Savings Decay Calculator
Explore how income changes and inflation interact with your spending mix.
Estimate a personal inflation rate, compare nominal and inflation-adjusted income, and see how estimated annual costs may influence the room left for saving across different scenarios.
Income and spending snapshot
Spending breakdown by category
Enter typical monthly amounts and inflation rates for each category. All values stay on this device.
| Category | Monthly amount | Inflation rate (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | ||
| Food & groceries | ||
| Transport | ||
| Utilities | ||
| Subscriptions | ||
| Childcare | ||
| Debt payments | ||
| Healthcare | ||
| Miscellaneous |
Estimates are illustrative and for educational purposes only. This tool does not provide financial or investment advice.
Results
Estimated savings capacity story
These estimates blend income changes, an illustrative personal inflation rate, and category-level costs to outline how much room might remain for saving.
Run the calculation to see an approximate personal inflation rate, changes in income after that inflation estimate, and how much saving capacity may be drifting over time.
Estimates are illustrative and for educational purposes only. This tool does not provide financial or investment advice.
Visual snapshot
Income, costs, and savings
Adjust the inputs above to see how incomes, estimated costs, and savings capacity line up in this illustrative view.
Once you enter values, bars will appear here showing last year's income, this year's income, estimated annual costs, and savings capacity.
AI insight
Numeric savings summary
Press the button to generate an AI note that describes this scenario in neutral, observational language. The text is based only on the estimates shown in the tool.
This AI note is illustrative and for educational purposes only. It does not provide financial or investment advice.
Scenarios
Scenario comparison
Save different income and spending mixes to compare personal inflation, real income change, and savings capacity.
Results explainer
The tool lines up your income changes with your own price pressures to show how much breathing room might be left for saving. You’ll see your personal inflation rate, how income looks after that adjustment, and a quick view of what could be left once spending is covered. Saving scenarios lets you check how different mixes change that buffer.
Disclaimer
Estimates are illustrative and for educational purposes only. This tool does not provide financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Results depend on your inputs and assumptions and may not reflect real-world outcomes.
How it works
Your income numbers sit next to a personal inflation estimate built from the categories you enter. We adjust income for that personal rate, compare it to your spending, and show a rough savings gap. Save a second setup and you can see how tweaks change the room you have.
Inputs used
- Current and prior income figures
- Category-level spending and inflation assumptions
- One-off spending pressures you add
- Saved scenarios for comparisons
Core formulas
- Category weight = category spend ÷ total spend
- Personal inflation = Σ(weight × category inflation)
- Real income change ≈ (new income ÷ old income) ÷ (1 + personal inflation) − 1
- Base annual costs (today’s amounts) = Σ(monthly amounts) × 12
- Inflation-adjusted annual costs ≈ base costs × (1 + personal inflation)
- Savings capacity (illustrative) ≈ income − estimated annual costs (before tax unless income is net)
Calculation steps
- Sum category spending and derive each weight.
- Multiply weights by category inflation to get a personal rate.
- Compare new income to old income after adjusting for that personal rate.
- Subtract estimated spending from income to see possible savings room.
- Save scenarios and compare their personal inflation and savings capacity.
Example scenario
Suppose last year’s take-home was $4,800 a month and this year it’s $5,100. You spend $3,000 split 45% housing at 4.5% inflation, 25% food at 6%, 15% transport at 3%, and 15% everything else at 4%. That gives a personal inflation of about 4.7%. After that adjustment, the real income bump is closer to 0.6%. Inflating the spend to roughly $3,141 leaves about $1,959 as a rough savings gap. Save another scenario with different category amounts or inflation assumptions to see how the personal rate and estimated savings capacity change.
Interpretation notes
- Personal inflation that runs hot can eat most of a raise.
- Big categories with higher inflation do most of the squeezing.
- Side-by-side scenarios show which levers (rent, food, transport) open the gap fastest.
- Shorter timelines mute small percentage differences; longer ones amplify them.
- Numbers are directional—double-check against your real bills and taxes.
Limitations & assumptions
Results assume steady category inflation and similar spending habits over the chosen period. Taxes, benefits, debt payments, fees, and irregular expenses are not modeled automatically. Real income change is an approximation, not a forecast. Treat the figures as a guide to pressure points, then adapt them to your specific cash flow and contracts.
FAQs
Quick answers
What does this calculator estimate?
It combines income figures, a personal inflation estimate, and category-based spending inputs to illustrate how much room may remain for saving across different scenarios.
What is a “personal inflation rate”?
Instead of using a single headline inflation figure, the tool blends category inflation rates using your spending mix to estimate a personalised inflation rate for this scenario.
Can I compare scenarios?
Yes. You can run multiple setups, save them as scenarios, and view their personal inflation estimates, real income changes, and savings capacity side by side on this device.
Is this financial advice?
No. Results are illustrative, approximate, and for educational purposes only. The tool does not provide financial or investment advice or recommendations.
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