Budget
50/30/20 Budget Calculator
The simplest budget in personal finance: 50% needs, 30% wants, 20% savings and debt payoff. Edit the split to whatever actually fits your life.
$
%
%
%
Needs
$3,000
50% · rent, groceries, utilities, insurance
Wants
$1,800
30% · dining, subscriptions, travel
Savings & debt payoff
$1,200
20% · investing, extra debt payments
Where your paycheck goes
Your split
Needs Wants Savings
Methodology & how to use this
What counts as what
Needs: if a bill would still exist if you cut every discretionary line — housing, groceries, utilities, insurance, transportation, minimum debt payments. Wants: everything nice-to-have. Savings: investing, extra debt payments beyond the minimum, sinking funds.
The number that matters
Use take-home (post-tax, post-401k), not gross income. If your needs already exceed 50%, either the target is unrealistic for your cost of living or you need to cut fixed expenses — hit the "wants" slider first and see how tight the room really is.
Keep running the numbers
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