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Household budget calculator

Put your month into numbers: enter your net income and your expenses in categories you choose, and see straight away how much is left (or missing), what your savings rate is, and how spending splits by share. If you like, compare your split with a freely adjustable rule of thumb. The calculator judges nothing as 'right' or 'wrong'. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is stored or sent.

Enter your net income and your expenses. The calculator shows how much is left and how spending splits — without judging what is "right". All defaults are example assumptions. The calculation runs in your browser; nothing is stored.

Expenses

What your result means

The headline shows whether you have a surplus or a shortfall, and the spending rate. The cards give total expenses, the balance, what you could save and the savings rate.

The table lists each category with its share of income, and the optional 50/30/20 block sets your needs, wants and savings against your chosen targets. None of it is a verdict — it simply shows where the money goes.

How this calculator works

The calculator adds up all expense categories and subtracts them from your net income. The result is the balance: a positive balance is a surplus (what you could save), a negative one a shortfall. For each category it works out the share of income; the savings rate is the balance divided by income.

An optional 50/30/20 check can be shown. You mark each category as a 'need' or a 'want'; 'savings' is the rest of your income after all expenses. Your actual shares are set against target shares you can change freely (50/30/20 by default, a popular rule of thumb). The three targets must add up to 100%. There is no recommendation on which split suits you.

All figures are monthly and come entirely from you. Internally the calculation is unrounded and only rounded for display.

Formula and variables

Balance=Net income − Total expenses
Share per category=Category / Net income · 100
Savings rate=Balance / Net income · 100
50/30/20: actual share per group versus your chosen target
Net income
Monthly net household income
Expenses
Sum of all recorded expense categories
Balance
Income minus expenses (positive = surplus)
Savings rate
Balance as a share of income, in per cent

Worked examples

Example 1: a monthly budget at a glance

Example inputs
Net income€3,500.00
Housing (need)€1,100.00
Groceries (need)€450.00
Transport (need)€250.00
Leisure (want)€300.00
Subscriptions (want)€80.00
Example results
Total expenses€2,180.00
Balance (surplus)€1,320.00
Spending rate62.29%
Savings rate37.71%

Expenses add up to €2,180.00. On €3,500.00 of income that leaves €1,320.00 — the balance, or what you could save. The spending rate is 2,180 / 3,500 = 62.29%, so the savings rate is 37.71%. All figures are example assumptions.

Example 2: against the 50/30/20 rule

Example inputs
50/30/20 modeon (target 50 / 30 / 20)
Needs (Housing + Groceries + Transport)€1,800.00
Wants (Leisure + Subscriptions)€380.00
Savings (remainder)€1,320.00
Example results
Needs actual / target51.43% / 50%
Wants actual / target10.86% / 30%
Savings actual / target37.71% / 20%

Needs come to €1,800.00 — 51.43%, just over the 50% mark. Wants at €380.00 are 10.86%, below the 30% guide, and savings at €1,320.00 are 37.71%, well above 20%. That is neither good nor bad — 50/30/20 is only a guide you can change. All figures are example assumptions.

Assumptions

  • All figures are complete monthly values and come from you.
  • 'Savings' in the 50/30/20 check is the rest of income after all expenses.
  • The 50/30/20 targets are a freely adjustable rule of thumb, not a recommendation.

Limitations of this calculator

  • No judgement of whether a budget split is right or wrong.
  • No automatic categorisation; you set the categories and groups yourself.
  • Convert irregular or yearly costs to monthly figures yourself (a subscriptions and fixed-cost calculator helps with that).
  • No storage of your inputs (privacy by design).

Common misconceptions

  • Expecting a verdict: The tool does not say whether a split is right; the 50/30/20 rule is a guide, not a recommendation.
  • Mixing yearly and monthly costs: Everything here is monthly — convert annual bills to a monthly figure first.
  • Forgetting irregular spending: One-off or seasonal costs are easy to leave out; add them as their own category to keep the picture honest.

Frequently asked questions

Does it tell me whether my budget is good?

No — deliberately not. It shows neutrally how your money splits and what is left. Whether a split suits you depends on your situation. The 50/30/20 rule is a popular guide, not a recommendation.

How do I set up categories?

Name categories freely, enter amounts, and add or remove rows. For the optional 50/30/20 check, mark each category as a need or a want; savings is worked out as the remainder.

What about yearly costs like insurance?

This calculator uses monthly figures. Convert yearly or quarterly costs to a monthly amount first — a subscriptions and fixed-cost calculator does exactly that conversion.

Are my inputs saved?

No. Everything is worked out in your browser. Your inputs are not stored and are not sent to any server.

Sources and further reading

Official and independent sources on this topic. The links open each website in a new tab; no content is loaded from them into this page.

  • The 50/20/30 strategyMassachusetts Institute of Technology — Student Financial ServicesExplains the 50/30/20 rule of thumb — needs, wants and savings — as one budgeting approach among several.
  • Analyzing budgetsU.S. Consumer Financial Protection BureauEducational material on comparing income and expenses to see what is left over.

Spotted an error in the calculation or the text?

If you notice something that is wrong or unclear: let us know via the contact page. We review every report.

Last reviewed: 26/07/2026 · All calculations run in your browser – inputs are not stored. ·How we check our calculators