Budget Calculator (50/30/20)

Split income into needs, wants, savings.

Monthly income (after tax)$Needs (rent, food, bills)$Wants (fun, dining)$Savings & debt$

Target needs (50%)	$2,000(you: $2,000 (50%))
Target wants (30%)	$1,200(you: $1,000 (25%))
Target savings (20%)	$800(you: $700 (17.5%))
Total allocated	$3,700
Left over	$300(unassigned)

Results update instantly and are computed entirely in your browser. For general information only — not financial, investment, tax or professional advice.

About the budget calculator (50/30/20)

The 50/30/20 rule is the most popular starting point in personal budgeting because it is simple enough to remember and strict enough to be useful. Half your take-home pay goes to needs, thirty per cent to wants, and the remaining twenty per cent to savings and extra debt payments.

Needs are the obligations you cannot easily drop without real consequences: rent or mortgage, utilities, groceries, insurance, transport to work, minimum debt payments. Wants are everything that improves life but could be paused: dining out, streaming services, holidays, hobbies. Savings is the money that builds your future, including emergency savings, retirement and any debt paid above the minimum.

The power of the rule is the guardrail, not the exact thirds. It forces a conversation about the difference between a need and a want, which is where most budgets quietly fail. That gym membership you use twice a month is a want. The phone plan you could halve is a want. Naming them is half the battle.

Your numbers rarely land neatly on fifty-thirty-twenty, and that is fine. High-cost cities push the needs share up and squeeze the rest; a frugal season can push savings higher. The usual targets are to trim needs below sixty per cent and lift savings above twenty. If needs are crowding out everything, the lever is housing or transport, not the small stuff.

Once the split is roughly right, automate it. Move the savings slice out on payday so it never competes with spending. A budget you have to enforce by willpower each month is a budget that will break. Review it quarterly as income and costs change.

This calculator helps you plan a split; it is a general guide, not financial advice tailored to your situation.

This calculator returns estimates for general information only. It is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice, and it cannot replace guidance from a qualified professional who knows your circumstances. Figures such as loan payments, investment growth and retirement projections are simplified models based on the inputs and assumptions you provide, not guarantees of future results.

Common questions

What percentage should each category be?

A common guideline is fifty percent for needs, thirty percent for wants and twenty percent for savings and debt repayment. It is a starting point rather than a rule — a high rent or a period of paying down debt will bend it. What matters is that the savings line is a fixed amount you move first, not whatever happens to be left at month end.

Should I budget on gross or net income?

Use your net income, the amount that actually lands in the account after tax and deductions. Budgeting on gross makes every category look affordable while the money is not really there, which is one of the most common reasons a budget fails in the first month.

How do I handle irregular income?

Budget on your lowest realistic month and treat anything above it as a bonus to save or to cover a lean month. Keeping one month of expenses as a float in the current account also stops a late invoice from turning into an overdraft. The average of your last twelve months is a better planning number than your best month.