Skip to content

Monthly Budget Planner

Enter your take-home pay and what you spend in each category. Switch between two views: how your spending compares with the popular 50/30/20 rule of thumb, or a zero-based budget where every dollar gets a job.

Last updated:

Monthly take-home pay
Monthly spending

Each line starts in the bucket we guessed. Move any line if you see it differently.

Money you set aside each month, on purpose.

Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere.

50/30/20 mode

The 50/30/20 rule is a popular rule of thumb: about 50% of after-tax income for needs, 30% for wants and 20% for savings and extra debt payoff. It was popularized by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi in All Your Worth (2005). It is not official guidance from any government agency, and the CFPB’s budgeting material we cite does not mention it. Use it as a yardstick, not a verdict.

The tool adds up the lines in each bucket, shows each as a share of your pay, and shows the dollar difference from 50%, 30% and 20% of that pay. Money not assigned to any bucket is shown separately.

Zero-based mode

Here the goal is income − every assigned dollar = $0. Spending, savings and debt payments all count as assignments. The “left to assign” number updates as you type: above zero means money has no job yet; below zero means you have planned to spend more than you earn.

Worked example

Take-home pay $4,000. Needs (housing $1,400, food $500, transportation $300, utilities $200) = $2,400, which is 60% of pay against a $2,000 target, so $400 above. Wants (subscriptions $100, everything else $700) = $800, which is 20% against $1,200, so $400 below. Savings $400 is 10% against $800, so $400 below. Of the $4,000, $3,600 is assigned and $400 is left over.

Limits

Needs versus wants is a judgment call, percentages ignore your local costs, and the plan uses one typical month. Irregular bills (annual insurance, car repairs) can make a month look better or worse than your average. The CFPB suggests being realistic and reviewing your budget monthly at first.

Frequently asked questions

What is the 50/30/20 rule?

A popular rule of thumb that puts about 50% of after-tax income toward needs, 30% toward wants and 20% toward savings and extra debt payoff. It is a starting point for comparison, not official guidance, and it will not fit every household.

Who came up with 50/30/20?

It was popularized by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi in their 2005 book All Your Worth. We cite the book’s catalog record below; it confirms the book, not the percentages.

Which of my bills are needs and which are wants?

That is your call. We start with a default for each line (for example, housing as a need and subscriptions as a want), and you can move any line to another bucket.

What is a zero-based budget?

A budget where income minus every dollar you assign to spending, saving and debt equals zero. It does not mean spending everything; savings counts as an assignment. See the zero-based budget guide.

What if my housing costs are more than 50% of my income?

Then the rule of thumb will show you as above the needs target, and that is useful information, not a failure. Use the numbers to decide what to adjust, or use zero-based mode, which has no fixed percentages.

Does my budget leave my browser?

No. Everything is calculated on your device and kept only in your browser’s local storage. The same pay and expense entries are shared with the dated savings plan, so you only type them once. See the privacy policy.

Sources