What you can comfortably afford
The safe payment is what is left after essentials and your cushion, capped so total debt stays under 20% of take-home pay.
This is a budgeting guide, not a credit decision. Approval depends on income verification and credit review, and the amount we can lend is capped at $5,000 and by your state's limits.
Two limits, and the lower one wins
Affordability has a cash-flow limit and a debt-load limit, and the payment you can genuinely sustain is whichever is smaller.
- Cash flow. Income minus housing, existing debt, bills, living costs, and the cushion you keep back. Whatever remains is what is physically available.
- Debt load. A widely used guide is that total monthly debt payments excluding housing should stay under about 20% of take-home pay. Above that, one bad month cascades.
The calculator applies both and reports the lower figure, then works backwards to the loan amount that payment supports at each term.
Budget from your worst month, not your best
If your hours vary, use the lowest month in the past year. A payment that works only when overtime is available is a payment that stops working the month it is not.
Why the cushion is not optional
A budget with nothing spare is not a budget, it is a schedule that survives until the first unexpected bill. The cushion slider is deliberately prominent because setting it to zero produces a bigger affordable payment and a worse decision. Two hundred dollars a month is a reasonable starting point for most households.
Working backwards from the payment
Once the safe payment is known, the maximum loan follows from the APR and the term. At 29.9%, a payment of $150 a month supports roughly $1,540 over 12 months, or about $2,720 over 24 months. The longer term borrows more for the same payment and costs considerably more in total interest. Test both in the loan calculator before choosing.
If the number comes out low
- Borrow lessThe most direct answer, and often the right one. Ask whether part of the expense can wait.
- Ask the biller for a payment planFrequently interest free, which beats any loan on affordability grounds.
- Clear a small existing balance firstRemoving one $60 payment can free more room than a longer loan term would.
- Check assistance programmesLIHEAP and 211 cover utility and rent emergencies at no cost.
- Do not lengthen the term just to make it fitIf a 24-month term is the only way the payment works, the underlying budget is the problem.
What a lender sees
Our underwriting runs a similar test using verified income and the obligations on your credit file rather than the figures you type here. Because the inputs differ, the answers can differ. This tool tells you what you can live with; the application tells you what we can approve. Our approach is described on the responsible lending page.
Questions about affordability
How much of your income should go to debt, and what to do when the number comes out low.
How much of my income should go to loan payments?
A common guide is that total monthly debt payments excluding rent or mortgage stay under about 20% of take-home pay. Including housing, many lenders look for total obligations under roughly 36% to 43% of gross income. Below those levels one difficult month is survivable; above them it usually is not.
What is debt-to-income ratio?
Your monthly debt payments divided by your income, shown as a percentage. It is the standard measure lenders use to judge whether a new payment fits. This calculator shows it against take-home pay, which is stricter and more useful for budgeting than the gross-income version.
Should I include rent in the calculation?
Rent is entered as an essential cost, so it reduces what is available, but it is excluded from the 20% debt ratio. That matches how the guideline is normally used, since housing is treated separately from consumer debt.
What if my income varies month to month?
Use the lowest month from the past year. A payment that depends on a good month will fail in a normal one, and self-employed or shift-based income is exactly where affordability calculations most often go wrong.
Does a longer term make a loan more affordable?
It lowers the monthly payment, which helps cash flow, but it raises the total interest and keeps you in debt longer. If the only way the payment fits is by stretching to the maximum term, that is a signal to borrow less rather than to borrow for longer.
Is this the same test the lender runs?
Similar in principle, different in inputs. We use verified income and the obligations that appear on your credit file rather than self-reported figures, so the results can differ. This tool answers what you can live with; the application answers what we can approve.