How it works
Expand each category and enter what applies to you — every row has its own amount and frequency (daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually), so you don't have to do the monthly math yourself. The "+ Add" menu offers common income or expense types, depending on the category, or you can pick "Custom" to name your own. Debt Payments works the same way as every other category — just the amount you actually pay each month, not a full payoff calculation.
Irregular / One-Time Expenses is the one category that works differently: instead of a frequency, you pick which month it happens — a vacation in July, a major car repair in December. In the 12-Month Cash Flow view, that expense hits exactly the month you chose and nowhere else, rather than being averaged across the whole year.
Each view has a Copy button in its results section, for pasting the summary into an email, spreadsheet, or notes app. The 12-Month view's monthly projection is copied as a tab-separated table, so it drops straight into spreadsheet columns.
Monthly Snapshot vs. 12-Month Cash Flow
The Monthly Snapshot gives you a single month's picture: total income, total expenses, savings, and what's left over, broken down by category and as a percentage of income. One-time expenses are left out of this view on purpose — they're not recurring monthly costs. The 12-Month Cash Flow view shows exactly when those expenses occur.
The 12-Month Cash Flow view projects that same budget forward a full year, month by month. If you enter a starting cash balance, each month's Net Cash Flow (income minus expenses, debt payments, and savings, minus any one-time expense that month) adds directly to a running Ending Cash total — simple addition, no hidden assumptions about where the money goes.
Net Cash Flow = Income − Expenses − Debt Payments − Savings − One-Time Expenses Ending Cash = Previous Ending Cash + Net Cash Flow Monthly: $4,500 income, $3,875 total expenses (incl. debt), $300 savings → $325 monthly cash flow 12-Month: $54,000 income, $47,700 total expenses, $3,600 savings → $2,700 net cash flow Enter a starting cash balance to also see Starting Cash and Ending Cash for the year Here, "expenses" in the Net Cash Flow formula refers to regular living expenses; debt payments, savings, and one-time expenses are shown separately.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to enter a starting cash balance?
No, it's optional. Leave it blank and the 12-Month Cash Flow view still shows your Net Cash Flow for the year, but leaves out Starting Cash and Ending Cash — a cumulative cash balance isn't meaningful without knowing what you're starting from. If you're starting from nothing, entering $0 is different from leaving it blank: $0 is a real answer, so both figures appear, showing your cash balance is projected to land at exactly your net cash flow for the year.
Why does a one-time expense only show up in one month?
Because that's when it happens. A one-time expense is a single cash outflow, not a recurring monthly cost. The calculator therefore applies it only to the month you select instead of spreading it across all 12 months.
What happens if my expenses are higher than my income?
Monthly Cash Flow and Net Cash Flow will show as negative, in red, when your expenses, debt payments, and savings exceed your income. In the 12-Month view, one-time expenses can also make a particular month's Net Cash Flow negative. If you've entered a starting cash balance, Ending Cash will decrease by each month's net cash outflow.