What this planner works out
This planner takes your debts, savings, essential spending, pension rate and spare cash, and produces an ordered list of what to deal with first.
Competing financial goals are hard to rank because each feels urgent in isolation. The ordering here follows conventional UK money guidance: protect against the immediate, remove the expensive, then build the long term.
Enter your current position
Before you plan
- Separate high-interest debt from lower-rate borrowing. Credit cards and overdrafts belong in the first field; personal loans and car finance in the second.
- Use essential monthly spending, since the emergency fund targets are calculated from it.
- Enter your own pension contribution percentage, and check separately whether your employer matches more.
- Be realistic about spare cash. A plan built on an optimistic surplus does not survive contact with a normal month.
Attacking debt with no savings at all tends to fail: the next car repair or boiler failure goes straight back onto the card, and the progress is undone. A starter buffer of around one month of essentials is usually recommended first, precisely so that debt repayment is not reversed by ordinary life.
How this calculator works
The planner tests five conditions and lists a step for each one that applies:
Credit card debt above zero → clear expensive debt
Savings below one month of essentials → build a starter fund
Loan or finance debt above zero → review rates and overpayment rules
Savings below three months of essentials → grow the emergency fund
Pension contribution below 8% → review contributions
Spare cash above zero → allocate what remainsThe steps appear in that fixed order, which is the conventional sequence rather than one derived from your specific interest rates. If you hold a debt at an unusually high rate, or an employer match you are not capturing, those may deserve to jump the queue.
The one-month and three-month targets are calculated from the essential spending you enter, so they are personal rather than generic.
Worked example: several competing calls
Using the default figures — £2,500 of credit card debt, £6,000 of loans, £500 in savings, £1,800 of essential spending, a 5% pension contribution and £250 spare a month:
- 1. Clear expensive credit card debt — the £2,500 balance
- 2. Build a starter emergency fund — one month of essentials is £1,800, against £500 held
- 3. Review loans and finance — check rates and overpayment rules on the £6,000
- 4. Grow emergency savings — a three-month target is £5,400
- 5. Review pension contributions — 5% is below the 8% prompt
Five steps and £250 a month. That is roughly five years of work at the current surplus, which is a useful thing to see plainly. It also shows where the leverage is: raising the surplus matters far more than perfecting the order.
Common mistakes
- Attempting every step at once. Splitting a small surplus five ways means nothing visibly progresses.
- Skipping the starter buffer. Debt repayment without one usually reverses.
- Ignoring an employer pension match while paying down debt. The match is often worth more than the interest saved.
- Treating the order as fixed. An unusually high rate on one debt may justify reordering.
- Using an optimistic spare cash figure. Plan for an ordinary month, not a good one.
Frequently asked questions
Should I really pay off debt before saving?
High-interest debt, yes — a card at 24% costs far more than any savings account pays, so clearing it is the best guaranteed return available. But a small buffer comes first, and an employer pension match is usually worth capturing throughout, because it is part of your pay rather than an investment decision. Lower-rate debt such as a student loan or a cheap fixed personal loan often does not need to jump ahead of saving.
Why is the pension threshold set at 8%?
It reflects the total minimum contribution under UK auto-enrolment, combining employee, employer and tax relief. It is a floor rather than a target — most guidance suggests considerably more is needed for a comfortable retirement. The Pension Gap Checker gives a figure based on your own circumstances rather than a threshold.
What if I cannot afford any of the steps?
Then the priority is not ordering but income and outgoings. The Emergency Budget Generator strips spending to essentials, and free debt advice from Citizens Advice, StepChange or National Debtline can open options a calculator cannot — including reduced payments, frozen interest and formal solutions. Contacting them early keeps far more choices available.
Should I overpay the mortgage or invest?
Both come after the steps here. Once high-interest debt is gone and the emergency fund is built, compare your mortgage rate against a realistic after-tax investment return, and factor in pension tax relief, which frequently makes pension contributions the strongest option for higher rate taxpayers.
Is what I enter stored?
No. Debts, savings and spending figures are processed in your browser and never transmitted or retained.
Related tools
References
- MoneyHelper — free guidance on prioritising debt, savings and pension contributions
- GOV.UK — auto-enrolment minimum contributions and workplace pension rules
Sources are checked at publication and can change — how I choose and check references.