Where the numbers come from.

Every verdict on this site is two numbers: what you pay, from your statement or what you typed, and what you should pay, from a public reference. This page lists the reference for each section, the formula, and the dates. When a number here changes, the change is dated.

Max savings and Saved

Max savings is the sum of every row's yearly gap. It is a ceiling: what you would keep if every row were fixed at the reference price. It is not a promise, and one row can be wrong in either direction. Saved is what you tick off on the Saved page. It counts the amount you type as actually won, per month times twelve, and falls back to the row's estimate if you leave the field as it is.

Utilities

Electric: the bill divided by the kWh on it gives your effective rate, compared with the US residential average (EIA, checked 2026-09). More than 15 percent over the average flags the row, and the gap is the difference times your usage over a year. Water, gas and trash are listed as totals; the provider sets the rate.

Money

Savings interest: the interest on your statement is divided by the national average savings rate (0.45 percent, FDIC national rate table, checked 2026-09) to estimate a balance, then multiplied by the gap to a typical online high-yield rate (4.0 percent, checked 2026-09). Bank fees: the fee times 12, since a no-fee account makes it zero.

Phone and Internet

Your bill is divided by the number of lines in your profile. The reference is the cheapest public list price of a plan whose data allowance is at least 1.25 times what you used last month, from a short list of prepaid and MVNO carriers (Mint Mobile, Visible, US Mobile, Google Fi; list prices checked 2026-09, taxes and fees excluded). Internet has no reference yet; the row shows what you pay and the script for the retention line.

Housing

Mortgage: type the rate and remaining balance from your statement. If your rate is at least 0.75 points above the current 30-year average (Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, checked monthly), the row shows the first-year interest difference (balance times the rate gap) and a break-even against closing costs estimated at 2.5 percent of the balance. It is a screen, not a quote. PMI: if you pay it, the yearly amount counts as recoverable once equity passes 20 percent, which the servicer must honor on request. Rent: no reference price; the lever is the renewal negotiation, so the row carries the script. HOA: listed, no lever.

Insurance

The row estimates a loyalty penalty from years with your insurer: 10 percent after 3 years, 18 percent after 6, based on published studies of price optimization in auto and home insurance (Consumer Federation of America, various state reviews). It is an average, not your quote. The fix is to get two outside quotes; the row links to your state insurance department and, where noted, a comparison marketplace.

Subscriptions

Every recurring charge is listed. A subscription is flagged when you say it has gone unused for 60 days or more; the gap is the full yearly cost. Used subscriptions show a $0 gap. The site never guesses usage.

AI

Paid AI seats are summed; the gap assumes 60 percent of that spend has a free path, based on Pivvi's routing data. Your own number depends on what you use them for.

Utilities, Gas and EV, Groceries

These rows show totals only and say "no reference yet." A zip-level reference for electricity, water and internet is in progress. Fuel math lives on PumpWatt. Grocery comparison needs item-level prices the site does not have yet.

Your month

Three buckets from the statement, averaged per month: Bills (every charge placed in a section, except card and loan payments), Money moved (card and loan payments, transfers, cash apps), and Spending (one-time purchases, travel, dining, and anything not placed). Deposits are ignored. Percentages are shares of total outflow. The "after fixes" figure subtracts Max savings divided by twelve from Bills. The 50/30/20 guide (Warren, All Your Worth, 2005) is shown as a reference for income, which a spending statement does not contain; the site never assumes your income.

What the site does not know

• Taxes, fees and promotional pricing on any bill. Reference prices are list prices.
• Whether a charge is recurring when only one month is dropped. Three months gives the best read.
• Your usage. Every section asks the one or two questions it needs in your profile.

Changes