Finish line Planning

You have come so far! The last step of the process is actually building a plan that you can execute. To do so, you will need to know a few details ahead of time.

Income

You will need to know your average monthly take-home pay. This is the amount that you have available to spend every month after tax. Alternatively, you can use your annual salary (before tax).

Debt

You will also need to know the details for any existing debt (other than your mortgage or car payments). This includes things like old credit card debt, student loans, looming medical debts, etc.

Retirement

Finally, you will need to know roughly how much you need to save for retirement each month. If you don’t have any idea how much you should be saving, use the Retirement Calculator to find out.

Let’s get started.

Where are you starting?

Below, enter the number of people you are financially responsible for as well as your annual income. Alternatively, you can use your monthly budget by clicking the link at the bottom.

Family/Household Size

Annual Household Income (Pretax Salary)

Current Monthly Budget (After Tax)

use annual income instead

Your take-home pay is approximately

$5,402

per month

Which is more than

out of every 100 similar-sized families

Results based on U.S. Census household income data. See the detailed methodology to reproduce the results on your own.

Have any debt?

Below, fill out the information for any existing debt you may have. These include student loans, credit card debt, and personal loans. Of note, don’t include your mortgage or any car payments. These payments should generally be included in your regular monthly budget. Questions about how debt factors in? Learn more here.

Existing Loans

Loan Name

Current Principal

Interest Rate (APR)

Minimum Payment

add loan

Credit Card Debt

Credit Card Name

Current Principal

Interest Rate (APR)

Minimum Percent

Minimum Amount

add credit card

Retirement and Giving

Enter in the amount you plan to set aside for retirement every month. If you have no idea where to start, use the Retirement Calculator to get an idea.

Next, enter the minimum amount you would like to set aside for giving, even if your income is less than your finish line.

For example, if you plan on tithing 10% even if your income is less than your finish line, enter 10%. You can use a percentage or a fixed amount.

Monthly Retirement Contributions

Minimum Monthly Giving (Percentage)

Minimum Monthly Giving (Fixed Amount)

use fixed amount instead

Where’s your Finish Line?

Select your finish line: Using the slider below, select the finish line that you chose earlier. If you need to make any adjustments, that is absolutely fine!

Why percentiles? Situations change. Our families grow. The costs of rent, and food, and gas all go up each year. Choosing a flat dollar amount would force us to constantly re-evaluate our finish lines.

For example: If you had a family of 3 and chose a finish line of $5,000 per month for your family right now, what would you do in 10 years when the cost of living is 10% higher and you have one more child to care for?

By matching that $5,000 finish line to the 52nd percentile, you can figure out how much you can spend each month to maintain the same standard of living when your situation changes. Read how it works for more information.

50th percentile finish line

Select your finish line: Using the slider above, select the finish line that you chose earlier. If you need to make any adjustments, that is absolutely fine!

If you set a finish line of approximately

$4,828

per month

Your lifestyle would be more expensive than

out of every 100 similar-sized families

Remember to check back here each fall when new census data comes out, or anytime your family size changes!

Still in the Race

The diagram below shows how your finish line compares to your income. It also shows how your monthly living expenses, debt obligations, retirement savings, and giving all fit in.

Inc

Exp

	Expenses:	$4500
	Debt:	$4500
	Retirement:	$4500
	Giving:	$4500
	Remaining:	$4500
	Income:	$4500
	Finish Line:	$4500

You can stop running! Based on the information you provided, you’ve reached your finish line! That’s amazing!

That means your income is sufficient to allow you spend $4,500 per month on living expenses (your finish line) and still have enough to pay off debt, save for retirement, and give generously.

What do I do now? After paying for your monthly living expenses and meeting all your commitments (debt, retirement, baseline giving), you still have $300 left over each month!

What do I do with it? Some people choose to use that excess to make accelerated payments on any existing debt. By doing do, they can free themselves up to give even more.

Others choose to pay down debt slower so they give more now. And still others divide it up between paying down debt and giving. All these are reasonable.

Once your debt is paid off, you can begin to give away all the money you were spending on debt.

You can stop running! Based on the information you provided, you’ve reached your finish line! That’s amazing!

That means your income is sufficient to allow you spend $4,500 per month on living expenses (your finish line) and still have enough to save for retirement, and give generously.

