50/30/20 budget calculator
The 50/30/20 rule puts half your take-home pay toward needs, 30% toward wants and 20% toward savings and extra debt payments. On $3,200 a month that's $1,600, $960 and $640.
Your result
- Needs (50%)
- $1,600 a month
- Wants (30%)
- $960 a month
- Savings and debt (20%)
- $640 a month
On $3,200 a month, the 50/30/20 split puts $640 toward savings and debt each month, $7,680 a year.
Show the numbers
| Bucket | Per month | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Needs | $1,600 | $1,600 | $19,200 |
| Wants | $960 | $960 | $11,520 |
| Savings and debt | $640 | $640 | $7,680 |
Runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere or saved, apart from your currency choice on this device.
How to use the calculator
- Choose your currency, then under “You’re paid” pick Weekly, Every two weeks, Twice a month, Monthly or Yearly.
- Enter your take-home pay for one period (the box reads “Take-home pay per month” until you change the frequency). Use the amount that lands in your account; the default is 3,200 a month.
- In the split section, choose a rule: 50/30/20, 60/20/20, 70/20/10, 80/20 or Custom. With Custom you set the three shares, and if they don’t add up to 100% the calculator scales them so they do.
- To check your own spending, turn on “Enter what you actually spend each month” and fill in the three boxes.
The table under the result gives each bucket per pay period, per month and per year.
How the numbers are worked out
The calculator turns your pay into a monthly figure, then multiplies it by each share:
- Monthly take-home = pay per period × pays per year ÷ 12, where a year has 52 weekly pays, 26 pays every two weeks, 24 twice-monthly pays, 12 monthly pays or 1 yearly figure.
- Each bucket = monthly take-home × its share.
With the default of $3,200 a month, that’s $3,200 × 12 ÷ 12 = $3,200, split like this:
| Bucket | Share | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Needs | 50% | $1,600 | $19,200 |
| Wants | 30% | $960 | $11,520 |
| Savings and debt | 20% | $640 | $7,680 |
Turn on the spending comparison and the calculator starts you at $1,900 of needs, $800 of wants and $300 of savings. Against the targets, needs are $300 over, wants $160 under and savings $340 under. That’s $3,000 of the $3,200 accounted for. The $300 of savings is 9.4% of take-home pay.
What the rule is
The 50/30/20 rule comes from Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi’s 2005 book All Your Worth. It splits income after tax into three parts: half for needs (the costs you’d have to pay whatever happened), 30% for wants, and 20% for savings and paying down debt. No law or regulator sets these shares. The split is a quick way to test whether a budget leaves room to save.
Because the rule uses after-tax income, it starts from your take-home pay, not your salary. Our guide on whether the 50/30/20 rule uses gross or net pay works through examples.
Needs and wants
Needs are the bills you’d still pay in a lean month: rent or mortgage, energy and water, groceries, transport to work, insurance, minimum debt payments and childcare that lets you work. Wants are the rest: eating out, subscriptions, trips, hobbies and upgrades.
Some costs are partly both. Say your phone contract is $90 a month and bundles a new handset. A SIM-only plan at $30 would cover the need, so $60 of the contract is a want. The same goes for a car that costs more to run than the one you’d need for work, or a grocery bill that includes takeout. Put the want part of each in wants, or your needs will look bigger than they are.
Where debt and pension contributions go
Minimum debt payments count as needs, because you’d owe them in any month. Anything you pay above the minimum goes in savings and debt, alongside money you move to savings.
A workplace pension or 401(k) contribution taken before your pay arrives is saving the calculator can’t see. Treat it as extra on top of the 20%: if $200 goes to your 401(k) before payday and you put away $640 of your $3,200 take-home, you’re saving $840 a month in all.
When it doesn’t fit
Housing alone can break the split. If rent is $1,440 on $3,200 of take-home pay, that’s 45% of it before bills, food or transport, against the 50% the rule allows for all needs. In that case the other presets are closer to your numbers; the calculator’s note on each says what it’s meant for.
