Ray for New Grads
Your first real salary deserves a real plan
Student loans, a 401k you don't understand, and more money than you've ever had. Ray helps you make the right moves in year one.
The challenge
Student loan repayment paralysis
Standard, graduated, income-driven, extended — there are 8 repayment plans and you picked the default because you didn't know the difference. You might be overpaying by hundreds a month.
401k decisions with no context
HR gave you a packet with 15 fund options and a match formula you don't understand. You're either contributing nothing or guessing at a percentage.
Lifestyle inflation is instant
You went from $800/month to $5,200/month overnight. Within 3 months your spending expanded to fill every dollar and you have nothing saved.
No emergency fund baseline
Everyone says save 3-6 months of expenses, but you don't know what your expenses even are yet. You've been working for 4 months and haven't established a baseline.
How Ray helps
Loan repayment comparison
Ray models different repayment strategies against your actual income and shows you the total cost and timeline of each option.
❯ should I do income-driven repayment or pay extra on the standard plan?401k contribution optimization
Ray calculates the optimal contribution to capture your full employer match and shows you the paycheck impact in real dollars.
❯ how much should I put in my 401k to get the full match?Lifestyle creep detection
Ray compares your spending month-over-month and flags categories that are growing faster than they should. Catch the creep before it becomes the new normal.
❯ is my spending increasing since I started this job?Emergency fund roadmap
Ray calculates your actual monthly expenses from your real spending data and builds a savings target based on your specific numbers, not a generic rule.
❯ how much do I need in an emergency fund based on my actual expenses?You graduated 3 months ago. You're earning $72k/year, have $28k in student loans at 5.5%, and your employer matches 401k contributions up to 4%. You've saved $1,200 so far.
❯ should I pay off loans faster or save more? I can only do one.
Let's run the numbers on both. Your employer matches 4% — that's $240/month in free money you'd miss by not contributing. Your loans at 5.5% cost you $128/month in interest. Priority order: 1) contribute 4% to 401k ($240/month) to capture the match — that's an instant 100% return. 2) Build your emergency fund to $8,400 (2 months of your $4,200 average spending) — at your current savings rate, that's 6 more months. 3) Then throw extra at the loans. Right now your minimum loan payment is $302/month. Adding just $150/month extra cuts 3 years off the payoff timeline and saves $4,100 in interest. You can do all three on your salary — the math works if you hold dining at current levels instead of letting it grow.
Explore more
Ray for College Students
Part-time income, student loans, and zero financial education. Ray helps you build real money habits before you graduate.
Ray for Couples
Joint accounts, separate accounts, shared goals, different spending habits. Ray sees all of it together and helps you make decisions as a team.