What do I do now? After paying for your monthly living expenses and making any retirement contributions, you still have $300 left over each month!

What do I do with it? Use it as God leads you! This is the best part about having a finish line. As God continues to bless you, you will have greater and greater capacity to step into His story and the purpose He has called you into.

You’re not there yet! Base on the information you provided, you need to spend less than your finish line on living expenses to make ends meet.

This will allow you to meet your debt payments, retirement contributions, and minimum level of giving.

What do you do now? You can spend $4,500 per month on regular living expenses. Continue paying off debt and saving for retirement with the income above that level. When your income increases further, come back here to see how close you are to your finish line.

This will allow you to make necessary retirement contributions and meet your minimum level of giving.

What do you do now? You can spend $4,500 per month on regular living expenses. Continue saving for retirement with the income above that level. When your income increases further, come back here to see how close you are to your finish line.

Practice generosity! Even though you haven’t passed your finish line, you can still practice giving! Base on your selections, you’ll be setting aside $300 per month for giving. Use it as God leads you! When your income increases, you’ll have more to give.

Practice generosity! Even though you haven’t passed your finish line, you can still practice giving! Even though you didn’t select any baseline giving, consider setting even a small amount aside to practice giving. Generosity is like a muscle!

Let’s check out your plan.

Emergency Fund

1. Save $1000. Open a savings account and use a portion of your budget each month to save $1,000 into this account. Prioritize this ahead of any other savings goals and purchases. Remember, this savings comes out of your budget, not the money set aside to invest in God’s kingdom.

2. Save 3-6 months of expenses. After getting your initial emergency fund to $1,000, designate a regular amount of your budget to transfer into your emergency fund until you have enough to cover your monthly budget for 3 months. If you are in a job with significant income variability, make that 6 months instead. Once you reach your goal, you can stop transferring money each month.

3. Use when needed. If you incur a sudden large expense that you can not otherwise cover, use your emergency fund to cover it. As soon as you use part of your emergency fund, start funding it again each month until you reach your 3 or 6 month goal. Remember, small emergencies happen with some regularity. Try to keep some room in your regular budget for these smaller unexpected expenses. Leave your emergency fund to cover the major expenses. That way, it’ll be there when you really need it

Build a Budget

If your budget needs to drop by more than 5-10% of your current spending, consider a staged approach where you decrease your budget every few months until you reach your goal. Remember, the percentile commitment is a marathon, not a sprint!
Identify the greatest barriers to bringing your budget in line with your target. How can each of these be addressed?
If you determine that your mortgage or your car payment is too expensive for your budget, you will likely need a long term game plan for these items. For some, that may involve downsizing to a less expensive option. These are important financial decisions that don’t happen overnight. For now, simply recognize that these changes may need to be made. Ultimately, you will need to determine how much of a mortgage or car payment you can handle within your budget, and begin looking for a house or car that fits into that price range.
Use the strategies we discussed at the end of Week 5 to help ensure you stay within your budget once you build one.

The Finish Line Life

You’ve already crossed your finish line and it’s time to get a system in place to make it a reality!

Set up your accounts. Now that you’ve crossed your finish line, it’s important to have a system to keep track of what money is for personal use and what money is set aside to use on kingdom-oriented purposes. Check out this article for a simple system you can use, or use another structure that works for you.

Create a budget. Based on your finish line, you can spend up to $4,500 per month on living expenses. Use the strategies you practiced in your Financial Inventory to build a budget and stick to it! Having trouble? Check out these tips.

Create an emergency fund. Now that you have a functioning budget, you need to protect it from disaster! Get an emergency fund up and running right away so one rough month doesn’t set you back for a year. Need a refresher? Follow these steps.

Remember to tithe. Tithing is different than other giving. This is how we support the church itself. Continue to tithe, using the $300 you set aside for your baseline giving. For more details, review the post you read earlier.

Remember to tithe. Tithing is different than other giving. This is how we support the church itself. Continue to tithe, using some of the $300 set aside for giving. For more details, review the post you read earlier.

Save for retirement. If you don’t have one already, set up a Roth IRA or a 401k through your employer and start saving $500 each month for retirement. Each year, review your savings goals on your own or with a financial planner to make sure you’re on track. Need to change your savings rate? Click here. For more info, listen to the podcast episode on the subject.

