Use this calculator to determine the amount of money you can devote to your investing plan on a monthly basis.

The bottom line of the calculator shows the cash you have available at the end of each month after taking into account your income and expenses. You probably will not wish to use all of your positive cash flow for investing purposes - but the more you do, the quicker you can reach your goals and/or the higher your goals can be. The amount you decide to dedicate to your investments is one input to the Return Required Calculator also found in this suite of NAOI calculators.

Yearly Income
Regular Income - Enter the regular yearly income for your household.
Other Income - Enter any extra yearly income anticipated from sources other than your regular income.
Monthly Expenses
Rent or Mortgage - Enter your monthly mortgage or rent payment.
Car Payment - Enter your monthly car payment(s)
College Loans - Enter the amount of any payments you are making on college loans. (Don't double count the tuitions you may have included in your Hidden Expense worksheet).
Other Loans - Enter the amount of any payments you are making on any other outstanding loans.
Insurance - Enter the amount of any monthly payments on types of insurance that were not included in the Hidden Expense calculation.
Groceries - Enter the amount you typically pay for food and groceries per month.
Eating Out - Enter the amount you typically pay for eating out on a monthly basis.
Gasoline - Enter the amount you normally pay to fuel your car on a monthly basis.
Electricity - Enter your average electric bill per month.
Monthly Services - Enter your average monthly bill for other monthly service such as trash collection, yard maintenance, etc.
Water / Sewer - Enter your average water/sewage bill per month.
Telephone - If you still have a telephone land-line enter the cost per month
Clothing - Estimate your clothing bill per month.
Habits - Estimate what you spend for any habits such as smoking, lottery, etc.
Cable TV - Enter your monthly TV service amount
Cellular Phone / Beeper / Internet Access - Enter the monthly amount for your telecommunication services.
Entertainment - Estimate the monthly amount you spend on such items as concerts, movies, videos, CDs, software, etc.
Medical - Enter your monthly medical insurance payments.
Other - Enter any other monthly expense items not included in the above list.
Hidden Expenses - Enter the amount from the Hidden Expense Calculator
Click to Calculate Totals
Total Income - This is your total monthly income.
Total Expenses - This is your total monthly expense.
Monthly Cash Flow - This is the amount of available cash flow that should be available for you to contribute to your investing plan.

You now have a total amount of money that is referred to as "discretionary income." This is money you don't need to cover your expenses. This is money you can "play" with. Remember that entertainment such as "eating out" and "vacations" have already been included in either the above list or the Hidden Expenses list that is incorporated in the above calculator. So this is money you can devote to upgrading your lifestyle such a buying a new house or a new car. It is also from this pool of money that you can make an investment in your future by contributing to your Investing Plan.

The sum you decide to devote to investing is a vital input to the Return Required Calculator in this suite of planning tools.

Return to the NAOI Financial Calculators Home Page.