50 30 20 Budget Calculator
Split take-home pay into needs, wants and saving, then see where your real numbers land against the rule.
Free · No sign-up · Your inputs stay in your browser
Your numbers
Test the split on your numbers
Your projection
Needs take 59.6% of pay
Needs · target $2,600
$3,100
59.6% of take-home, over by $500.
Wants · target $1,560
$1,300
25% of take-home, under by $260.
Saving and extra debt · target $1,040
$800
15.4% of take-home, under by $240.
Unassigned
$0
The 50/30/20 split is a reference point. In a high-cost city, needs above 50% are a fact about rent, not a failure of discipline; the useful number is how much still reaches saving.
About this tool
Method, assumptions, practical next steps, and limits.
A reference point, not a grade
The 50/30/20 split is useful because it is easy to remember and easy to test. It is not a law of household finance. Rent in a high-cost city can take 40% of take-home pay on its own, and a household in that position has not failed; it has a smaller wants budget.
How the calculation works
Target for each group = take-home pay × 50%, 30% or 20%
On $5,200 of take-home pay the targets are $2,600 for needs, $1,560 for wants and $1,040 for saving. With needs of $3,100, wants of $1,300 and saving of $800, needs run $500 over, wants $260 under, and saving is $240 short of the 20% line. Every dollar is assigned, so the unassigned figure is zero.
Where the rule stops working
Needs above 50% are common and not a reason to give up on the plan. Hold the saving line first, then let wants absorb the difference. The rule also counts minimum debt payments as needs and extra payments as saving, which matters when you have a card balance to clear.
If take-home pay varies month to month, use the irregular income budget instead: a percentage of a number that keeps moving is not a plan.
