Budget Calculator
Split your take-home pay into needs, wants and savings with the 50/30/20 rule -- or set your own percentages -- with a monthly table.
Needs
$2,500.00
$30,000/yr
Wants
$1,500.00
$18,000/yr
Savings
$1,000.00
$12,000/yr
How it's calculated
Each category is simply your monthly take-home pay times its percentage:
needs = pay × needs%; wants = pay × wants%; savings = pay × savings%
On the default $5,000/month at 50/30/20: needs $2,500.00, wants $1,500.00, savings $1,000.00 -- $12,000/yr toward retirement, an emergency fund, or extra debt paydown.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does the 50/30/20 rule come from?
It was popularized by Senator Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tagaki in their 2005 book 'All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan': 50% of after-tax income to needs, 30% to wants, 20% to savings and debt paydown beyond the minimum. It's a starting framework, not a rule enforced by any institution -- every percentage on this page is editable.
What counts as a 'need' versus a 'want'?
Needs are costs you'd have to keep paying even in a tight month: rent or mortgage, groceries, utilities, minimum debt payments, insurance. Wants are everything discretionary -- dining out, subscriptions, travel, hobbies. The line is judgment, not a formula; the categories exist to make you draw it on purpose rather than by accident.
Should retirement savings go in the 'savings' bucket?
Yes -- the 20% savings bucket is meant to cover retirement contributions, an emergency fund, and any extra debt paydown beyond minimums. If your 401(k) or IRA contribution alone exceeds 20% of take-home pay, that's a sign you're already ahead of this baseline.
What if my needs are already more than 50%?
Common in high cost-of-living areas -- the rule is a target to work toward, not a requirement you've failed to meet. Shifting the percentages here to reflect your real fixed costs still gives you a clear picture of what's left for wants and savings, which is the actual point of budgeting this way.
Should I use gross or take-home pay?
Take-home (after-tax) pay -- the amount that actually hits your bank account. Using gross pay overstates what you have available and can make a real budget look artificially generous.
Figures on this page are estimates from the inputs you enter, not financial advice, and this site is not affiliated with any employer, plan administrator, bank or the IRS. Real accounts vary by plan rules, taxes and fees this tool doesn't model -- see the Terms.