Invest-First Home Budget Calculator

Not how much house a bank will lend you: how much fits after you've invested for your future first.

Household income (yearly, before tax) Take-home pay (monthly) After taxes, and after anything already taken out for your 401(k). Invest first (% of gross pay) 15% is a solid target for retirement and other long-term investing. Already invested each month Including your 401(k) and any employer match. Everything else you spend (monthly) Food, cars, insurance, kids, fun: everything except housing and debt payments. Other debt payments (monthly) Car, student loans, minimum card payments. Emergency fund saved High-interest debt (credit cards) Down payment saved Mortgage rate (%) Your age

More settings

Loan term (years) Property tax and insurance (% of price a year) Upkeep (% of price a year) Roofs, water heaters, repairs: plan on about 1% a year. Investment return (%)

Invest-first home price

$420,115

About $3,025 a month all-in (mortgage $2,150, plus tax, insurance and upkeep) while still investing $1,875 a month.

Monthly housing budget$3,025after investing first
What a lender might approve$476,636$3,500/month (28/36 rule)
Investing each month$1,87515% of gross pay

A lender may approve $56,521 more house

Buying at the lender’s limit would cost about $475 more a month. Invested instead until 65, that’s about $669,062 at 8% a year. That’s the real price of the bigger house.

Before you buy

No high-interest debt
Done.
6 months of expenses saved
You have $20,000 of about $44,550 (including the new house payment). Keep it separate from your down payment: $24,550 to go.
Investing 15% of your pay
Target $1,875 a month. You invest $800 now; this budget sets aside the other $1,075 a month before housing. Start it before you buy.
20% down
20% of $420,115 is $84,023. Less than that usually means paying PMI.

A guide, not a loan approval. Lenders also look at your credit, savings and the property.

See where the payment goes: Mortgage Amortization Calculator

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Important — please read

This calculator is an educational tool. It shows a simple, fixed-rate projection: it assumes your money grows at the same rate every year with no interruptions, and it ignores taxes, fees, inflation, market volatility, sequence-of-returns risk, and changes to your contributions or circumstances. Real investment returns vary widely year to year and can be negative. Past performance does not predict future results.

The numbers shown are hypothetical illustrations, not a forecast, a promise, or a recommendation, and nothing here is investment, tax, legal, or financial advice or an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security. Paycheck Paradox is not a registered investment adviser, broker-dealer, or tax advisor.

Before making any financial decision, talk to a qualified professional — a licensed financial advisor, CPA, or attorney — who can account for your full situation. You are solely responsible for your own decisions.

Provided “as is”, with no warranty of accuracy or fitness for any purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Paycheck Paradox accepts no liability for any loss arising from use of, or reliance on, this tool.