What is the 50/30/20 rule?

It splits take-home pay into 50% needs, 30% wants, and 20% savings or debt repayment. It is a simple starting point for budgeting.

Can I set my own percentages?

Yes. Choose Custom and enter any needs, wants, and savings split. The tool warns you if they do not add up to 100%.

Which presets are built in?

Three presets ship ready to use: 50/30/20 (balanced), 70/20/10 (higher essentials, lower savings) and 60/20/20. Pick Custom for any other split.

What counts as a need versus a want?

Needs are essentials you cannot avoid — rent or mortgage, utilities, groceries, transport, minimum debt payments. Wants are discretionary spending like dining out, subscriptions, hobbies and holidays.

Should I budget from gross or take-home pay?

Use take-home (net) pay — the amount that actually lands in your account after tax and deductions. Budgeting from gross pay overstates what you can spend.

How do I handle irregular income?

Base the split on a conservative typical paycheck, or run each paycheck through the calculator as it arrives. In leaner months the savings slice is the easiest one to flex.

Is my income sent anywhere?

No. The split is calculated entirely in your browser with no data uploaded.

Paycheck Budget Split

Paycheck budget split

Turn each paycheck into a clear plan. Enter your take-home pay and pick a budgeting rule — 50/30/20, 70/20/10, 60/20/20, or your own custom split — and the tool divides your pay into three buckets: needs, wants, and savings. It is a fast way to sanity-check spending and make sure something goes toward savings before the money disappears.

How it works

The calculator takes the percentages for the chosen rule and applies each to your pay:

needs   = pay × (needs % ÷ 100)
wants   = pay × (wants % ÷ 100)
savings = pay × (savings % ÷ 100)

With a preset, the percentages are fixed and always total 100%. In custom mode you enter your own three figures, and the tool warns you if they do not add up to 100% so nothing is unallocated or double-counted.

Example

Take-home pay 3,000 on the 50/30/20 rule:

Needs: 3,000 × 0.50 = 1,500
Wants: 3,000 × 0.30 = 900
Savings: 3,000 × 0.20 = 600

Rule	Needs	Wants	Savings
50/30/20	1,500	900	600
70/20/10	2,100	600	300
60/20/20	1,800	600	600

Everything stays in your browser — no income data is uploaded.