Save for retirement. You didn’t specify any amount to set aside for retirement, but you probably should! Check out the Retirement Calculator to estimate how much you should be saving, or discuss with a financial planner. Need to update your savings rate? Click here. For more info, listen to the podcast episode on the subject.

Pay down debt. Make sure to at least make the minimum payments on all your debts each month. Now that you’ve crossed your finish line, you have $150 of excess each month. You can designate some or all of this excess to make accelerated payments on your highest interest rate unsecured debt (student loans, credit cards, etc). Use the Debt Calculator for guidance on a payment plan.

Be generous. This is what it’s all about! While you may choose to use some of your $300 of excess to pay down debt faster, use the rest to begin to build God’s kingdom as He leads you. And once your debt is paid off, you can begin using all of that excess for God’s purposes. Let the adventure begin! Need some ideas? Check out these suggestions or listen to the podcast episode on giving effectively. We’ll go deep on how to give in Week 8!

Be generous. This is what it’s all about! Now that you’ve crossed your finish line, you have $300 of excess to use to build God’s kingdom as He leads you. Buckle up, because this is where the adventure begins! Need some ideas? Check out these suggestions or listen to the podcast episode on giving effectively. We’ll go deep on how to give in Week 8!

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If you haven’t already, make it official and take the Finish Line Pledge right now!

Running with a plan

You haven’t quite reached your finish line yet, and there are a number of steps to take to continue running the race well.

Create a budget. Based on your results, you can spend up to $4,500 per month on living expenses. Use the strategies you practiced in your Financial Inventory to build a budget and stick to it! Having trouble? Check out these tips.

Remember to tithe. Tithing is different than other giving. This is how we support the church itself. Continue to tithe, using the $300 you set aside to give, even though you haven’t reached your finish line. Need to update your baseline giving? Click here. For more details, review the post you read earlier.

Remember to tithe. Tithing is different than other giving. This is how we support the church itself. While you chose not to set anything aside to give, consider setting a small amount aside, even though you haven’t reached your finish line. Need to update your baseline giving? Click here. For more details, review the post you read earlier.

Pay down debt. Make sure to make the minimum payments on all your debts each month. If you receive an unexpected surplus of money, make accelerated payments on your highest interest rate unsecured debt (student loans, credit cards, etc). Use the Debt Calculator for guidance on a payment plan.

Be generous. Even though you have’t reached your finish line, and there are goals like paying off debt and saving for retirement to keep in mind, consider taking practical steps to practice generosity even now. Giving is like a muscle, it doesn’t happen overnight. And even when things are tight financially, there are often small ways we can continue to stretch our giving and experience the joy of being used by God. Take every opportunity you can, knowing that once you reach your finish line, you will be able to expand your giving exponentially.

Keep running the race. As your income rises, or your debts get paid off, check back here to see where you stand.
Once you cross your finish line, you will be able to begin making accelerated payments on any outstanding debt. Once your debt is paid off, you can begin using that excess to build God’s kingdom as He leads you! Let the adventure begin.

Keep running the race. As your income rises, check back here to see where you stand. Once you cross your finish line, you will be able to begin using that excess to build God’s kingdom as He leads you! Let the adventure begin.

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If you haven’t already, make it official and take the Finish Line Pledge right now!

Try A Soft Finish LinE?

The finish line you selected at the 50th percentile ($4500 per month) is where you ultimately want to be one day. What if you still have a ways to go, but you don’t want to wait to start crushing your debt and giving generously? You might want to try a soft finish line. How does it work?

The finish line you selected at the 50th percentile ($4500 per month) is where you ultimately want to be one day. What if you still have a ways to go, but you don’t want to wait to start giving generously? You might want to try a soft finish line. How does it work?

Start Lower

Return to the finish line selection above. Instead of the 50th percentile, choose a temporary lower finish line to live by until your income increases. This is called a soft finish line.

A New Plan

Once you’ve chosen a soft finish line, review the plan above to see how much wiggle room you have to use to meet your goals. This will be your temporary plan until your income increases.

Raise Later

Once your income increases, come back here and see if you can raise your soft finish line. Once your soft finish line reaches your final finish line, you don’t need to raise it anymore.

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