Can I Afford This?

Enter your income, expenses, and the price. Get an honest answer before you buy. Not after.

Simple math: income minus essential expenses equals what you can safely spend.

Monthly income (after tax)

Monthly expenses

Purchase price

Can you afford it?

Yes

This uses 13% of your surplus. You'd still have $1,300 left. Your savings stay on track.

Monthly surplus

$1,500

After purchase

$1,300

What does “afford” actually mean?

Having enough in your bank account is not the same as being able to afford it. Affording it means buying it without cutting into your bills, savings, or emergency fund.

This calculator is simple. Monthly income minus essential expenses. If the purchase fits within what's left, you can afford it. If it doesn't, you're spending money you need for something else.

How does this calculator work?

Put in your after-tax income, your essential monthly expenses, and the price of what you want to buy. The calculator shows how much of your monthly surplus the purchase would use.

Under 25% of your surplus? Comfortable buy. 25-50%? Doable but impacts savings. Over 50%? You're stretching. Over 100%? You can't afford it this month. If you're also building an emergency fund, check our emergency fund calculator to see your target.

How to know if you can afford something

You can afford something when three things are true. Your essentials are covered, your savings goal is still funded, and the price fits inside the money that remains. If any of the three fails, you cannot afford it yet, whatever your account balance says.

That is the whole test, and it is the same for a $30 order or a $300 jacket. The calculator above runs it for you: income, minus essentials and any fixed savings goal, compared against the price.

How much can I spend?

Your safe number for the month is what remains after essentials and savings: income, minus essential expenses, minus the amount you want to save. With $4,000 of income, $2,500 of essentials, and $500 going to savings, the number is $1,000.

Two habits make the number useful. Recalculate it whenever your income or rent changes, and treat it as a ceiling rather than a target to hit.

Why checking before you buy matters

Most impulse purchases happen because nobody does the math first. A $200 purchase feels small until you realize it's 40% of what you had left this month.

Ten seconds of math before buying. That's usually the difference between a good purchase and a regretted one.

The math answers whether you can. The pause before you buy method answers whether you should. Together they cover both halves of the decision.

The real cost of “I'll figure it out later”

Most regretted purchases weren't expensive. They were unplanned. A $150 pair of shoes doesn't hurt your bank account. It hurts the $150 that was going toward savings. One question before buying changes everything: can I actually afford this right now?

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if I can afford something?

Subtract your essential expenses from your after-tax income. If the purchase fits within what's left, and still leaves room for savings, you can afford it.

What counts as an essential expense?

Rent or mortgage, utilities, groceries, insurance, transportation, minimum debt payments, and subscriptions you genuinely need. Not restaurants, shopping, or entertainment.

Should I include savings in my expenses?

If you have a fixed savings goal (like building an emergency fund), include it in your expenses. That way the calculator only shows what you can spend freely.

How much money can I spend each month?

Take your after-tax income, subtract essential expenses, then subtract what you want to save. What remains is yours to spend without damage. Most months it is a smaller number than it feels like, which is exactly why checking it before a purchase helps.

What if I can afford it but still feel unsure?

Affordability is only half the decision. The other half is whether you will still want it once the urge passes. If the numbers work but something feels off, run the purchase through a short pause first. Purchases that fail the pause were never about the money.