Work out the repayment headroom available on paper
Bring income, spending, current repayments and a safety reserve together to find the monthly amount that's free on paper – calculated locally in your browser.
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The result only shows what remains on paper based on your inputs. It is not a recommendation to use this amount in full as a loan repayment.
The calculation is deliberately simple
Surplus = net income − fixed spending − living costs − existing repayments. Available on paper = surplus − safety reserve, but at least zero. Nothing more happens. The difficulty lies not in the formula but in entering honest figures — and that is exactly why this tool adds nothing you have not entered yourself.
The most common mistake: irregular costs
Household budgets rarely fail because of the rent. They fail because of what doesn’t come every month: annual insurance premiums, the utility bill settlement, repairs, holidays, gifts, vehicle tax and the roadworthiness test (TÜV). Spread these amounts over twelve months and include them. An annual premium of 480 euros is a monthly item of 40 euros, even if it is only debited once. Leave it out and you systematically overestimate your headroom — every single month.
- Divide annual premiums by twelve
- Plan for utility back payments
- Repairs and replacement purchases
- Holidays, gifts, vehicle tax, TÜV
The reserve is not a buffer for the repayment
The safety reserve is deducted before the available amount is shown. It is therefore explicitly not part of what you can plan to spend — it is the amount that remains there for the unexpected. Setting the reserve to zero to justify a higher repayment does not outsmart the tool; it only removes the warning. A loss of income, a broken washing machine or a back payment hits every household at some point.
And the result is not a recommendation
The amount shown is what remains on paper based on your own inputs, not the repayment you should take on. Lenders also apply their own flat rates for living costs and therefore regularly arrive at different figures. Sound planning keeps a further margin below that figure — not least because a repayment runs for years and your circumstances rarely stay the same over that time.
Frequently asked questions
How do I account for annual expenses when working out a possible loan repayment?
Spread regularly recurring annual expenses over twelve months. These can include insurance premiums, servicing or memberships. This monthly share stays reserved for those expenses and should not count as money free for a loan repayment.
How do I work out my maximum loan repayment?
Deduct all fixed and variable spending and any loan repayments already running from your regular net income. From the remaining surplus, deduct a safety reserve that is deliberately not spent. What is left is your headroom on paper – and not a recommendation to use all of it for a repayment.
Why is a safety reserve so important?
Repairs, back payments or a temporary loss of income hit every household at irregular intervals. Without a reserve, such events are covered by the more expensive overdraft, which further increases the total cost of the financing. The reserve therefore comes before the repayment, not after it.
Which expenses are often forgotten in a budget calculation?
Typical ones are annual and quarterly payments such as insurance, the broadcasting licence fee (Rundfunkbeitrag), vehicle tax and utility back payments, as well as servicing and repairs. Convert such items into a monthly share. Holidays, gifts and larger purchases also belong in the calculation as a realistic average.
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