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Run the numbers before the conversation.
Your path to clarity
Step 1 — Start here
Check your financial wellness
10 quick questions reveal where you really stand — emergency fund, debt, income stability, savings rate, and more. Your wellness score shapes every verdict you'll get.
Step 2 — Pick your path
One decision or many — same place
Everything lives in one place. Enter your numbers once, pick one goal or many — Hodos checks each one and tells you what you can act on now vs. what needs more time.
Step 3 — Enter your numbers
Fill in your real situation
Income, savings, what you owe. Hit Analyze and get a clear verdict with the math explained in plain English. Your financial data never leaves your device.
Step 4 — Your verdict
Clear answer. Real math. No guessing.
You get one of three results — a teal ◎ Looks Promising, an amber ◑ Worth Considering, or a grey ○ Needs More Time. Every verdict includes the key metrics, what each risk philosophy says, and smarter alternatives to consider.
◎ Looks Promising
◑ Worth Considering
○ Needs More Time
Step 5 — Your report
Download your personalized PDF
Once you've completed your wellness check and analyzed your goals, you'll unlock a full PDF report — your name, your numbers, your verdicts, all in one shareable document. Perfect for reviewing with a financial advisor or keeping for your records.
Your Name Financial Report.pdf
Unlocks after completing Wellness Check + at least one Goal analysis
John Doe, 36 · Wants to buy a home
Three inputs. One verdict.
Explore
Enter your numbers once, pick what you're thinking about, get a straight answer.
Your Profile
Your Name
For your PDF report
Age
Shapes retirement & life goals
Employment
Income stability & benefits
Monthly Take-Home Pay
After taxes & deductions
$
Monthly Debt Payments
Car, student loans, credit cards
$
Total Savings
All liquid funds — checking, savings, investments
$
Retirement Account Balance
401(k), IRA, Roth — total saved for retirement
$
Monthly Rent or Mortgage
Your current housing cost
$
Total Monthly Expenses
All spending: groceries, utilities, subscriptions, etc.
$
Relationship Status
Affects tax & shared expenses
Children
Affects expenses & priorities
Health Insurance
Major cost if you leave a job
Other Dependents
Elderly parents, relatives
Which goals are you thinking about? (pick any)
Buy a House
Buy a Car
Start Investing
Pay Off Debt
Start a Business
Have a Kid
Go Freelance
Save for Retirement
Get Married
Travel the World
Fill in what you know — we'll do the math and give you a straight answer
Your Numbers
Your Numbers at a Glance
For informational purposes only. This analysis uses standard financial formulas. It is not personalized financial advice. Consult a licensed financial advisor before making major decisions.
Financial Wellness Check
10 questions. 2 minutes. Know where you actually stand before you make any big move.
Risk Tolerance Optional
How you behave with money under pressure shapes every verdict. If you skip this, your wellness score drives the result — you can also pick your tolerance manually on any decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about Hodos and how it works.
Support Hodos
Keep this tool free and independent.
No pressure. Really.
Hodos started as a personal project to make financial guidance simpler and more accessible. If you've found it useful, a coffee or even a suggestion goes a long way and helps improve the experience for everyone.
Always Free
Hodos will always have a free tier. No paywalls on core decisions.
No Ads. Ever.
No advertisers. No sponsored recommendations. Just honest analysis.
Independent
Created with one goal: giving everyone access to honest, unbiased financial tools.
New Features
Support helps add more decisions, better analysis, and mobile apps.
No account needed. No recurring charge unless you want one. Skip this anytime — using Hodos is support enough. 🙏
Methodologies
The financial formulas and frameworks powering every Hodos analysis — explained in plain English.
Core Engine
Time Value of Money (TVM)
The Big Idea — in one sentence:
A dollar in your hand today is worth more than a dollar you'll receive in the future — because today's dollar can be invested and start growing immediately.
This isn't a guess or an AI estimate. It's the same math used by every bank, financial advisor, and university finance course. All four Hodos formulas below are built on this single idea.
PMT
Monthly Payment
PV × r(1+r)ⁿ / ((1+r)ⁿ-1)
What it answers:
"If I borrow $X, what will I pay each month?" It takes the loan amount, the interest rate, and the number of months and calculates your fixed payment. Used for car loans, mortgages, and any debt.
