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Tools  /  Financial Runway   Free

How long could you go without a paycheck?

Job loss is the most likely crisis most households will ever face — far more common than any storm or grid-down. This works out your runway: how many months your savings covers the bills if the income stops, what a bare-bones budget buys you, and the fund it takes to hit 3, 6 or 12 months of breathing room.

1

Your inputs

Monthly essentials — only what you truly must pay
Your position
Cash + accounts you can reach fast. Not retirement.
Unemployment, side gig, spouse — what still comes in.
2

Results

Bare-bones budget
Your runway
Target fund

Notes

Runway buys time to make good decisions instead of desperate ones. Three months is the usual floor, six is comfortable, and twelve is real security if your income is variable or your field hires slowly. Build it in a separate, boring, reachable account — a high-yield savings account, not investments that can be down exactly when you need them. The fastest way to extend runway isn't earning more, it's knowing your bare-bones number cold: the list above is what you'd actually pay if the paychecks stopped tomorrow, and a deep pantry (see the food planner) lets the grocery line flex toward zero.