Budget calculator

Enter your monthly take-home pay and expenses. See what's left, each expense's share, and how you compare with the 50/30/20 rule.

By the Calcist team · Checked against known answers · Updated October 27, 2026

Monthly take-home pay after taxes$

Expense	Per month	Type
Expense 1 name	Expense 1 amount$	Expense 1 type
Expense 2 name	Expense 2 amount$	Expense 2 type
Expense 3 name	Expense 3 amount$	Expense 3 type
Expense 4 name	Expense 4 amount$	Expense 4 type
Expense 5 name	Expense 5 amount$	Expense 5 type
Expense 6 name	Expense 6 amount$	Expense 6 type
Expense 7 name	Expense 7 amount$	Expense 7 type
Expense 8 name	Expense 8 amount$	Expense 8 type
Expense 9 name	Expense 9 amount$	Expense 9 type
Expense 10 name	Expense 10 amount$	Expense 10 type

Leave rows empty if you don't need them. Yearly bills? Divide by 12.

Private: calculated on your device. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Estimates for planning, not financial, tax or legal advice. Figures use US rules unless the page says otherwise.

Next: Saving for something? The savings goal calculator shows how much to put away each month.

The 50/30/20 rule

The 50/30/20 rule, popularized by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi in All Your Worth, splits take-home pay three ways:

Needs = 50% · Wants = 30% · Savings and extra debt payments = 20% (of take-home pay)
Left over = take-home pay − total expenses · Each line's share = amount ÷ take-home pay × 100

Needs: things you must pay: housing, groceries, utilities, insurance, transportation to work, minimum loan payments.
Wants: things you could cut: eating out, streaming, hobbies, travel, upgrades.
Savings: emergency fund, retirement, and debt payments above the minimum.

Worked example

On $4,000 a month, the guideline is $2,000 for needs, $1,200 for wants and $800 for savings. The sample expenses add up to $3,220, which leaves $780. Rent of $1,400 is 1,400 ÷ 4,000 = 35% of income, and needs total $2,520, which is $520 over the 50% guideline.

Limitations

In high-cost areas, rent alone can pass 50%. Treat the split as a starting point, not a pass/fail test.
Use take-home pay (after taxes). If money comes out of your paycheck for a 401(k) or health insurance, those are already counted.
Irregular income? Budget from a low month, and save the extra in good months.

Sources

Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi, All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan (Free Press, 2005)
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Your Money, Your Goals

How we checked this

Before every update, this calculator is run in a real browser with these known answers, and it must match all of them:

$4,000 income, $3,220 of expenses: $780 left ✓
50/30/20 on $4,000: needs $2,000 ✓
$1,400 rent is 35% of $4,000 ✓
Edge: $3,000 income is over budget by $220 ✓

Last checked October 26, 2026. Spotted something wrong? The math is done in your browser with the formula shown on this page, so you can check any result by hand.

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Questions people ask

What is the 50/30/20 budget rule?

Spend about 50% of take-home pay on needs, 30% on wants, and put 20% toward savings and paying off debt.

Should I use gross or net income for a budget?

Net, or take-home, pay. That's the money you actually have to spend after taxes and paycheck deductions.

What if my needs are more than 50%?

That's common, especially for housing. Trim wants first to keep savings going, and look for the biggest needs you can lower over time, like rent, insurance or a car payment.

Where do debt payments go?

Minimum payments are needs. Anything extra you pay to get out of debt faster counts toward the 20% savings part.

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