About JANE Wealth Management

Updated October 14, 2026

JANE Wealth Management makes free tools and plain-English answers for one question: where should your next dollar go? Pay down a card, build savings, get the employer match, invest? We put those choices in order and show the math.

Started by an engineer

I'm a mechanical engineer. In engineering, you don't guess. You write down what you know, state your assumptions, do the math, and check the answer before anyone relies on it.

Personal finance advice usually works the other way: lots of "it depends," very little math. So I started treating my own money like an engineering problem. I built and rebuilt my household budget in a spreadsheet until it answered the question everyone asks: where should the next dollar go? JANE turns that into tools anyone can use, with the steps, the numbers behind them and the assumptions out in the open, so you can check the work yourself.

It does depend, but mostly on a few things you already know: your interest rates, your employer's match, how much you've saved and what's left at the end of the month. Put those in, and the order follows.

— Founder, JANE Wealth Management

What we make

• Next Dollar Planner (free). Enter your income, expenses, debts and savings, and it lays out the order for your emergency fund, employer match, debt payoff, HSA, Roth IRA and 401(k), month by month. It also flags money going to a later step while an earlier one isn't done.
• Money Math. Real questions people ask, worked out the way an engineer works a problem: the inputs, the math, the answer, and what would change it. Most come with an example you can open in the planner and change to your own numbers.
• JANE Budget (coming soon). A budget built for your household that updates when your income or debts change. Get early access.

How the planner decides the order

Each dollar left after essentials and minimum payments goes to the first step that isn't finished yet:

1. Starter emergency fund: one month of essentials, at least $1,000.
2. The full employer 401(k) match.
3. Debt at 8% APR or more, highest rate first.
4. Full emergency fund: 3 to 6 months of essentials plus minimum payments.
5. HSA, if you have an HSA-eligible high-deductible health plan.
6. Roth IRA (or a backdoor Roth above the income limit).
7. Debt at 4% to 8% APR.
8. The rest of your 401(k), up to the yearly limit.
9. Brokerage investing, and extra payments on debt under 4% (including a mortgage).

The idea behind it: a small cash cushion first, so a surprise bill doesn't become new debt. Then free match money. Then expensive debt, because paying off a debt is a guaranteed return equal to its rate. Then tax-advantaged accounts, whose yearly limits can't be made up later. Low-rate debt last.

Assumptions, stated up front

Every engineering calculation lists its assumptions, so anyone can check them. Here are the planner's:

• 2026 IRS contribution limits: 401(k) $24,500 (plus catch-up contributions at 50 and up), IRA $7,500 (plus $1,100 at 50 and up), HSA $4,400 self-only or $8,750 family coverage (plus $1,000 at 55 and up). Sources: the IRS pages on 401(k) limits, IRA limits and HSAs (Publication 969). We update them each year when the IRS announces new limits.
• Debt tiers: 8% APR and up is high interest, 4% to 8% is moderate, and under 4% (plus mortgages) is low.
• Taxes: where the planner estimates a tax effect, it uses a typical 22% federal rate. Your own rate may be higher or lower.
• The math: interest compounds monthly, and income and expenses stay flat. It's a plan based on rules of thumb, not a forecast.

What JANE is not

An engineering degree is good training for doing the math carefully. It isn't a financial license. JANE Wealth Management is not a licensed financial advisor, financial planner, CFP or fiduciary, and nothing here is personal financial, tax or investment advice. We don't know your whole situation, so treat the planner and our answers as education: a clear starting point for your own decisions, or for a conversation with a licensed professional. We don't recommend specific stocks, funds or other investments.

Your data

The planner does its math in your browser. The numbers you enter stay on your device and are never sent to us. If you join early access, we keep your first name, your email and the planner step you're on. Details are in our privacy policy.

Contact

Questions, corrections or ideas for a money answer: jane.wealth.help@gmail.com. If you spot a number that looks wrong, please tell us. We'd rather fix it than be confidently wrong.

JANE Wealth Management is a JANE Solutions company.