not just the total
Find the months where the plan gets tight.
A decision can look reasonable overall and still create a difficult stretch along the way. See the timing, pressure points, and tradeoffs hidden inside the total.
Follow your projected cash
See how your estimated cash position could rise or fall each month.
Find the tightest month
Spot the lowest projected balance before it catches you by surprise.
Spot the first shortfall
See whether - and when - the projected cash balance first falls below $0.
Understand each month
See how income, bills, living costs, and one-time events shape the result.
Estimate the income gap
If a scenario has a negative net change, see the approximate added take-home income needed to bring it back to $0.
Compare your options
Put up to four scenarios across the same months and see the tradeoffs.
Start with what you know
Use the numbers that matter to the decision.
Enter available cash, expected take-home income, recurring bills, living costs, and the change you want to test. No bank connection or transaction cleanup is required.
Start with reasonable estimates. Refine the assumptions that could materially change the outcome.
What you bring
- Starting cash or savings
- Expected household income
- Major recurring bills
- Estimated living costs
- The change you want to test
Your first version does not need to be perfect.
Change the numbers and the projection updates with them.
Not another budgeting app
Choose the tool that matches the question.
Budgeting apps, cashflow decision tools, and comprehensive planning platforms each solve a different problem.
Primary purpose
- Budgeting apps
- Manage actual spending
- Cashflow Scenarios
- Test a household decision
- Full planning platforms
- Build a comprehensive financial plan
Typical information
- Budgeting apps
- Transactions and accounts
- Cashflow Scenarios
- Household cashflow assumptions
- Full planning platforms
- Assets, investments, taxes, and detailed assumptions
Projection focus
- Budgeting apps
- Current budget
- Cashflow Scenarios
- Month-by-month cashflow
- Full planning platforms
- Long-range wealth and retirement
Bank connection
- Budgeting apps
- Often expected
- Cashflow Scenarios
- Not required
- Full planning platforms
- Varies
Setup
- Budgeting apps
- Ongoing maintenance
- Cashflow Scenarios
- A baseline and the change
- Full planning platforms
- Detailed financial modeling
Best for
- Budgeting apps
- Controlling spending
- Cashflow Scenarios
- Comparing financial what-ifs
- Full planning platforms
- Comprehensive financial planning
| Comparison | Budgeting apps | Cashflow Scenarios | Full planning platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Manage actual spending | Test a household decision | Build a comprehensive financial plan |
| Typical information | Transactions and accounts | Household cashflow assumptions | Assets, investments, taxes, and detailed assumptions |
| Projection focus | Current budget | Month-by-month cashflow | Long-range wealth and retirement |
| Bank connection | Often expected | Not required | Varies |
| Setup | Ongoing maintenance | A baseline and the change | Detailed financial modeling |
| Best for | Controlling spending | Comparing financial what-ifs | Comprehensive financial planning |
Before you run the numbers
Know what the projection can - and cannot - tell you.
Get clear answers about your data, the assumptions you enter, and how to interpret the result.
Test the decision before you live with it.
Build your baseline, change the assumptions, and see how each option could affect the months ahead.
Build your baselineNo bank connection or payment method required to start.