Live Calculators
Family Budget (50/30/20 rule)
Needs = 50% of after-tax income · Wants = 30% · Savings & extra debt paydown = 20%.
Source: Elizabeth Warren & Amelia Warren Tyagi, "All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan" (2005) · Updated 2026-07-07
Emergency Fund (3–6 months guideline)
Target = monthly essential expenses × target months (3–6, chosen by the user).
Source: NerdWallet, Fidelity, Chase, Wells Fargo, PNC · Updated 2026-07-07
Allowance ($1-per-year-of-age guideline)
Weekly allowance = $1 × child's age.
Source: Widely-cited parenting finance guideline · Updated 2026-07-07
Life Insurance Needs
Coverage = (income × multiplier, 10–15×) + debts + remaining child costs − existing assets.
Source: Industry-standard income-multiple life insurance guideline (10–15× annual income), as commonly cited by Policygenius, Ramsey Solutions, and other financial-planning publishers · Updated 2026-07-07
College Savings (529)
Future 4-year cost compounds today's cost at 3.2%/year; monthly savings needed assumes a 4–6.5% annual return.
Dependent Care FSA & Child Tax Credit
FSA limit $7.500. Dependent Care Credit 35–50% of eligible expenses. Child Tax Credit $2.200/child, phasing out $50 per $1,000 over $200.000 (single) / $400.000 (married).
Source: IRS 2026 inflation adjustments, as amended by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), enacted July 4, 2025 · Updated 2026-07-07
In Progress
These data sources are still being compiled. The calculators that depend on them aren't published yet — we never publish estimates built on incomplete or invented data.
USDA cost-of-raising-a-child baseline
Powers the Child Costs pillar page. USDA discontinued this report after 2017 — we're sourcing a defensible CPI-adjusted or third-party recalculation before publishing.
ACF childcare rates by state
Powers state-level childcare and cost-of-raising pages. Large dataset (50 states × 5 rates) — being compiled from the official NDCP dataset.
Census median household income by state
Powers state comparisons and the Family Cost Index.
State paid family leave programs
Powers the maternity leave pay estimator, for states with an active public program only.