{"id":922,"date":"2023-01-01T12:00:15","date_gmt":"2023-01-01T12:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/?p=922"},"modified":"2025-09-04T20:24:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T20:24:17","slug":"2025-wealth-planner-faq-amount-left-for-savings-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/2025-wealth-planner-faq-amount-left-for-savings-help\/","title":{"rendered":"How does the \u201cAmount Left for Savings & Investments\u201d box work?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This feature is intended to guide you as you make your Monthly Contributions Goals<\/strong> for saving and investing, based on your income and planned spending.<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

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Here\u2019s how the number you see in this box is calculated:<\/p>\n

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    First, it looks at your post-tax income, including<\/em> your paycheck contributions to investments.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    Then, it subtracts any spending you\u2019re planning on doing.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    The number that\u2019s left is (a) your paycheck contributions to investments<\/strong>, that you\u2019ll enter as \u201cgoals\u201d in the table below, and (b) any take-home pay that\u2019s available to save<\/strong> because you haven\u2019t spent it or used it to pay off debt.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

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    Creating Saving & Investments Goals<\/h3>\n

    As you create Monthly Contribution Goals<\/strong> in the \u201cLoad Your Accounts, Assets, Liabilities, and Goals\u201d table, the number in the green box will change dynamically. This is intended to help guide you so you know how much left you have to allocate to savings and investments!<\/p>\n

    If you have an account that you\u2019re actively planning on making more contributions to, check the \u201cActively Contributing\u201d checkbox so the Planner knows to include it in your monthly tabs.<\/p>\n

    For example, if you contribute $200 per month to your 401(k), shown on the right, $200 will be removed from the \u201cAmount Left for Savings & Investments\u201d calculation. <\/p>\n

    Once it goes to $0, you\u2019ve allocated all of your money to spending, saving, or debt payoff. <\/p>\n

    Note: <\/strong>Your debt payments are accounted for in the \u201cPlan Your Monthly Spending\u201d section. The Debt section in the Liabilities table is intended to help you <\/em>strategize<\/em><\/strong> your payoff (by showing you total interest paid and payoff time, based on payment), as well as so you can enter more information about the debt, like your interest rate and balance owed<\/em>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    \u201cWait, why is my number going negative?\u201d<\/h3>\n

    There are a few reasons why the number in the \u201cAmount Left for Savings & Investments\u201d box could be negative:<\/p>\n

    You\u2019ve planned to spend more<\/strong> than your available post-tax income. Try revisiting your spending plan to make sure there aren\u2019t any errors, or your income, to make sure you haven\u2019t forgotten to include anything.<\/p>\n

    You\u2019ve created contribution goals that total more than your remaining income<\/strong>. For example, if you only have $1,000 available to allocate to savings and investments but you create goals that equal $1,500 per month, you\u2019ll see -$500 in the box. Sometimes this happens because people are contributing to investments each month with money they already have in savings<\/em>; e.g., the contributions are not coming from new monthly income. If that\u2019s the case, ignore the negative number and carry on!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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