50/30/20 budget calculator

Splits your monthly take-home pay into the three parts of the 50/30/20 rule: needs, wants, and savings plus extra debt payments.

General education, not financial advice. Your situation may differ. Disclaimer.

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How it works

Needs are costs you must pay: housing, utilities, groceries, transport to work, insurance and minimum debt payments.

Wants are everything you choose to spend on: eating out, hobbies, subscriptions, holidays.

The final 20% goes to savings and to paying debts down faster than the minimum.

Needs = 50% of take-home pay · Wants = 30% · Savings and extra debt payments = 20%

On a take-home pay of 4,000 a month: 2,000 for needs, 1,200 for wants and 800 for savings and extra debt payments.

It is a starting point, not a rule. Where housing is expensive, needs often take more than 50%. Adjust the split rather than give up on it.
Use take-home pay, not salary before tax.

Do debt payments count as needs or savings?

Minimum payments are needs. Anything you pay above the minimum counts in the 20%.

What if my needs are more than 50%?

That is common. Try 60/20/20 or 70/20/10 for now, and look at your largest fixed costs over time.