Raise Capture Planner

You know the raise is coming. Plan where it goes before it disappears.

The Lifestyle Inflation Detector showed you how much of your last raise vanished into spending. This planner makes sure it doesn't happen again. You decide the split before the money lands — 50% to savings, 20% to a conscious lifestyle upgrade, 30% to investing — and then track whether you actually followed through.

What's Included

• Pre-allocation worksheet: enter your expected raise amount, then decide the split across savings, investing, debt payoff, and intentional lifestyle upgrades — before the money arrives
• 12-month tracking tabs: one per month, showing actual income, actual savings, and actual lifestyle spend vs your planned allocation
• Capture rate dashboard: see your real capture rate month over month — trending up or drifting back toward lifestyle creep?
• Intentional lifestyle budget: a dedicated section for the portion you choose to spend on lifestyle — so upgrades feel deliberate, not accidental
• Savings milestone tracker: set a target (emergency fund, house deposit, investment milestone) and track progress from the captured portion of your raise
• "What if" projector: see what your savings look like in 1, 3, and 5 years if you maintain your planned capture rate vs if you drift back to your old rate
• Works in Google Sheets (free) and Excel

Who This Is For

• Professionals aged 25–35 who are earning more each year but not building wealth proportionally
• Anyone who has used the Lifestyle Inflation Detector and wants a system to fix what it revealed
• People expecting a raise, bonus, or new job offer in the next few months who want to plan ahead
• Anyone who wants to upgrade their lifestyle consciously rather than accidentally

How It Works

1. Enter your current take-home income and current monthly savings
2. Enter your expected new income (after the raise, bonus, or new job)
3. Decide your capture split: what percentage of the increase goes to savings, investing, debt, and lifestyle
4. Each month, log your actual numbers — the dashboard shows whether you're sticking to the plan
5. At the end of 12 months, review your actual capture rate and set targets for next year