Enter your take-home pay and what you spend in a typical month. The planner totals your needs, wants, and savings, shows what’s left over, and compares your split to the 50/30/20 guideline.
This calculator gives estimates for learning and planning. It isn’t financial advice or a loan offer. Nothing you enter is saved or sent anywhere; the math runs in your browser.
Using the 50/30/20 guideline
The 50/30/20 split was popularized by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi in their 2005 book All Your Worth. It puts about 50% of take-home pay toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings and extra loan payments.
Treat it as a starting point, not a pass/fail test. In high-rent areas or on a tight income, needs often take more than half. What matters more is that your total comes in under your income and that some money goes to savings every month, even a small amount.
Tips for filling it in
- Use your bank and card statements from the last two or three months, not guesses. Averages beat memory.
- Count minimum loan and card payments as needs. Anything you pay above the minimum counts as savings.
- If your income changes month to month, enter what you earn in a low month.