Budget Calculator
Enter your monthly take-home pay and what you currently spend. The calculator shows how your split compares to the 50/30/20 rule and the exact dollar moves to bring it in line.
1Monthly after-tax income
$/ month
2Current monthly spending
$/ month
$/ month
$/ month
Total spending$5,000
Every dollar allocated
BalancedBest for Most middle incomes
The default. Room for a comfortable lifestyle while still saving a fifth of every paycheck. If your rent is moderate, this is the split to beat - anything you trim from wants can go straight to savings.
Your allocation vs the 50 / 30 / 20 ruleOn plan
Your split
50 / 30 / 20 target
NeedsWantsSavings & Debt Repayment
CategoryCurrentTargetDifferenceStatus
Needs$2,50050%$2,50050%-On budget
Wants$1,50030%$1,50030%-On budget
Savings & Debt Repayment$1,00020%$1,00020%-On target
You are putting 20% of take-home toward savings & debt - at or above the 20%% target. Your split tracks the rule closely.
Where the savings bucket leads
Your savings & debt line, projected forward.
Savings is the one bucket that keeps working after the month ends. At an assumed long-run real return of 7%, your current $1,000/mo compounds as below - alongside what the 20% target would reach.
HorizonAt your 20%At the 20% targetDifference
10 years$173k$173k-
20 years$521k$521k-
30 years$1.22M$1.22M-
Future value of a monthly annuity at a constant 7% return, end-of-month contributions. Not adjusted for inflation, tax, or changing contributions - a directional estimate, not a forecast.
MyFinanceTools · Budget trackerFree account
This is a snapshot. Track it automatically every month.
Link your accounts and we sort each transaction into needs, wants and savings for you, keep this calculator prefilled, and flag the week a bucket drifts past its target. See how the portfolio tracker works.
Auto-categorised needs / wants / savings
Live 50/30/20 score, updated nightly
Bank-grade, read-only - no card required
No card requiredRead-only accessCancel anytime2-minute setup
How to use this calculator
From take-home pay to a balanced plan, in four steps.
1
Confirm your take-home
We prefill your monthly after-tax income from your linked accounts. Not signed in, or it looks off? Type the right number - everything recalculates instantly.
2
Enter what you spend
Split a typical month into needs, wants, and savings & debt. Rough figures are fine; the live percentages help you sanity-check as you type.
3
Read your split
See your needs / wants / savings as a share of income, measured against the 50/30/20 rule. Green means on plan; amber means worth a look.
4
Adjust and act
Switch the rule to fit your situation, see the exact dollar moves to rebalance, and project what redirecting the gap could compound to.
Key concepts
The ideas behind the buckets.
The 50/30/20 rule
A budgeting framework popularised by Senator Elizabeth Warren: spend roughly 50% of take-home pay on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings and debt repayment. Its strength is simplicity - three buckets you can actually keep using.
Needs vs wants
Needs are obligations you cannot easily drop - housing, food, utilities, insurance, minimum debt payments. Wants are flexible lifestyle spending. The honest test: if your income halved next month, would you still pay it?
After-tax (take-home) income
The money that actually lands in your account after income tax, payroll deductions, and pension contributions. Budget from take-home, not gross - the rule is built around the dollars you control.
Savings rate
The share of take-home pay you keep rather than spend. The 20% in 50/30/20 is a savings-rate target. Counting extra debt payoff here matters - clearing a 20% APR card is a guaranteed 20% return.
Zero-based budgeting
A stricter method where every dollar gets a job until income minus planned spending and savings equals zero. The 50/30/20 rule sets the proportions; zero-based budgeting assigns the exact dollars, so nothing leaks away untracked.
Adjusting for high-cost areas
Where housing alone exceeds 30% of take-home, a strict 50% for needs is unrealistic. Shift to 60/20/20 - or temporarily further - but keep the savings line intact. The percentages are a guideline to adapt, not a rule to obey exactly.
Budgeting on irregular income
Freelancers and commission earners should budget from a baseline month, not an average of good ones. Take your lowest realistic month, say $3,500 when income swings between $3,000 and $6,000, and fit needs and a minimum savings line inside it. Everything a strong month brings in above the baseline goes to a buffer account first; once the buffer holds one to two months of needs, the surplus flows to savings. You get the stability of a salary without pretending you have one.
