Free money tools and guides
Know what your money actually does.
Each calculator shows its full working: the formula, the figures it uses, and the source they come from. Start with your take-home pay.
26 calculators, 39 guides, and a 2026 reference. Each figure carries its formula and the primary source it draws on.
Why Honest Figures
Every figure has its working
Each result carries the formula behind it and a link to the source data it uses, so any number can be traced back to where it came from.
Free, no account
Every calculator is free to use and needs no account. The figures you enter stay on your device.
Built for everyday decisions
The questions most people actually face: a paycheck, a loan, a monthly amount set aside. Explained without assuming prior knowledge.
Tools
All 26 tools →Take-Home Pay
Your salary after federal tax, FICA and state, with every deduction shown.
ReadyPaycheck
What actually lands in each paycheck, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.
ReadyIncome Tax
Estimate your federal and state income tax bill, and your real effective rate.
ReadyEffective Tax Rate
The share of your income that actually goes to tax, not just your bracket.
Start with a cornerstone guide
All guides →Your Paycheck and Take-Home Pay: Where the Money Goes
A $60,000 salary is a sticker price you never receive. A single filer in Texas keeps about $50,390 of it, roughly 84%. Here is where every dollar goes, line by line.
US Income Tax, Bracket by BracketUS Income Tax, Bracket by Bracket
A single filer with $60,000 of taxable income pays about $7,912 in federal tax, close to 13.2%, even though the top bracket is 22%. Here is the bracket math, slice by slice.
Taxes for Gig & Self-EmployedTaxes for Gig, Freelance and Self-Employed Work
A 1099 dollar is taxed twice: the 15.3% self-employment tax plus ordinary income tax. On $60,000 of profit that is about $12,989 all in, near 21.6%. Here is the whole bill and the four legal ways it comes down.
Saving & Compound GrowthSaving and Compound Growth: How Money Grows When You Leave It Alone
Put $300 a month into a 7% account for 30 years and it becomes about $366,000, of which $258,000 is growth you never earned at work. It sets out the order of operations, and where cash belongs in 2026.
Investing & RetirementInvesting and Retirement: 401(k), IRA and the Number You Are Aiming For
To draw $60,000 a year in retirement you need roughly $1.5 million saved, under the 4% rule. Here is the three-move money flow that gets you there, and why researchers have quietly trimmed 4% toward 3.9%.
Getting Out of DebtGetting Out of Debt: The Plan That Actually Works
Paying only the minimum on a $5,000 card at 24% costs about $8,887 in interest and takes 19.5 years. Here is the get-out-of-debt plan, with the math on both payoff methods.
Buying a Home & MortgagesBuying a Home and Mortgages: The Real Monthly Cost
The rate quote is only part of it. On a $400,000 home with 10% down at July 2026's 6.49% rate, the true monthly cost runs near $2,990 once taxes, insurance, and PMI are added.
Budgeting & Everyday MoneyBudgeting and Everyday Money: Making a Real Paycheck Cover a Real Life
Budget your take-home, not your gross. On a $62,000 salary a single filer in Texas keeps about $51,997, and a real 50/30/20 split is $2,167 needs, $1,300 wants, $867 saving a month.
Money Decisions & ComparisonsMoney Decisions: The Comparisons Worth Getting Right
Every big either-or money decision hides one break-even number. Claiming Social Security at 62 vs 70 crosses over at about age 80. Here is the method that solves all seven of them.
The 50-State Money HubThe 50-State Money Hub: How Where You Live Changes What You Keep
The same $75,000 salary leaves a single filer with about $61,593 in a no-income-tax state and $56,881 in Oregon, a $4,712 gap. But the paycheck only shows one of the three levers. Here are all three.
The History & Data of American MoneyThe History and Data of American Money
A dollar from 1950 buys about seven cents of goods today. Four real data series, computed and cited, tell the long arcs of American money: prices, mortgages, saving, and pay.
Go deeper
The 2026 money & tax numbers
Brackets, the standard deduction, FICA, contribution limits, sales tax by state, and current rates. One dated page.
GlossaryThe money glossary
57 finance terms with clear definitions, each linked to the calculator that uses it.
Data reportThe state of American money
Five numbers on US household money in 2026, computed straight from the public data behind the tools.