Runway Calculator

How long your money lasts if income drops

Your financial runway is how many months your cash buffer can keep covering the essentials if your income drops or stops — after a redundancy, a pay cut, a career change or starting a business. Putting a number on it turns a vague worry into a concrete plan, and often shows you have more breathing room (or less) than you assumed.

The calculator handles two situations. An income drop is where you keep earning but less than before, so you enter the new lower income that continues. A job-transition delay is where income stops or nearly stops for a set stretch, so you enter how long the gap lasts and any income you will still receive.

The formula

Runway (months) = Usable cash buffer ÷ monthly shortfall, where the monthly shortfall = essential expenses − any income you still receive during the disruption. Any one-off essential costs are subtracted from your buffer first.

Worked example

When to use it

• Sizing up how long you could cope after a layoff before finding new work.
• Planning a career change, sabbatical or period of study.
• Working out the cash cushion you need before starting a business.
• Deciding how big your emergency fund really should be.

Assumptions & what’s not included

• It assumes your buffer is not earning a return or being topped up.
• ‘Essential’ expenses are the ones you decide you can’t cut — be honest about what stays.
• It is a simplified estimate; unexpected costs can shorten real runway.
• For a transition delay it also tells you whether your buffer outlasts the expected gap.

Frequently asked questions

What is a financial runway?

Your financial runway is how many months your available cash buffer can cover your essential expenses if your income drops or stops. It is calculated by dividing your usable cash by your monthly shortfall (essential expenses minus any income you still receive).

How do I calculate my runway for a layoff?

Enter your essential monthly expenses, your available cash buffer, and choose the disruption scenario. For a job transition with no income, your runway is simply your usable cash divided by your monthly essential expenses. The calculator also tells you whether your buffer will outlast the expected gap.

What counts as essential expenses?

Essential expenses are the spending you cannot easily cut: rent or mortgage, groceries, utilities, minimum debt payments, required insurance and transport to look for work. Leave out discretionary spending like dining out, subscriptions and holidays, since you would pause those during a disruption.

Should I include income I still receive during the disruption?

Yes. If you take a lower-paid role, receive severance, unemployment benefits or partial income, enter that amount. The calculator subtracts it from your essential expenses to find your true monthly shortfall, which gives a more accurate runway than assuming income drops to zero.

Is my data private?

Yes, completely. All calculations run in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, stored, or shared, and there is no sign-up.