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50/30/20 Budget Calculator

Enter your monthly take-home pay to see how the 50/30/20 rule would divide it between needs, wants, and savings and debt payments.

After taxes and payroll deductions: what lands in your account.

Your 50/30/20 split

  • Needs (50%)

    $2,000.00

    Rent or mortgage, groceries, utilities, transportation, insurance, child care.

  • Wants (30%)

    $1,200.00

    Dining out, streaming, travel, hobbies, upgrades.

  • Savings & debt payments (20%)

    $800.00

    Emergency fund, retirement, extra debt payments.

Download the template

Prefer a spreadsheet? The 50/30/20 budget template opens in Google Sheets, Excel, or Numbers. Enter your take-home pay and expenses and the formulas do the rest.

Download the 50/30/20 budget template (CSV)

Assumptions

  • The split uses take-home pay: income after taxes and payroll deductions.
  • Amounts are rounded to the cent, and the three buckets always add up to exactly your income.
  • The 50/30/20 rule is a guideline, not a requirement. Your situation (cost of living, debt, goals) may call for a different split.

What goes in each bucket?

Needs are the bills you'd still have to pay if your income stopped: housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, insurance, child care. Wants are everything that's nice but optional. Savings and debt payments build your future: an emergency fund, retirement contributions, and extra payments on debt.

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