Irregular pay needs one more step. Take the average of your last three to six months of take-home pay and use that as a monthly figure. If what you actually spend is more than you take home, the calculator says by how much, and that gap comes first: no split can make it fit.
Other splits in the calculator
On $3,200 a month:
| Rule | Needs | Wants | Savings and debt | The calculator’s note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50/30/20 | $1,600 | $960 | $640 | The original rule |
| 60/20/20 | $1,920 | $640 | $640 | For high rent or high-cost cities |
| 70/20/10 | $2,240 | $640 | $320 | A starting point when needs eat most of your pay |
| 80/20 | $2,560, needs and wants together | none | $640 | Save 20%, spend the rest however you like |
The 60/20/20 split keeps the $640 of savings and takes the extra $320 for needs out of wants. The 70/20/10 split halves savings to $320 a month, which is $3,840 a year instead of $7,680.
Three pay frequencies in three currencies
These people are made up; the figures come from the calculator.
| Femi, Glasgow | Mia, Adelaide | Raj, Calgary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paid | Weekly | Every two weeks | Twice a month |
| Take-home per pay | £520 | A$2,400 | C$1,850 |
| Pays a year | 52 | 26 | 24 |
| Monthly take-home | £2,253.33 | A$5,200 | C$3,700 |
| Needs per pay | £260 | A$1,200 | C$925 |
| Wants per pay | £156 | A$720 | C$555 |
| Savings and debt per pay | £104 | A$480 | C$370 |
| Savings and debt per year | £5,408 | A$12,480 | C$8,880 |
Mia’s case shows the trap with fortnightly pay (every two weeks). Doubling one pay gives A$4,800 a month, but 26 pays a year average A$5,200, because two months each year bring a third payday. Raj, paid on fixed dates twice a month, gets exactly 24 pays, so doubling works for him.
When take-home pay rises, the split scales with it: a raise of $200 a month adds $100 to needs, $60 to wants and $40 to savings. Our guide on lifestyle creep looks at what happens when wants take the whole raise instead.
FAQ
50/30/20 budget calculator: common questions
Is the 50/30/20 rule suitable for me?
It fits if your needs come to about half your take-home pay. Turn on the spending comparison and enter what you actually spend: if rent, bills, food and transport already take 60% or more, the 60/20/20 or 70/20/10 splits are nearer where you are, and you can see what each leaves for savings.
How much of my salary should I spend under 50/30/20?
Up to 80% of your take-home pay: 50% on needs and 30% on wants, with the other 20% going to savings and extra debt payments. On $3,200 a month that's $1,600 for needs, $960 for wants and $640 put away. The rule works on pay after tax, so start from what lands in your account.
How do I use 50/30/20 if I'm paid weekly or fortnightly?
Choose how often you're paid and enter one pay; the calculator converts it to a monthly figure using 52 or 26 pays a year. £520 a week works out at £2,253.33 a month. A$2,400 every two weeks is A$5,200 a month on average, not A$4,800, because 26 pays don't divide evenly into 12 months.
Do I spend more than I earn?
The calculator can tell you. Turn on Enter what you actually spend each month and fill in your needs, wants and savings. It compares the total with your monthly take-home pay, shows how far each bucket is over or under its target, and warns you if you're spending more than comes in.
Related calculators
- Emergency fund calculatorHow many months of costs to keep, and when you'll get there.
- Savings goal calculatorHow much to put aside each month to reach a target by a date.
- Debt payoff calculatorSnowball or avalanche: your debt-free date and total interest both ways.
Guides
- Is the 50/30/20 rule based on gross or net pay?The 50/30/20 rule splits after-tax pay, not gross. Worked 2026 examples for the US and UK, and where 401(k), pension and debt payments go.
- What lifestyle creep looks like, and how to keep a raiseSix signs of lifestyle creep to check against last year's bank statements, what saving half of a $4,000 raise adds up to, and what research on adaptation shows.