50/30/20 BudgetCalculator & planner

50/30/20 Budget Calculator and Planner

Enter your monthly net income and the tool splits it instantly into Needs, Wants and Savings. Adjust the percentages to fit your life, add your real expenses, and download your plan. No sign-up, 100% in your browser.

Make the rule your own

Current total: 100%
0
Monthly income
100% private — your numbers are calculated and stay on your device Updates instantly, no page reload No sign-up, no account
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How the 50/30/20 rule works in 3 steps

A budgeting system designed so you don't need to carry a spreadsheet everywhere: three blocks, one simple rule, adjustable when reality doesn't fit perfectly.

01

Enter your net income

Enter your monthly income after taxes and pick your currency. The tool calculates the split instantly, no button required.

02

Split into three blocks

50% for Needs (housing, utilities, basic groceries), 30% for Wants (leisure, treats) and 20% for Savings, investing or debt. Move the sliders if your situation calls for a different split.

03

Add your real expenses

Log each expense under its block and instantly see how much money you have left in each one. Download the result as a PDF or CSV whenever you like.

Why 50/30/20 and not another system?

Unlike a budget with endless categories, the 50/30/20 rule works with just three blocks, which makes it easy to stick with long-term. It doesn't replace detailed expense tracking, but it gives you a quick framework to know whether you're spending reasonably before getting into finer categories.

The key is the word "net": every percentage is calculated on what you actually receive after taxes, social security and other withholdings — never on gross salary.

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Use cases

The same calculator, with the sliders moved to fit the goal.

Getting out of debt

Raise the "Savings, investments & debt" block above 20% (say, 30-35%) for as long as the plan lasts, and create a subcategory for each debt to see how much you're putting toward each one every month.

Saving for a house

Add a "Home down payment" subcategory inside Savings and raise the whole block's percentage. The chart instantly shows how much is left for everything else.

Organizing freelance finances

Use the average of your last few months as your net income and bump up the Savings block slightly to cushion lower-earning months. Come back each month and update the figure.

Tight family budget

If Needs easily go over 50% (high rent, several kids), raise that block to 60-65% and reduce Wants, while keeping a small Savings cushion even if it's just 5-10%.

Frequently asked questions

What is the 50/30/20 rule and who created it?
It's a budgeting method popularized by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren in her book "All Your Worth". It divides net income into three blocks: 50% needs, 30% wants, and 20% savings, investing or paying down debt.
What if my needs are more than 50%?
It's common, especially with high rent. Move the sliders to reflect your reality (say, 60/20/20), review which fixed expenses you could cut, or treat it as a medium-term goal rather than a strict rule from month one.
What counts as a "Need" and what counts as a "Want"?
Needs are expenses you can't avoid without affecting your basic subsistence: housing, utilities, basic groceries, commuting, insurance, minimum debt payments. Wants are discretionary spending: leisure, dining out, subscriptions, non-essential purchases, travel. The line depends on the person.
Can I change the 50/30/20 percentages to something like 60/20/20?
Yes. The three sliders are linked: moving one automatically adjusts the other two so the total always adds up to 100%. You can also use the quick presets.
Does the 50/30/20 rule work for freelancers or variable income?
Yes, with one adjustment: use the average of your net income over the last 3-6 months and be a bit more conservative, giving extra weight to the savings block to cover slower months.
Is my data saved on any server?
No. All calculations happen in your browser. Your figures are only saved locally on your device, so they aren't lost when you reload the page, and are never sent to any server.
How do I download or save my budget plan?
With the "Download plan as PDF" and "Export CSV" buttons. The PDF button opens your browser's print dialog — choose "Save as PDF" as the destination. The CSV opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers.
Does the calculator account for taxes?
No: you should enter your net income, meaning what you receive after taxes and withholdings. The 50/30/20 rule is always applied to net income, never gross salary.
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