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Personal and household budget calculator

Enter your household take-home pay and monthly expenses by category. The calculator shows what is left over, the weight of each expense and how you compare with the 50/30/20 rule, with alerts on what to adjust.

Educational simulation. Not investment advice. Results are estimates based on the data you enter and do not replace advice from a qualified professional.

Reviewed on Nov 1, 2026

Example: a household with $5,500 of monthly take-home pay. Replace with your own numbers.

Income
Monthly expenses

Types: need, want, saving or debt.

Reference rule

Your inputs stay only on this browser and are not sent anywhere. Untick to delete them.

—Left over each month
—

Budget alerts

Points worth a closer look, most important first.

    50/30/20 rule × your budget

    What the rule suggests for each group and what you spend today. Money left over counts as savings.

    Tap the chart to see the values.

    Expenses by category

    Monthly amount of each category, colored by expense type.

    Tap the chart to see the values.

    Budget by category

    Weight of each expense in your income and subtotals by type.

    Next step

    Take this page’s results to another calculator with the fields already filled in.

    Size an emergency fund from these expenses →Build a debt payoff plan →Plan a goal with what is left over →See what each appliance adds to the power bill →

    The summary lists your inputs, results, formulas, assumptions and sources. The full report also includes the charts and interpretations, in color. In the print dialog, choose Save as PDF.

    Method, assumptions and sources

    Formulas

    Left over = take-home pay − Σ expenses
    Needs % = Σ needs ÷ income; wants % = Σ wants ÷ income
    Savings and debt % = (Σ savings + Σ debt payments + positive leftover) ÷ income
    Amount suggested by the rule = income × percentage of each group (50/30/20 by default)

    Assumptions and limits

    • The 50/30/20 rule is a personal finance guideline (Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi, 2005), not a standard. A positive leftover counts toward savings because it is available to save.
    • Alerts: needs and wants above the rule, savings below it, debt payments above 30% of income (a limit many lenders use) and any single expense above 30% of income.

    Official sources and references

    Frequently asked questions

    What is this calculator for?

    It organizes a household budget: you enter take-home pay and monthly expenses, and it shows what is left over, the weight of each category and how you compare with the 50/30/20 rule, with alerts on what deserves attention.

    What is the 50/30/20 rule?

    A guideline for splitting take-home pay: 50% for needs, 30% for wants and 20% for savings and debt. It is not a law; the percentages are editable because in expensive cities or with young children needs often exceed 50%.

    How do I read the example result?

    With $5,500 of take-home pay, expenses add up to $4,760 and $740 is left each month. Needs take $3,080 (56% of income), $330 over the 50% target; wants are 13.6%; and savings, debt payments and the leftover add up to 30.4%, above the 20% target.

    How do I classify each expense?

    A need is something you must pay every month (housing, utilities, groceries, transportation, health care). A want is something you could cut or postpone (dining out, entertainment, shopping). Savings go to an emergency fund or investments, and debt covers card and loan payments.

    Where do I find my expense amounts?

    In your bank and credit card statements for the last 3 months; use the average. Yearly bills, such as insurance and property tax, go in divided by 12. The power bill can come from the appliance energy calculator.

    What should I do with the leftover?

    Give it a job on payday: first an emergency fund, then high-interest debt, then goals and investments. The "Next step" buttons take your needs and leftover to the emergency fund calculator and the available amount to the debt payoff plan.

    When should I get professional help?

    If the budget ends in the red every month or debt payments exceed about 30% of income, consider a nonprofit credit counselor; renegotiating debt is often the first step. This calculator is an educational tool and does not replace a financial planner.

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    How to build a personal and household budget

    A budget means knowing, before the month starts, where each dollar of income will go. You do not need a complicated spreadsheet: list your expenses, sort them by type and compare them with a simple rule.

    1. Start with take-home pay

    Use what lands in your account after taxes and deductions, adding all household income. If your income varies, use the average of the last 6 to 12 months or, to be safe, the lowest month.

    2. List expenses by type

    Needs are what you pay every month to live: housing, utilities, groceries, transportation, health care and school. Wants are what you could cut or postpone: dining out, entertainment, shopping, subscriptions. Savings go to an emergency fund and investments, and debt covers credit card, car and student loan payments. Yearly bills (insurance, property tax, registration) go in divided by 12.

    3. Compare with the 50/30/20 rule

    The rule suggests 50% of take-home pay for needs, 30% for wants and 20% for savings and debt. In the example, with $5,500 of income, needs add up to $3,080 (56%), $330 over the rule, while wants are $750 (13.6%). There is $740 left each month; together with $400 of retirement savings and $530 of loan and card payments, 30.4% of income goes to the future.

    4. Give the leftover a job

    Money left over without a purpose disappears during the month. Move it on payday: first to an emergency fund, then to high-interest debt and finally to goals and investments.

    5. Review every month

    Compare the plan with what actually happened, using your bank and card statements. The first months almost always reveal forgotten expenses; the budget gets better over time.