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Where should each dollar of my income go this month?
Split one month of take-home pay. Half, 30%, and 20% are a starting sketch, not a rule.
Sample numbers. Change any field to use yours.
Enter your monthly after-tax income (what you actually receive in your bank account)
Left this monthSample
$100
Marks show the 50/30/20 targets: needs end at 50% of take-home, wants at 80%, savings take the last 20%.
The tick marks the target share of take-home.
Written by Elizabeth Stein
Calculation version: 2026-1.
Source links checked: . This check confirms the linked material is available and relevant. It does not verify every figure or calculation in this lab.
Sampled calculation review on 2026-10-18 by Codex (internal AI-assisted verification), for version 2026-1. This is not independent or professional approval.
Review scope: 50/30/20 arithmetic, proportional scaling and whole-dollar conservation. This does not validate personal category choices or bill timing.
A starting split of monthly take-home pay: 50% to needs, 30% to wants, 20% to saving and extra debt payments. On $5,000 that is $2,500, $1,500 and $1,000. It is a sketch to react to, not a rule, and the lab lets you change every line.
Needs are costs you cannot skip: rent or a mortgage, utilities, groceries, transportation and minimum debt payments. Wants are costs you could reduce, such as dining out and entertainment. Saving covers an emergency fund, retirement, and debt payments beyond the minimums. Sorting each expense is what produces the three shares.
Then the other two shares have to shrink, and that is common where rent is high or income is low. The 50% figure does not adjust for where you live. Change a line in the lab and read how the three shares move.