The Money Roadmap

Plan your money. Then your legacy.

Most tools stop at net worth. Sunset turns the proven money-prioritization flowchart into a guided, leveled roadmap — then carries the wealth you build straight into your will and estate plan.

Based on a proven money-prioritization frameworkConnected to your estate planNo credit card required
Sunset Money Roadmap dashboard showing the 12-step financial journey, net worth, and next best move

How It Works

From your first dollar to your final wishes

Answer a few questions, link the accounts you choose, and Sunset builds a roadmap that knows what to do next.

Tell us about your money

Income, expenses, debts, and savings goals — in plain English. Link accounts to keep balances current, or enter them by hand.

Get your step-by-step roadmap

A clear, leveled journey shows what's done, what's next, and what's locked — plus where every free dollar each month should go.

Bridge wealth into your estate plan

The final step carries your accounts and beneficiaries into your will and trust, so the money you build reaches the people you choose.

Start Your Roadmap Free (opens in new tab)

12 steps, 3 stages

Everything the roadmap covers

Do the steps in order, skip what doesn't apply, and never wonder "what's next" again.

Cover the essentials

  • Emergency fund
  • Employer 401(k) match
  • Self-employed retirement
  • High-interest debt

Grow tax-advantaged

  • Roth or Traditional IRA
  • Health savings account (HSA)
  • Save 15% for retirement

Build wealth & legacy

  • Liquid / taxable investing
  • Low-interest debt
  • College fund (529)
  • Wealth → Estate bridge

The Roadmap

A roadmap, not a spreadsheet

Sunset reads your accounts and shows the single best next move — with a monthly plan for every free dollar.

A roadmap, not a spreadsheet

Always know what's next

One highlighted "do this next" step, backed by a 0–100 financial health score.

A plan for every dollar

Your monthly surplus is routed across the right accounts automatically — anything left over is ready to deploy.

Completion is data-driven

Steps complete when the numbers say so — debts cleared, contributions set, balances saturated — not by checking a box.

The Estate Bridge

Where wealth becomes legacy

The roadmap's final step shows where your accounts are headed — and how they pass to the people you choose.

Where wealth becomes legacy

See the whole picture

Each account projected to retirement, beside the beneficiaries named in your will.

Beneficiaries pass outside probate

Retirement accounts, HSAs, and brokerages go straight to named beneficiaries — Sunset keeps those forms in sync with your will.

One click to your estate plan

Carry your accounts, marital status, and beneficiaries straight into your will, trust, and asset inventory.

Every “what if” has an answer.

What happens to your money by default — and the step in your roadmap that changes it.

  • What if your 401(k) has no beneficiary named?

    The plan's default decides — often your spouse, sometimes your estate, where the money waits on probate.

    Money Roadmap

    Your roadmap flags every account missing a beneficiary — and a backup.

    See your roadmap → Free

  • What if you never look at the money side of your plan?

    Probate costs, taxes on inherited accounts and forgotten balances quietly shrink what reaches your family.

    Money Roadmap

    Once you look, the law offers real levers — beneficiary forms, transfer-on-death accounts, well-timed gifts — and your roadmap shows where to start.

    See your roadmap → Free

  • What if you divorce and never update your 401(k)?

    Employer plans pay whoever is on the form — New York's automatic revocation doesn't reach them — so it can still be your ex.

    Money Roadmap

    Your roadmap lists every account and who's on it, so an outdated form stands out.

    See your roadmap → Free

  • What if your estate lands just over New York's estate-tax cliff?

    In 2026, go more than 5% past the $7.35 million exemption and the entire estate is taxed — not just the excess.

    Money Roadmap

    Your roadmap puts the cliff on your map early, so there's time to plan — with an attorney if you need one.

    See your roadmap → Free

Learn the why

Guides to go deeper

Plain-English explainers on the money decisions behind every step — and what they mean for your estate.

Sunset's Money Roadmap showing net worth and a completed financial journey
Money Roadmap 05 Mins read

The Financial Order of Operations: A Money Roadmap That Ends in Your Estate Plan

The step-by-step order to use your money — emergency fund, 401(k) match, debt, IRA, HSA, investing — and the final step almost everyone forgets: your estate plan.

Read guide
Sunset Estate Bridge showing accounts and the beneficiaries who receive them, outside probate
Wealth & Will 06 Mins read

Beneficiary Designations vs. Your Will: Which One Actually Controls Your Money?

Beneficiary designations almost always override your will. Learn which assets pass by designation, the ex-spouse trap, and how to keep your will and forms in sync.

Read guide
Sunset financial journey map showing each account flowing toward the Wealth-to-Estate bridge
Wealth & Will 08 Mins read

Where Your Money Goes When You Die: A Map of Every Account From Emergency Fund to 529

Learn where each account—401(k), IRA, brokerage, 529, HSA, life insurance—goes after death. Probate vs. beneficiary rules and tax treatment for 2026.

Read guide
Browse all guides

FAQ

Questions about the Money Roadmap

How the roadmap works, what it connects to, and how it feeds your estate plan.

It follows the widely used "how to prioritize your money" framework — a proven money-prioritization approach that orders your money into steps: emergency fund, employer match, high-interest debt, tax-advantaged retirement accounts, then investing and other goals. Sunset turns it into a guided, personalized journey.

Build your roadmap. Protect your family.

Free forever to start. No credit card required.

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