FullWallet50/30/20 budget calculator
Half your take-home pay to needs, thirty percent to wants, twenty to savings. Put your monthly figure in and see the three numbers.
How to read the result
The three figures are a starting point, not a verdict. Needs are the things you would still be paying next month if you changed nothing: rent, bills, groceries, transport, insurance, minimum debt payments. Wants are everything you could drop without your life breaking. Savings is money moved out of reach on purpose.
The single most useful change most people make is ordering: move the savings the day you are paid rather than hoping for a remainder at month end. There usually is not one.
Questions
Is 50/30/20 based on gross or net income?
Net — your take-home pay after tax. Using gross income overstates every bucket and sets a budget you cannot keep.
What if my needs are more than 50%?
That is common in expensive cities and it is information rather than failure. It tells you the lever is your fixed costs — rent, insurance, subscriptions — not your daily spending.
Where do debt payments go?
Minimum payments are a need. Anything you pay above the minimum is closer to savings, since it is buying down future interest.