50/30/20 Budget Planner
Enter your monthly take-home pay and the planner splits it into needs, wants and savings. Add what you actually spend and it shows you where the gap is.
Your details
After tax, NI, pension and student loan. Not sure? Use the Take-Home Pay Calculator first.
What you actually spend each month
Rough numbers are fine. The point is the comparison, not the pennies.
Rent or mortgage, bills, groceries, transport to work, minimum debt payments.
Eating out, subscriptions, holidays, clothes you did not strictly need.
Emergency fund, ISA, pension top-ups, overpaying debt above the minimum.
Advanced options▾
50/30/20 is a starting point, not a law. High rent in London or the South East often pushes needs past 50%. Adjust the split and the savings share fills in the rest.
Savings share: 20%
Updates as you change the figures. No submit button needed.
Result
£480/mo
is your 20% savings target on £2,400 take-home. You're putting away £200.
Target split
Your split
Where the gap is
Your savings come in £280 a month under the target. That is the number to automate: a standing order on payday for the difference, before it gets spent.
How we calculate this
The 50/30/20 rule splits take-home pay into three buckets: 50% for needs (things you have to pay to keep a roof, heat and a job), 30% for wants, and 20% for savings and paying down debt faster than the minimum. We multiply your take-home by each share to get the target, then subtract what you told us you actually spend.
The percentages are a guide from Elizabeth Warren's book All Your Worth, not an official UK figure. Housing costs in much of the UK push needs well past 50%, which is why the split is adjustable. What matters is that the savings share is deliberate rather than whatever happens to be left.
Take-home pay is after tax, National Insurance, pension and any student loan deduction. If you only know your gross salary, run it through the Take-Home Pay Calculator first.
This tool is for general guidance only and is not financial or tax advice. Always check your own circumstances, ideally with a qualified adviser or accountant, before making decisions.
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