Budget Calculator
Create a personal monthly budget with our free calculator. Track income vs expenses using the 50/30/20 budgeting rule.
Savings rate: 32.4% of income
Your FIRE Number
$1,250,000.00
50,000 × 25 (4% rule)
$75,000.00 of $1,250,000.00
Years to FIRE
19 years
Monthly at 4%
$4,166.67
About the Budget Calculator
A monthly budget is the foundation of financial health, yet fewer than one in three Americans follows one consistently. Our budget calculator implements the popular 50/30/20 rule — 50% of take-home pay for needs, 30% for wants, and 20% for savings and debt repayment — while letting you fully customize categories to match your actual lifestyle. Seeing your income and spending as percentages instantly reveals where you're over or under-allocated.
How It Works
Enter your monthly take-home income, then categorize your expenses as needs (housing, utilities, groceries, insurance, minimum debt payments), wants (dining out, entertainment, subscriptions, shopping), or savings/debt (emergency fund, retirement, extra debt payments, investments). The calculator shows your actual allocations versus the 50/30/20 targets and highlights where to adjust.
Tips & Best Practices
- ✓Housing should consume no more than 28–30% of gross income by traditional lender guidelines.
- ✓Track spending for one month before budgeting — most people underestimate several categories.
- ✓Automate savings transfers on payday before discretionary spending to enforce the 20% savings rate.
- ✓Subscriptions are a common budget leak — the average household has 4.5 unused subscription services.
- ✓A zero-based budget (every dollar assigned a job) is more effective than percentage-based for debt payoff mode.
Who Uses This Calculator
New graduates, couples combining finances, and anyone who has experienced financial stress benefit most from formal budgeting. Our calculator makes it easy to see whether your current spending pattern supports your financial goals or works against them.
Optimised for: USA · Canada · UK · Australia · Calculations run in your browser · No data stored
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 50/30/20 budget rule?
Allocate 50% of income to needs, 30% to wants, and 20% to savings and debt repayment.