Choosing between 50/30/20, 60/20/20 and 70/20/10
Pick the split by your fixed costs and debt, not by ambition. On $5,000 take-home, 50/30/20 targets $2,500 needs and $1,000 savings; 60/20/20 lifts needs to $3,000 for high-rent cities; 70/20/10 accepts $500 savings while you clear debt or survive a squeeze; 50/20/30 pushes savings to $1,500 for aggressive goals. Start with the strictest split you can hold for six months. A rule you keep beats a rule you admire.
Tips that make it stick
Small moves that keep a budget alive.
Automate the 20% first
Set a standing transfer to savings and investments on payday. Budgeting on what is left is far easier than finding savings at month-end.
Count debt payoff as savings
Extra payments above the minimum on high-interest debt belong in the savings bucket - paying down a 20% APR card beats almost any investment return.
Attack wants, protect savings
When the numbers do not fit, trim the flexible wants bucket before you touch your savings rate. Wants are where the slack almost always hides.
Adapt the ratio to your city
In a high-rent city, 50% for needs is unrealistic. Move to 60/20/20 - the rule is a starting point, not a straitjacket. Keep the savings line sacred.
Review every quarter
Lifestyle creep is gradual. A 15-minute check-in each quarter catches a wants bucket that has quietly drifted upward before it becomes the new normal.
Use sinking funds for annual bills
Insurance premiums, car registration, and holiday gifts are needs that arrive once a year. Divide each by 12 and set the money aside monthly, so a $1,200 December does not blow up an otherwise honest budget.
FAQ
What is the 50/30/20 budget rule?+
It splits your monthly after-tax income into three buckets: 50% for needs, 30% for wants, and 20% for savings and debt repayment. It was popularised by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi in All Your Worth. The appeal is that it is simple enough to actually maintain, while still enforcing a real savings habit.
Should I use gross or after-tax income?+
Use your after-tax (take-home) income - the money that actually reaches your account. The percentages are calibrated for the dollars you control after tax and pension deductions. If you are signed in, we prefill this from your linked accounts; you can always override it.
What counts as a need versus a want?+
A simple test: a need is something you would still have to pay if your income suddenly halved - rent, utilities, groceries, insurance, minimum debt payments. A want is flexible: dining out, subscriptions, travel, upgrades. Grey areas (a phone plan, a gym) are judgement calls; be honest and consistent.
Where do minimum debt payments go?+
Minimum required payments are a need - they keep you current and protect your credit. Anything you pay above the minimum to clear the balance faster counts as savings & debt repayment, because it builds your net worth.
What if 50% is not enough for my needs?+
That is common in high-cost cities. Switch to the 60/20/20 variant, which gives needs more room while protecting your savings rate. The one number to defend is the savings line - cut wants before you cut savings.
Is the 20% savings target before or after employer pension match?+
The classic rule counts your own savings out of take-home pay. An employer match is a bonus on top. If your take-home is already net of a generous pension contribution, you can count part of that toward the 20% - just be consistent about it.
Does an emergency fund count toward the 20% savings?+
Yes. While you are building it, emergency-fund contributions are exactly what the savings bucket is for. Aim for three to six months of needs, not of income: with $2,500 of monthly needs that is $7,500 to $15,000. Once the fund is full, keep it in cash and redirect the same monthly amount to investments or extra debt payoff, so your savings rate never actually drops.
What is a good savings rate?+
Honest ranges: 10% of take-home is a floor, 15 to 20% funds retirement on a normal timeline, and 30%+ is the territory of early-retirement plans or catching up after a late start. Compounding matters more than the label: $1,000 a month at the calculator's 7% assumption grows to roughly $173,000 in 10 years, $521,000 in 20, and $1.22 million in 30.
How does 50/30/20 work for couples?+
Run the rule on combined take-home pay rather than two separate budgets. Shared needs, rent, groceries, insurance, come out of the joint total; many couples fund them in proportion to income rather than 50/50. The wants bucket works best split into personal allowances nobody has to justify. The savings 20% should cover both partners' goals, including retirement accounts held in each name.
What should I cut first when spending exceeds income?+
Work in order of flexibility. Wants go first: subscriptions, dining out and upgrades usually hide 10 to 15% of slack. Next, audit the needs bucket for wants in disguise, a premium phone plan or an oversized car payment. Truly fixed needs, housing above all, come last: they take months to change but move the most money. Pausing savings entirely is a short-term patch, give it an end date.
The 50/30/20 framework allocates after-tax (take-home) income across needs, wants, and savings & debt repayment. Targets are guidelines, not personalised advice - the right split depends on your cost of living, goals, and obligations. Projections assume a constant 7% annual return on end-of-month contributions and are not adjusted for inflation or tax. Prefilled income is illustrative.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances