50/30/20 budget calculator
Type in what lands in your account each month after tax. You'll see how much the 50/30/20 rule gives to needs, wants and savings, and what your wants money works out to each week.
What reaches your account after tax
- Needs 50%Rent, bills, groceries, transport, minimum debt payments
- $1,750
- Wants 30%Eating out, shopping, subscriptions, trips
- $1,050
- Savings 20%Emergency fund, goals, extra debt payments
- $700
That's about $242 a week for wants, and $8,400 saved over a year.
What the 50/30/20 rule is
It's a simple way to split take-home pay: 50% for needs (rent, bills, groceries, transport, minimum debt payments), 30% for wants (eating out, shopping, subscriptions, trips) and 20% for savings and paying off debt faster. It isn't perfect for everyone, but it's a good first budget because it only asks you to sort spending into three buckets.
When to pick a different split
If rent alone takes more than half your pay, 50/30/20 will feel impossible. That's common in big cities. Try 60/20/20 or 70/20/10 instead and move towards 50/30/20 as your income grows. The point is to save something every month, not to hit a perfect ratio.
Use take-home pay, not salary
Base the split on the money that actually reaches your account after tax, pension and other deductions. Splitting your gross salary makes every bucket look bigger than it is, and the budget breaks in the first week.
Turning the split into a daily habit
A monthly wants number is easy to blow by the 10th. Breaking it into a weekly amount helps. Finovaa goes one step further: it turns your budgets into one number you can spend today, and updates it every time you log something.
Common questions
What counts as a need and what counts as a want?
A need is something you'd still have to pay if money got tight: rent or mortgage, utilities, groceries, insurance, getting to work and minimum loan payments. A want is everything you could cut: takeaways, streaming, new clothes, gym upgrades, holidays.
Does paying off debt count as savings?
Minimum payments are a need. Anything you pay on top of the minimum to clear a debt faster can come out of the 20% savings bucket, because it improves your finances the same way saving does.
Is 50/30/20 based on gross or net income?
Net, meaning your take-home pay after tax and deductions. That's the money you can actually budget.
Does this calculator store my numbers?
No. Everything is worked out in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Want this number every day, without the maths?
Finovaa works it out for you and updates it each time you log a purchase. Join the waitlist and we'll email your download link on launch day.