How to use the budget planner
- Under Income after taxes, list each source with its amount and how often you receive it. Weekly, every two weeks, twice a month, monthly and yearly amounts are all converted to a monthly figure for you.
- Under Expenses and savings, add one line per cost. Give each a group: Needs for things you must pay, Wants for things you choose, and Savings and debt for money you set aside or use to pay down balances.
- Read the left over amount, the share of income each group takes, and the table that compares your plan with the guideline. Open More options to change the 50/30/20 shares to your own targets.
- Use Save in this browser to keep the plan on this device, Download PDF or Print for a copy, and CSV for a spreadsheet. There is no share link, so your finances never appear in a web address.
Formula
Monthly amount = amount x payments per year / 12
Left over = monthly income - monthly expenses
Guideline dollars for a group = monthly income x its guideline share
Share of income = group total / monthly income
Payments per year are 52 for weekly, 26 for every two weeks, 24 for twice a month, 12 for monthly, 4 for every three months and 1 for yearly. Every monthly figure is rounded to the cent.
Worked example
Take $4,200 of take-home pay and $300 of side income, for $4,500 a month. Needs are rent $1,500, groceries $120 a week ($520 a month), utilities and phone $260, car and fuel $340 and insurance $1,200 a year ($100 a month), which total $2,720, or 60.4% of income.
Wants are dining out $260, subscriptions $55 and fun and travel $400, for $715 or 15.9%. Savings and debt are $500 to an emergency fund and $250 on a student loan, for $750 or 16.7%. Expenses total $4,185, so $315 is left over each month, $3,780 a year.
Against the default guideline of 50/30/20, needs are $470 above the $2,250 target, wants are $635 below $1,350 and savings and debt are $150 below $900. The table shows that the plan leans on needs, which is useful to know before you decide what to change.
How the 50/30/20 guideline works
The 50/30/20 guideline is a simple way to sort spending: about half of income to needs, about thirty percent to wants and about twenty percent to savings and debt repayment. It is a rule of thumb, not a law or a recommendation for your situation. Housing costs in expensive areas can push needs well above half, and people paying off debt quickly may want a larger third group.
That is why the three shares are editable here. Change them to match your own targets, such as 60/20/20, and the table recalculates the dollar amounts and the gap for each group. The three shares must add up to 100 so that every dollar of income is assigned.
Choosing the right group for each line
Needs are costs you would still have in a tight month: housing, utilities, basic groceries, transportation to work, insurance and minimum debt payments. Wants are costs you could reduce without hardship, such as dining out, streaming, hobbies and travel. Savings and debt covers emergency fund deposits, retirement contributions, goal savings and payments above the minimum.
Many people count minimum debt payments as needs and any extra as savings and debt. Others put all debt payments in the third group. Either is fine if you use the same rule each month. Whatever is left over is shown separately, so you can decide to assign it to savings, a goal or a cushion.
Using the plan month to month
A budget works best as a short loop: plan, spend, compare, adjust. Print or save the plan, check your actual spending at the end of the month, and update the amounts that were off. Lines that vary, such as groceries, are better entered as your average than your hope.
If left over is negative, start with the expense table, which lists lines from largest to smallest. For related planning, see the emergency fund calculator to size a cushion, the subscription cost calculator to review recurring charges, and the net worth calculator to track progress over time.
Privacy
This planner runs in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded. If you choose Save in this browser, the plan is stored only on this device and you can clear it at any time. Printing and the PDF are generated on your device.
Assumptions and limits
- Income should be entered after taxes, as the amount that reaches your account. Taxes and payroll deductions are not modeled.
- Amounts are treated as regular and repeating. Weekly and every-two-weeks amounts use 52 and 26 payments a year, so some calendar months contain an extra paycheck that is averaged out.
- The 50/30/20 shares are an editable guideline, not a requirement and not personal financial advice.
- The planner compares plans, not actual spending. It does not track transactions or carry money from one month to the next.
- Rows with no name and no amount are ignored. A row with a name needs an amount, even if it is 0.
- Every figure is rounded to the cent, so a total can differ by a cent from adding rounded parts by hand.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good budget percentage for housing?
There is no single right figure because rents and incomes vary so much. Many people aim to keep housing near a third of income or less, but the planner lets you test your own numbers and see how the whole plan shifts when rent is a larger share.
Should I use gross or net income in a budget?
Use net income, the amount that actually lands in your account after taxes and deductions. Budgeting from gross income makes every group look smaller than it really is and leaves out money you never get to spend.
How do I budget with irregular income?
Enter a conservative monthly average, such as your lowest typical months, and treat anything above it as extra for savings or goals. Using a low figure keeps the plan workable in thin months.
What if my needs are more than 50% of income?
That is common where housing is costly. The guideline is only a starting point, so edit the shares to something you can sustain, and look at the largest need lines to see whether any can change over time.
Can I keep my budget here for next month?
Yes, choose Save in this browser and your income and expenses will be there next time on the same device. Clearing site data removes them, so download the PDF or CSV if you want a backup.