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Budget Calculator

Track income and expenses, calculate your monthly surplus or deficit, and compare your spending to the 50/30/20 rule.

Your budget

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Needs target 50% —
Wants target 30% —
Savings target ≥20% —
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How It Works

A budget is a plan for how you spend your money. This calculator normalizes all income to a monthly amount, sums your expenses by category, and calculates whether you have a surplus (money left over) or deficit (spending more than you earn).

Income normalization: All income is converted to monthly equivalents. Weekly income is multiplied by 52/12 (≈ 4.33), biweekly by 26/12 (≈ 2.17), and annual is divided by 12. This accounts for the fact that a year has slightly more than 4 weeks per month.

The 50/30/20 rule is a widely recommended budgeting guideline: allocate 50% of after-tax income to Needs (housing, food, utilities, insurance, healthcare, transportation), 30% to Wants (entertainment, dining out, subscriptions, personal spending), and 20% to Savings (emergency fund, retirement, investments, extra debt payments).

The comparison table shows how your actual spending in each category stacks up against these recommendations. Green means you're within or under the guideline; red means you're over. The 50/30/20 rule is a starting point — adjust based on your income level, location, and financial goals.

Tips & Best Practices

The 50/30/20 rule is a guideline, not a rigid rule. In high-cost cities, housing alone may exceed 30% — adjust other categories accordingly.
Track your actual spending for 2–3 months before setting budget targets. Most people underestimate how much they spend on food and entertainment.
Pay yourself first: set up automatic transfers to savings on payday before spending on wants.
Review and update your budget monthly. Life changes (new job, moving, family changes) require budget adjustments.
If you have a deficit, look for the biggest expense categories first — small percentage cuts to large expenses save more than eliminating small ones.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the 50/30/20 rule?

The 50/30/20 rule, popularized by Senator Elizabeth Warren, suggests spending 50% of after-tax income on needs (housing, food, utilities), 30% on wants (entertainment, dining out), and 20% on savings and debt repayment. It's a simple framework for balanced budgeting.

Needs are expenses required for basic living: housing, groceries, utilities, insurance, healthcare, basic transportation. Wants are discretionary: dining out, streaming services, vacations, hobbies, upgrades. The line isn't always clear — a basic phone is a need, but the latest flagship is a want.

The 50/30/20 rule recommends 20% of income. At minimum, build a 3–6 month emergency fund, then focus on retirement savings (15% of income is a common target). If you have high-interest debt, prioritize that before increasing savings beyond the emergency fund.

Biweekly (every 2 weeks) means 26 pay periods per year. Twice-monthly (semi-monthly) means 24 pay periods. Biweekly results in about 8.3% more monthly income than you might expect if you just double one paycheck. This calculator accounts for this difference.