Budget Calculator (50/30/20)
Split your take-home pay into needs, wants and savings with the 50/30/20 rule.
How to use the Budget Calculator (50/30/20)
- Enter your monthly take-home pay, after tax.
- See the amount for needs (50%).
- See the amounts for wants (30%) and savings or debt (20%).
- Use it as a starting framework and adjust to your situation.
Needs = 50% · Wants = 30% · Savings & debt = 20% of take-home pay
About the Budget Calculator (50/30/20)
The 50/30/20 rule is the simplest budget that actually works, which is why it has stuck. It splits your take-home pay into three buckets: 50% for needs (rent or mortgage, food, utilities, transport, minimum debt payments), 30% for wants (eating out, subscriptions, hobbies, travel), and 20% for savings and extra debt repayment. This calculator does the split instantly from your monthly pay, giving you three target numbers to build a plan around instead of a blank spreadsheet.
Its strength is that it is a framework, not a straitjacket. If your rent alone eats more than half your pay — common in expensive cities — the rule shows it immediately and tells you the wants or savings must flex to compensate. Equally, if your needs come in under 50%, you can steer the surplus toward savings and reach goals faster.
Treat the percentages as a sensible default to adjust, not a law. Someone aggressively paying off debt or saving for a house might run 50/20/30 or tighter. To size the savings portion into a specific goal, use the savings goal calculator, and to build a safety buffer first, the emergency fund calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a need versus a want?
Needs are costs you genuinely cannot avoid — housing, food, utilities, transport, minimum debt payments. Wants are everything that improves life but is optional, like dining out, subscriptions and holidays.
Should I use gross or take-home pay?
Take-home pay, after tax and deductions. The rule budgets the money that actually reaches your account, so using gross pay would overstate every category.
What if my needs are more than 50%?
That is common in high-cost areas. The rule then flags that your wants or savings must be smaller to compensate. Use it to see the trade-off rather than as a rule you have failed.