· Adventure · Original
Budget Survival: free personal finance game, survive a year on one paycheck
Twelve months, one paycheck, endless surprises. Keep your savings alive until December.
What is Budget Survival?
A year on one paycheck: car repairs, a wedding abroad, a raise, a "sure thing" investment, Black Friday. Each month brings a surprise, and some choices keep costing for months. Keep your savings alive until December.
Budget Survival is a free personal finance game. You get one paycheck a month, pay your bills, and face a surprise every month: a car repair, a medical bill, a phone upgrade on a 24-month plan, a raise, a friend's wedding abroad, Black Friday, a "sure thing" coin. Your goal is to reach December with your savings alive.
Choices have consequences over time, like in real life. Credit card minimum payments and buy-now-pay-later plans keep costing every month, skipped repairs and lapsed insurance come back as bigger bills, and saved raises quietly build your cushion. Each choice ends with a short lesson.
At a glance
- Category
- Adventure
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Play time
- 5–7 min
- Price
- Free, in your browser, sign-up optional
How to play
- Get paid
- Each month: $2,000 in, $1,700 of bills out, plus the plans you signed up for.
- Face the surprise
- Pick how you handle it. Some choices cost now, some cost every month, some come back later.
- Stay afloat
- A negative balance pays overdraft fees. Below −$1,000, the year ends.
- Score
- Your savings in December, plus $50 for every smart move. Each choice explains the lesson.
Strategy and tips
- Keep a cushion
- An emergency fund turns a crisis into an inconvenience: no card interest, no stress.
- Watch the monthly
- $45 a month sounds small; over 24 months it's over $1,000.
- Save raises first
- Save a raise before you get used to spending it.
- Ask before you pay
- Payment plans, rent and bills are often negotiable. Asking costs nothing.
- Fixes are cheaper early
- Maintenance and insurance cost little compared with what they prevent.
Why play Budget Survival?
Budgeting is mostly about small decisions that compound. Living a year in a few minutes shows how monthly plans, interest and windfalls add up, without risking your own money.
Frequently asked questions
Is Budget Survival free?
Yes. It is free and runs in your browser, with no download. Signing up is optional.
Is this financial advice?
No. It's a game with illustrative amounts to show how common money choices play out over time.
What currency is it in?
Dollars, with round illustrative numbers. The lessons work in any currency.
How is the score counted?
Your savings left in December, plus $50 for every smart move. Going broke scores zero.