Every dollar you earn is already going somewhere and decisions are made every day as to where those dollars are allocated. Do you know where all those dollars go every day? Every week? Every month.

Most people have no clue, and that's why the phrase "more month than money" is a stressful reality.

That's the whole idea behind Zero-Based budgeting: instead of vaguely hoping there's money left at the end of the month, you give every single dollar a job before the month even starts — bills, groceries, debt repayments, savings, all of it — until your income minus your plan equals zero. Nothing left unaccounted for, nothing quietly disappearing on things you can't remember buying.

The calculator below does exactly that. Enter your income, assign it across the categories that matter to you, and watch the running balance tell you instantly whether every dollar has a job yet — or whether a few are still sitting around waiting for one.

Start telling your money where to go and stop wondering where it went.