How this works

Where the logic comes from

The knowledge base is a distillation of a widely shared personal-finance flowchart (FinFlowChart v4.3, from the r/financialindependence community, itself a continuation of the r/personalfinance chart). It is a community document rather than an official one, and we treat it as a well-argued default rather than gospel.

The chart itself is not the interface. Its sections became 18 decision nodes and a priority ladder; the interface only asks the 21 questions that can move a recommendation, and only when they can. A typical journey is four to seven questions.

What the engine will not do

• Exceed a legal limit. Every capped step is sized as annual limit − contributions already made − employer contributions where the limit counts them, with age-based catch-ups and the compensation ceiling applied. IRA and workplace-plan room are tracked separately, because they are separate limits.
• Invent precision. When we do not know a year-to-date figure or a balance, the step says “estimated remaining 2026 room” rather than a number that looks researched but is guessed.
• Call an expected return guaranteed. A debt payoff returns its rate with certainty. An investment return is a distribution, and we show it as a range.

The ladder

Before any of it: essentials covered, minimum payments current, known tax set aside, necessary insurance in place, and the money genuinely spare. Anything unresolved there moves to the top of the plan. After that, in rough order:

1. Budget — A rough picture of income minus expenses. Everything after this step depends on knowing the number.
2. Essentials — Housing, food, utilities, transport to work, and health care come before any optimization.
3. Minimum payments — Minimums on all loans and cards, always — a missed payment costs more than the interest saved elsewhere.
4. Starter buffer — A first cushion sized to your own essentials — commonly half a month to a month — held in a high-yield savings account.
5. Employer match — Contribute exactly enough to your workplace plan to receive every matching dollar — and, for now, no more.
6. High-interest debt — Balances whose rate sits above the return you could reasonably expect from investing — most credit cards, payday loans, some personal loans.
7. Emergency fund — Three months of essential expenses when your income is steady, six or more when it varies — the target follows the income, not a rule.
8. Moderate debt — Balances whose rate lands inside our expected-return range — often car loans, some student loans, older mortgages.
9. HSA — Available with a qualifying high-deductible plan and no other disqualifying coverage. Federally: deductible going in, untaxed growth, untaxed for qualified medical costs.
10. IRA — Roth or traditional depending on income and expectations, opened by you rather than through an employer.
11. ESPP — A discount on company stock, where your plan offers one. The terms vary widely, so the plan document decides whether it is worth it.
12. Near-term goal — Anything you plan to spend in roughly the next three to five years generally belongs in savings rather than the market.
13. 401(k) / 403(b) — Beyond the match: contributing toward the annual employee limit in a 401(k), 403(b) or 457(b).
14. Mega backdoor — Only exists if your plan permits after-tax contributions and an in-plan conversion or immediate rollover. Both, or it does not apply to you.
15. 529 / ESA — A 529 for a child's education, once your own retirement funding is on track. No federal annual cap — the limits are your state plan's and the gift rules.
16. Taxable brokerage — No contribution limits and no withdrawal rules — the flexible home for everything above the tax-advantaged ceiling.
17. Mortgage / low-interest debt — Below the prime rate this becomes a preference question: a guaranteed return versus an expected one.
18. Optimize — An investment policy statement, periodic rebalancing, tax-loss harvesting, charitable and estate planning.

2026 figures used

HSA, self-only / family

$4,400 / $8,750

HSA catch-up, age 55+

$1,000

HDHP minimum deductible, self-only / family

$1,700 / $3,400

HDHP maximum out-of-pocket, self-only / family

$8,500 / $17,000

IRA limit, plus catch-up at 50+

$7,500 + $1,100

Roth IRA phase-out, single / joint

$153,000–$168,000 / $242,000–$252,000

Traditional IRA deduction phase-out, single covered / joint covered

$81,000–$91,000 / $129,000–$149,000

Workplace employee deferral

$24,500

Catch-up: age 50+ / ages 60–63

$8,000 / $11,250

Roth catch-up wage threshold, prior-year wages

$150,000

Defined-contribution total additions

$72,000

Annual gift-tax exclusion — a gift reference, not a 529 cap

$19,000

529 to Roth, lifetime limit

$35,000

Assumptions, which are not law

• Expected return on a diversified portfolio: 4%–9% a year before costs, centred on 7%. Used as a band, never as a point.
• Cash reference: 4% on high-yield savings.
• Emergency-fund targets: 3 months with steady income, 4 with mixed, and 6+ when income is variable — which is why we ask about stability before sizing anything.
• Starter buffer: roughly 0.5 to 1 months of essentials, presented as a range. It is a judgement call, not a threshold, and not a fixed dollar rule.
• Money needed within about 3 years is treated as cash rather than invested.

Where we depart from the source chart

• Goals inside two years come earlier. Money you will spend that soon cannot take market risk, so it is funded before long-term tax-advantaged accounts.
• Debt is ordered by its actual rate, not by a “double the prime rate” rule of thumb. Rates move; the comparison is always against our expected-return band.
• Federal student loans get a forgiveness check first. If you are pursuing PSLF or forgiveness under an income-driven plan, accelerating payment can destroy value, so we exclude them from payoff advice and say why.
• Lower-rate debt stays visible. It moves below tax-advantaged saving rather than disappearing from the plan.
• Retiring early reorders the last rungs, because money reachable before 59½ is worth more when you need it sooner.
• Questions are gated on materiality. If a rung cannot hold a meaningful share of your money, its question is never asked.

Deliberate simplifications

Every model leaves something out. Ours leaves out these things on purpose, and none of them should be a surprise when you meet them in real life:

• State tax is not modelled. Everything here is federal treatment. States differ on HSA contributions, 529 deductions and retirement income.
• Withdrawals are illustrated at a single rate. Real withdrawals pass through progressive brackets, and interact with Social Security taxation, Medicare IRMAA, ACA subsidies and required minimum distributions.
• No inflation adjustment. Figures are nominal.
• Income bands, not exact income. We ask for a range, so phase-out positions are approximate.
• One debt at a time. The engine reasons about your most expensive balance; a complex ladder of six debts needs a spreadsheet.
• No mortgage amortization schedule. The prepayment figures are compounding estimates, not a payment-by-payment model.

Disclaimer

This site provides educational information, not individualized investment, tax or legal advice, and no fiduciary relationship is created by using it. Contribution limits, income thresholds and eligibility rules change, and the right answer depends on specifics we do not ask about. For decisions that matter, check the current figures against the sources above and consider speaking to a professional who can see your whole situation.

Prefer to explore a single decision? The comparison explorers show how each verdict weakens as the inputs move.