50/30/20 budget calculator
A paycheck split into needs, wants, and savings, next to what you spend now.
What lands in your account after taxes and paycheck deductions.
Monthly split
- Needs · 50%Housing, food, utilities, insurance, minimum payments
- $2,400.00
- Wants · 30%Spending you could cut
- $1,440.00
- Savings · 20%Emergency fund, goals, and extra debt payments
- $960.00
A budget looks backward. A forecast looks ahead.
Turn today’s budget into a day-by-day forecast for the next 12 months.
Start free 14-day trialHow this number is calculated
Half of take-home pay is assigned to needs, 30% to wants, and 20% to savings and extra debt payments. Needs are housing, groceries, utilities, insurance, childcare, transit, and minimum debt payments. Wants are spending you could cut. Savings includes an emergency fund, other goals, and anything paid above a minimum.
Amounts are rounded to the cent and adjusted so the three shares add up to your take-home pay. High rent can push needs past half. The comparison shows that gap. It does not force the percentages to fit.
Common questions
Is 50/30/20 based on gross or take-home pay?
Take-home pay: the amount that lands in your account after taxes and paycheck deductions.
Where do debt payments go?
Minimum payments are needs. Anything you pay above the minimum counts as savings, because it reduces what you owe. The split is a guide. A high-rent city can push needs over half of take-home pay.
What if my needs are already more than half?
Enter what you spend and the page shows how far over that share you are. Name which of those costs are fixed and which you can shrink. The percentages are a reference, not a rule that fits every city.
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This is an estimate for planning, not financial, tax, or lending advice. Nothing you type is saved. Ampluent forecasts the cash in a household day by day from paychecks, bills, and cards. See Ampluent