Annual Salary: Uncertain about your overall annual income? UNDERESTIMATE. You may find you have money leftover but you avoid the huge mistake of living beyond your means.
Other Yearly Income: Think: Cash gifts, extra side money, and tips.
Gross Income per Paycheck: Research shows that the majority of salaried employees are paid “bi-weekly”, meaning 26 paychecks per year. To get this number, we simply divided your Annual Salary by 26. Remember, this is before taxes and benefits are subtracted!
Retirement: Bottom line, save for it! If you have an Emergency Fund (6-9 months of living expenses stocked away) and your consumer debt is being paid down (if you have it) – SAVE FOR retirement! Saving early pays off!
Not sure if a 401(k) or IRA is right for you? Check out: Choosing Between A 401(k), Traditional, And Roth IRA.
Tax percentage: Based on your income, we provide your 2010 federal tax bracket. Taxes are complicated, so USE THIS IS AN ESTIMATE RATHER THAN A RULE. Your tax bracket is generally higher than your tax rate, which is the money you actually pay in taxes. If you know your tax rate, feel free to input it here.
Annual Salary: Uncertain about your overall annual income? UNDERESTIMATE. You may find you have money leftover but you avoid the huge mistake of living beyond your means.
Other Yearly Income: Think: Cash gifts, extra side money, and tips.
Gross Income per Paycheck: Research shows that the majority of salaried employees are paid “bi-weekly”, meaning 26 paychecks per year. To get this number, we simply divided your Annual Salary by 26. Remember, this is before taxes and benefits are subtracted!
If you have income, you can open a Traditional IRA. (If you are single and make less than $105,000 check out Roth IRAs first.)
Maximum contribution allowed in 2010: $5,000 ($6,000 if you’re 50 or older).
Tax-break today: Similar to a 401(k) plan, money in a Traditional IRA account grows tax-deferred, meaning that you won’t be charged taxes until you’re ready to retire.
You can have a 401(k) and an IRA.
For more, see Guide To Traditional IRAs
With a Roth IRA you contribute money that you’ve already paid taxes on—so your investments grow tax-free. Thus, contributions to a Roth IRA do not affect your taxable income.
If you’re single and make less than $105,000 per year, you’re qualified to open a Roth IRA ($167,000 if you’re a married couple filing jointly).
Maximum contribution to all IRAs in 2010: $5,000 ($6,000 if you’re 50 or older).
You can have a 401(k) and an IRA.
For more, see Guide To Roth IRAs.
Fixed expenses remain the exact same every month, like student loan payments, rent, cell phone bills, gym bills, auto payments, etc.
Variable expenses, on the other hand, can vary month to month. These include the cost of groceries, utilities, gas, entertainment, birthday gifts for friends, etc.
Not sure about your variable expenses? Don’t worry. Start keeping your receipts now so you can return to this section if you need to change the numbers. It’s important to understand how much your most “basic” life costs (think rent, groceries, medicine etc.) before you can make the most out of your disposable income!
Try to include everything that you know you always spend money on monthly (this way the money left is really money to have fun with!)
Round up! It's a good habit to overestimate what your bills are rather than to underestimate.
We recommend you try and save 10% of your income each month.
Saving is a healthy habit. No matter how much money you have, try and budget some savings for every month, even if it's a small amount.
Make sure at a minimum you have 6-9 months of living expenses saved in an Emergency Fund
Research shows that the majority of salaried employees are paid on a bi-weekly schedule - meaning they receive 26 paychecks per year.
With this in mind, your Gross Income per paycheck is estimated to be your Annual Salary/26. This helps you understand how much money comes into your bank account each pay period.
If this number is not right - don't worry. The Budgeting Tool can still be helpful for you! Let us know if this number is not accurate by e-mailing us at feedback@learnvest.com
Here, we have calculated your taxable income as the money you make less the money you contribute to a tax deferred retirement account (401(k) and Traditional IRA).
Fixed expenses remain the exact same every month, like student loan payments, rent, cell phone bills, gym bills, auto payments, etc.
Variable expenses, on the other hand, can vary month to month. These include the cost of groceries, utilities, gas, entertainment, birthday gifts for friends, etc.
Not sure about your variable expenses? Don’t worry. Start keeping your receipts now so you can return to this section if you need to change the numbers. It’s important to understand how much your most “basic” life costs (think rent, groceries, medicine etc.) before you can make the most out of your disposable income!
Try to include everything that you know you always spend money on monthly (this way the money left is really money to have fun with!)
Round up! It's a good habit to overestimate what your bills are rather than to underestimate.
Fill Out All That Apply...
Cannot exceed $16500 Per Year |
Cannot exceed $5000 Per Year |
Total IRA Contributions cannot exceed $5,000 Cannot exceed $5000 Per Year |
Monthly Fixed Expenses:
*Emergency fund
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Monthly Variable Expenses:
*Emergency fund
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Monthly Savings:
|
Yearly Savings Contribution:
|
$0.00$0.00$0.00
Your disposable income is your cash left over after all your expenses and savings are accounted for. Consider increasing your savings above before using this money!
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*This is your total Expenses, Savings and IRA contributions. |
