See your overtime as its own kind of money, and where to put it.
In development. Numbers are illustrative estimates we are still refining.
Military pay isn’t structured around hourly overtime. Your equivalent is special pays: hazardous duty, sea pay, language proficiency, combat-zone exclusion. For your real military comp, use the active-duty pay calculator. This page still works as a “what if I picked up a civilian side shift?” comparison.
$/hr
$
$18,144
your overtime this year, about $1,512 a month
That is about 26% of your take-home riding on overtime.
Send 70% of it to the waterfall and about $12,701 a year goes to your future instead of into lifestyle.
Of your $1,512/mo overtime, about $454 is pensionable (roster) and $1,058 is not (mandate). The pensionable slice is what lifts your final average salary, and your pension.
Put it to work, keep it out of lifestyle
1 · Emergency reserve$1,512
2 · High-interest debtnext
3 · Future self (457(b) / goals)then
If you built your monthly life on this and the overtime stopped, you would be short $1,512 a month. That is why it belongs in the waterfall, not in your rent.
What this overtime could be worth, over the long run
$743,822
if you saved 100% of your overtime for 20 years at a 7% return.
$250,686
at 10 years, 100% saved
$520,676
at 20 years, 70% saved
Compound at 7% (long-run S&P 500 average). Inflation eats some of this; tax treatment depends on the account you use.
Is this shift worth it? · After-tax (beta)
What one overtime shift actually nets you
Overtime stacks on top of your regular pay, so it is taxed at your top bracket, not your average. Here is the real take-home on a shift. Illustrative estimate, not tax advice; every assumption below is yours to edit.
Federal brackets: 2025 single-filer schedule (editable assumption; we will version these annually). FICA 7.65% applies only if your covered wages pay into Social Security. Withholding on a single big check is often higher than your real annual tax, which is why the paycheck can look worse than the bill. This is an estimate; confirm with a tax professional.
The cost of saying no
If you stopped picking up overtime entirely, your household would have $18,144 less a year to work with. That is the real tradeoff.
The move is not always-yes or always-no. Know the number, keep your monthly life on your steady pay, and treat overtime as the surge that builds your future. If you want to cap it, cap it on purpose.
Make it yours
Tell us about your household so the plan reflects your real life.
Household
Kids
Home
Big thing in the next 5 years
Why this matters. Overtime is real money, but it is not your salary. Build your monthly life on your steady pay and send overtime to the waterfall above. A slow month never breaks your plan, and a heavy-overtime month does not vanish into lifestyle. MoneyBadger is an educational tool, not financial advice.