FV
Future Value
PV × (1+r)ⁿ
What it answers:
"If I invest $10,000 today, what will it be worth in 20 years?" It compounds your money over time at a given rate. Example: $10k at 7% for 20 years → ~$38,700.
NPV
Net Present Value
Σ CFₜ / (1+r)ᵗ
What it answers:
"Is this investment actually worth it in today's dollars?" It translates a series of future payments or returns back into what they're worth right now. Positive result = worth more than it costs. Negative = you're overpaying.
FV Annuity
Recurring Contributions
PMT × ((1+r)ⁿ-1) / r
What it answers:
"If I put $500/month into a retirement account for 30 years, what will I have?" Same as FV but for regular deposits instead of one lump sum. Used in all retirement and savings projections.
What the letters in the formulas mean
PV
Present Value
The value of money right now, today. If you're taking out a loan, PV is the amount you're borrowing. If you're investing, PV is how much you're starting with.
FV
Future Value
What your money will be worth at some point in the future, after it has grown. If PV is the seed, FV is the tree.
r
Interest Rate (per period)
The rate of growth or cost of borrowing, expressed per calculation period. If your annual interest rate is 6% and you're calculating monthly, r = 6% ÷ 12 = 0.5% per month. Sometimes written as i (they mean the same thing).
n
Number of Periods
The total number of time periods in the calculation — usually months. A 5-year car loan = 60 periods. A 30-year mortgage = 360 periods. The superscript ⁿ in formulas (like (1+r)ⁿ) means "raise to the power of n," which is how compounding gets calculated.
PMT
Payment
A fixed, recurring payment made each period — either money going out (loan repayment) or money going in (monthly savings contribution). The same amount every time.
CFt
Cash Flow at time t
Used in the NPV formula. "Cash flow" means money coming in or going out. The small t just means "at a specific point in time." Unlike PMT, cash flows don't have to be the same amount each period — NPV can handle irregular payments.
Σ
Sigma — "Sum of all"
The Greek letter Σ (sigma) is just mathematical shorthand for "add all of these up." In the NPV formula, it means: calculate the present value of each individual cash flow, then add them all together.
(1+r)ⁿ
The Compounding Factor
This piece appears in nearly every formula and is the engine of compounding. It means: "grow by the interest rate r, repeated n times." Each period, your money grows a little — and next period, that growth also grows. That's compounding: earning returns on your returns.
Decision Rules
Key Financial Benchmarks
These are the standard thresholds Hodos compares your numbers against. They're not arbitrary — they're widely accepted guidelines used by financial planners across the industry.
Housing DTI < 28%
Your monthly housing costs — mortgage principal + interest + property taxes + insurance (abbreviated P+I+T+I) — should not exceed 28% of your gross (pre-tax) income. Your total debt across everything (housing, car, student loans, credit cards) should stay under 36%.
Example: If you earn $6,000/month before taxes, your housing costs should be $1,680 or less.
Car Payment < 15% of Income
Your monthly car payment shouldn't exceed 15% of your take-home (after-tax) pay. Above 20% puts real strain on your budget. Under 10% is the comfortable zone.
Example: If you take home $4,000/month, your car payment should ideally be under $600.
Emergency Fund: 3–6 Months
Before taking on any new major financial obligation, you should have liquid savings — money sitting in a bank account you can access quickly — equal to 3 to 6 months of your regular living expenses. This is your financial safety net if you lose a job or face an unexpected bill.
Example: If your monthly expenses are $3,500, you need $10,500–$21,000 set aside before making a major financial leap.
4% Rule (FIRE)
"FIRE" stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. The 4% Rule says: if your investment portfolio is 25 times your annual spending, you can safely withdraw 4% of it each year and — based on historical stock market data — your money will last indefinitely without running out.
Example: If you spend $50,000/year, you need a $1,250,000 portfolio to retire under this rule.
7% Market Return Assumption
When calculating what your money could earn if invested instead of spent, Hodos uses 7% per year as the baseline. This is the historical average annual return of the S&P 500 (a broad index of large U.S. companies) after accounting for inflation. It's a widely accepted conservative benchmark for long-term investing projections.
In practice: When you spend $20,000 on a car, Hodos also shows you what that $20,000 would have become if invested — that's the "opportunity cost."
4% Home Appreciation
When projecting real estate values over time — for example, in a rent-vs-buy comparison — Hodos assumes home values grow at 4% per year. This is a conservative long-term estimate for how much homes tend to increase in price before adjusting for inflation.
