Money Priorities
Emergency savings or extra debt payments?
Compare three ways to use available cash, understand the trade-offs and save a plan you can review later.
Compare your options in three simple steps.
Enter the money available, set your reserve target, and add any eligible debts. Then compare A, B and C side by side.
A clear comparison. A plan you can take away.
Your figures stay in this browser session. No automatic saving or server submission; refreshing this page may clear the comparison. Printing produces a file only if you choose to save it.
Returning later? Download a reusable JSON plan after choosing an option. You can reopen it in Decision Review for up to two free check-ins. Decision Review is available for up to two free completed check-ins per plan; historical viewing, corrections and export remain free.
Understand the comparison.
How the calculation works
Full reserve target = essential monthly costs × chosen months. The starter-first scenario fills the starter gap, allocates to qualifying debts, then fills the remaining reserve gap. The reserve-first scenario fills the full reserve gap before qualifying debt. Any remainder is labeled for other goals or further review.
Priority debts are ordered by APR, highest first; equal APRs use the smaller extra-payment capacity first, then entry order. Capacity is the entered balance minus any minimum still reserved for payment. This is a conservative allocation cap, not a payoff quote. The calculator works in whole cents.
The cash helper subtracts reserved essentials, other commitments, your cushion and listed unpaid debt minimums from cash on hand. Direct entry assumes those minimums are already reserved. Employer contributions never enter this calculation.
What this tool can and cannot tell you
This is an educational snapshot. It does not verify bill dates, promise affordability, forecast investment returns, calculate taxes or advise on securities. Special debt terms, overdue obligations or incomplete debt coverage prevent a complete allocation; valid reserve sizing can still be shown.
Promotional or deferred interest, forgiveness-related student loans, penalties, delinquency, collections and mortgage tax effects require a different analysis. A variable APR is treated only as the rate entered today.
Privacy and this tool
Your financial entries are calculated in this browser and are not submitted to WorthMorrow. This tool has no account service, analytics provider or automatic input storage. Printing uses your browser’s print system. Browser autofill, restored sessions, extensions and downloaded print files can retain information independently.
You can save a reusable JSON plan file and reopen it in Decision Review using your own saved file. Nothing is automatically stored by the website; any paid coordination software remains a future concept.
Educational references
CFPB: Building an emergency fund
Investor.gov: High-interest debt
IRS: Retirement plan contributions
These sources do not endorse WorthMorrow or its scenario order. Targets and the editable APR screen are comparison assumptions.
What does Money Priorities compare?
When you have money left after essential commitments, you may face competing choices: build an accessible emergency reserve or make additional payments on debt. This tool uses one set of figures to compare two established allocation orders and an optional flexible split. It does not determine a universally optimal decision.
Scenario A · Starter reserve, then eligible debt
First fill any gap in the starter reserve you choose. Direct the remaining cash to ordinary debts meeting your editable APR screen, from higher APR down, before adding toward the full reserve target.
Scenario B · Full reserve first
First fill your chosen full accessible reserve target, then consider extra payments on ordinary debts meeting the same APR screen. Any unused amount stays explicitly available for other goals or further review.
Scenario C · Flexible split
Choose an illustrative percentage for reserve building and eligible debt repayments. Category caps apply and unused portions are not silently transferred elsewhere.
Important limitations
The illustrative alternatives use cash already received and assumes that required bills and debt minimums have been covered or reserved. It does not forecast billing dates, compare specific investment returns, model tax and penalty consequences, or determine how much liquidity your circumstances require. Special debt terms and incomplete information limit the result rather than being ignored.
Any payoff estimates use constant stated APR and fixed required payments, with no new borrowing or fees. They illustrate consequences under those assumptions, not lender quotes or guaranteed outcomes.