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Calcimator

Minimum Viable Budget Calculator

Calculate your bare-minimum survival budget — the absolute floor of what you need to cover essentials each month.

Inputs

$
$
$
$
$
$
$

Results

Total Minimum Budget

$2,100.00

≈ 16 pairs of sneakers

Required Hourly Wage (40hr/wk)

$12.12

≈ 2 cups of coffee

Required Annual Income$25,200.00
Survival Runway2.4 months
Monthly Deficit (no income)$0.00
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter Rent / Housing, Minimum Utilities, and Minimum Food.
  2. Set Minimum Transport, Minimum Insurance, and Minimum Debt Payments.
  3. Adjust Minimum Healthcare, Current Savings as needed.
  4. Review Total Minimum Budget ($) and Required Hourly Wage (40hr/wk) ($).
  5. Use Required Annual Income ($) and Survival Runway (months) to inform your decision.

How the result changes with Rent / Housing

Rent / HousingTotal Minimum BudgetRequired Hourly Wage (40hr/wk)
$5,000.00$5,900.00$34.04
$17,500.00$18,400.00$106.15
$32,500.00$33,400.00$192.69
$45,000.00$45,900.00$264.81

What each input means

Rent / Housing
Cheapest viable housing payment.
Minimum Utilities
Bare-minimum electric, water, phone.
Minimum Food
Groceries only, no dining out.
Minimum Transport
Bus pass, minimal gas, or bike.
Minimum Insurance
Required insurance premiums only.
Minimum Debt Payments
Absolute minimum required payments.
Minimum Healthcare
Essential prescriptions, copays.
Current Savings
Cash on hand for runway calculation.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    Rent / Housing = 1200, Minimum Utilities = 120, Minimum Food = 250, Minimum Transport = 100 = 8 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Total Minimum Budget
    Total Minimum Budget
    2100 = $2,100
  3. Calculate Required Hourly Wage
    Required Hourly Wage
    12.12 = $12.12
  4. Calculate Required Annual Income
    Required Annual Income
    25200 = $25,200
  5. Calculate Survival Runway
    Survival Runway
    2.4 = 2.4

Engine last updated .

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