Example: A $400,000 home at 4% appreciation would be worth ~$592,000 in 10 years.
Risk Profiles
How Risk Tolerance Shapes Your Results
Hodos adjusts its recommendations based on your personal risk tolerance — essentially, how comfortable you are with financial uncertainty. The same exact numbers can produce a green "Recommended" for one person and a yellow "Caution" for another. This is by design. Your financial personality determines how aggressively to pursue a goal.
Very Conservative
You want zero debt, a full 6-month emergency fund, and at least 15% of your income invested before making any major moves. You prefer to pay cash rather than finance anything, and you avoid borrowing against assets.
Conservative
You're patient and focused on long-term outcomes. You favor steady, boring investments like index funds — buying and holding for decades. You avoid speculation and high-risk bets. You're willing to wait for the right conditions.
Moderate
You balance growth with protection. You hold a diversified mix of investments, are comfortable with some debt if it's reasonable, and grow wealth steadily over time. You won't panic in a downturn, but you're not chasing risk either.
Aggressive
You prioritize cash flow and use borrowed money strategically to build assets faster. You focus on income-generating investments — rental properties, dividends, business ownership. Appreciation is a bonus; monthly cash flow is the goal.
Very Aggressive
You make high-conviction bets, hold concentrated positions (putting a lot into fewer things), and may invest in alternatives like crypto or private equity. You see market volatility as opportunity, not threat. You're comfortable with the possibility of big losses in exchange for big gains.
Important: All formulas run locally in your browser using JavaScript. No data is sent to any server. Results are illustrative and based on standard financial assumptions. Always consult a licensed financial advisor before making major financial decisions.
οδός · Hodos
/ˈhoʊ.doʊs/
Greek: road, path, the way forward.
Why We Exist.
Most people don't know where to start when it comes to a big financial decision. Sometimes they don't even know the right questions to ask. Hodos is built to be the first step — a tool you can use before any conversation begins.
Sometimes you need to see an advisor, and after a $500 consultation you walk away hearing no. Hodos gives you that answer first — objectively, based on the time value of money and your actual numbers. If the math says don't do it, you know before you spend the money to hear it. And if your advisor disagrees with Hodos, that's even more valuable: you now have a specific, informed question to push back with.
We named it Hodos because good financial decisions aren't about a single answer — they're about finding your path. The same choice can be right for one person and wrong for another, depending on where they are on their journey.
Important: Hodos is not financial advice. It is an independent tool built by individuals acting in their personal capacity, unaffiliated with and not representing any employer, company, or organization. Results are based on standard financial formulas and are intended as a starting point for informed conversations — not as a substitute for professional advice. Always consult a licensed financial professional before making decisions that significantly impact your financial future.
Peter is a Senior Trading Specialist at Inspire Investing with a B.S. in Business Administration (Finance & Economics) and an M.S. in Finance. He independently built Hodos to make financial guidance more accessible, clear, and genuinely helpful for everyday people. After years in the industry, he saw that most people simply want honest, straightforward tools. So he created Hodos as a free, easy-to-use platform focused on education, transparency, and helping individuals take control of their financial future.
Trading Specialist at Inspire Investing, with a B.S. in Advertising and a master's in Biblical and Theological Studies. Mason contributed to Hodos independently, in his personal capacity, bringing a values-first perspective to finance.
Independence Notice: Hodos is a personal project built independently by Peter San and Mason Craig in their individual capacities. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or representative of their employers or any other company or organization. Nothing on this site constitutes financial, legal, or investment advice. Use of this tool does not create any professional relationship. All results are for informational purposes only.
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Your Financial Summary
Here's everything we found — your financial snapshot, risk profile, and decisions all in one place.
Before you use Hodos
Hodos is a free personal finance tool built by individuals in their personal capacity. It runs standard financial formulas (PMT, FV, DTI) against numbers you enter.
Hodos is not a financial advisor. Nothing produced here constitutes personalized financial, legal, investment, or tax advice, and no professional relationship is created by your use of this tool.
Hodos is not a financial advisor. Nothing produced here constitutes personalized financial, legal, investment, or tax advice, and no professional relationship is created by your use of this tool.
Results are estimates — real outcomes vary
Consult a licensed professional before major decisions
No data is stored or transmitted — runs locally in your browser
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