Budget calculator
Give every part of monthly income a job.
- Formula and assumptions shown
- Table and CSV export
- Runs in your browser
How it works
The calculator converts six entered percentages for housing, transportation, food, savings, debt, and other uses into monthly dollar amounts. The percentages must add to 100%, so every dollar of the income amount is allocated.
For each category: monthly amount = monthly take-home income × allocation percentage ÷ 100; the six percentages must total 100%.
The categories are editable assumptions rather than a recommended budget ratio. The page does not decide whether your take-home income or planned amounts are adequate for your obligations.
Assumptions
- Income is the monthly take-home amount you enter; the calculator does not convert gross income to net pay.
- Percentages are shares of that same monthly amount and must sum to 100%.
- Debt payments are a category allocation; interest and payoff timing require a debt tool.
- The calculator does not infer tax treatment or financial priorities.
Worked example
$6,000 monthly take-home income
With 30% housing, 10% transportation, 10% food, 20% savings, 15% debt, and 15% other, the allocations total 100%. Housing receives $1,800 and savings receives $1,200.
Step by step
- Start from take-home pay. $6,000 is the monthly amount after taxes and payroll deductions. Every percentage is applied to this number, so each percentage point is worth $60.
- Allocate the everyday costs. Housing 30% × $6,000 = $1,800; transportation 10% = $600; food 10% = $600. Together they take $3,000, half of the income.
- Allocate savings and debt. Savings 20% = $1,200 and debt payments 15% = $900. These two amounts also appear as the secondary results Monthly savings allocation and Monthly debt allocation.
- Allocate the rest and check the total. Other 15% = $900. The shares total 30 + 10 + 10 + 20 + 15 + 15 = 100%, and the amounts total $1,800 + $600 + $600 + $1,200 + $900 + $900 = $6,000, the headline allocated monthly income.
How to read your result
The headline, Allocated monthly income, equals the income entered once the six percentages add to exactly 100%. If they do not, the calculator shows an error with the current total instead of a partial plan. Allocation total confirms the 100%, and the table lists each category’s percentage and monthly dollar amount.
Savings and debt are repeated as separate results because they are the amounts most often carried into other tools: a monthly savings figure for the emergency fund or savings goal calculators, or a monthly payment for the credit card payoff calculator. The debt figure here is a planned amount only; the page does not check whether it covers minimum payments or how long payoff would take.
The plan does not convert gross pay to take-home pay, smooth out irregular income, or judge whether 30% for housing is too much or too little. Bills that arrive once or twice a year need converting first: a $1,200 annual insurance premium is $100 a month, or 1.67% of $6,000.
What changes the result most
- Take-home income
- Every category scales with it. At $5,000 instead of $6,000 with the same percentages, housing falls from $1,800 to $1,500 and savings from $1,200 to $1,000, because each percentage point is worth $50 instead of $60.
- Shifting points between categories
- The total is fixed at 100%, so raising one share lowers another. Moving 5 points from other to savings (25% and 10%) raises savings to $1,500 a month and cuts other to $600.
- A fixed housing cost
- Rent or a mortgage payment is usually set in dollars, not percent. A $2,100 rent on $6,000 of take-home pay needs 35% for housing, 5 points more than the example, and those points must come out of other categories.
Questions
Should I enter gross or take-home income?
The input is labeled monthly take-home income. The tool does not estimate taxes or payroll deductions from gross pay.
How should I handle annual bills?
Convert an annual bill into a monthly amount if you want it represented in a monthly plan.
Does a 100% allocation mean the budget is complete?
It only means the six percentages add to 100%. Check that the categories and amounts reflect your actual bills and priorities.
What is the 50/30/20 rule?
A budgeting guideline popularized by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi in the 2005 book All Your Worth: about 50% of after-tax income for needs, 30% for wants, and 20% for savings and extra debt repayment. On $6,000 a month the three shares are $3,000, $1,800, and $1,200. To test it here, set housing, transportation, food, and minimum debt payments so they add to 50%.
How much of my income should go to rent?
There is no single correct share. A common reference point is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s definition of cost-burdened households: those paying more than 30% of income for housing. HUD’s measure uses gross income, while this calculator uses take-home pay, so 30% here is a smaller dollar amount, $1,800 on $6,000 a month.
More in Everyday & business
Sources
These references explain the concepts behind the calculation. They do not endorse this site. Estimates leave out any cost or condition you did not enter.