Before you update your resume or start applying, answer the most important question first: how long can you sustain yourself? Your runway determines your strategy.
"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."
— Abraham Lincoln
A ready-to-use Excel spreadsheet. Plug in your numbers, get your runway in months, and see how a lean budget extends your timeline.
Knowing your number changes everything. It's the difference between panicking and planning. Here's how to figure yours out — even if you've never made a budget before.
Start with your liquid cash — checking, savings, anything you can access within a week. Then add severance (after taxes), unemployment benefits you qualify for, and any side income that'll keep coming in.
Pull up your bank and credit card statements from the last 3 months. Not what you think you spend — what you actually spend. Include everything: rent, groceries, subscriptions, transportation, debt payments, insurance. The total is usually higher than people expect.
Go through each expense and ask: "Can I reduce or pause this for the next few months?" You're not cutting forever — you're buying yourself time. Subscriptions, eating out, gym memberships, and upgraded phone plans are the fastest wins.
If you know your end date, you have a window most people waste. Switch to your lean budget now — while you're still getting a paycheck. Every dollar you don't spend during your notice period goes straight into your runway. Two months of notice with $500/month in cuts adds a full extra month after you leave.
Divide what you have — including the extra you saved during notice — by what you spend monthly. That's your runway in months. Then do it again with your lean budget. The template shows exactly how many extra months you've earned by acting early.
Your runway determines how you move. Six months or more means you have room to be selective and strategic. Three to five months means move with purpose — apply broadly, upskill fast. Under three months means prioritize income above all else, then optimize once you're stable.
Three tabs, everything you need. No fluff.
Input savings, expenses, and your notice period. See how cutting early while still earning extends your runway.
52-week vertical tracker with per-category columns, running totals, and quarterly summaries. Spots drift before it costs you.
10 common cost-cutting moves with estimated savings. Pick the ones that fit your situation.
Works everywhere. Open the .xlsx file in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or Apple Numbers. All formulas calculate automatically — just fill in the blue cells with your numbers.
This is part of the Transition Launchpad. More tools coming soon.