Calculator
50/30/20 Budget Calculator
The 50/30/20 rule is one of the simplest budgeting frameworks: spend 50% of your take-home pay on needs, 30% on wants, and put 20% towards savings and debt repayment. This calculator turns the rule into concrete rupee targets for your income, so instead of vague percentages you get three clear monthly numbers to aim for. It works as a sanity check on your current spending and as a starting structure if you have never budgeted before — you can always tune the ratios once you see how they map onto rent, lifestyle and savings in your own city.
Net pay after tax and PF — the amount that reaches your bank account.
The 50 / 30 / 20 split
- Needs (50%)₹40,00050%
- Wants (30%)₹24,00030%
- Savings (20%)₹16,00020%
The 50/30/20 split is a guideline, not a law. In high-rent metros like Mumbai or Bengaluru, needs often run above 50%, so many people use a 60/20/20 variation. Treat these numbers as targets to converge towards over a few months rather than hard limits from day one.
What your result means
- A negative gap on a bucket means you overshot it that month — Needs creeping past 50% is the most common culprit.
- The 20% savings figure is a floor, not a ceiling; raise it whenever a salary hike lands before lifestyle catches up.
- Apply the split to take-home pay, and in high-rent metros expect Needs to run above 50% — compensate by trimming Wants, not Savings.
How to use this calculator
- Enter your monthly take-home pay — net salary after tax and PF, not your CTC.
- Read the three targets: needs (50%), wants (30%) and savings (20%).
- List your actual needs — rent, groceries, utilities, EMIs — and compare the total against the needs target.
- Treat the savings figure as a bill you pay first, ideally by automating SIPs and recurring deposits on salary day.
- If needs exceed 50% in your city, hold savings at 20% and pull the difference from the wants bucket.
The formula
Needs = Income × 0.50. Wants = Income × 0.30. Savings = Income × 0.20. The three buckets always add back up to 100% of your take-home pay, so raising one means lowering another.
Worked example
On a take-home income of ₹80,000: needs = ₹80,000 × 0.50 = ₹40,000 for rent, groceries, utilities and EMIs; wants = ₹80,000 × 0.30 = ₹24,000 for dining, OTT subscriptions and shopping; savings = ₹80,000 × 0.20 = ₹16,000 for your emergency fund, SIPs and any loan prepayment. If your actual rent and EMIs already cross ₹40,000, you are over the needs target — shift the gap from the wants bucket rather than from savings.
When to use it
- Setting up a first budget when you do not know how to divide your salary.
- Sanity-checking whether your rent and lifestyle spending are out of proportion to your income.
- Giving a fresh graduate or first-job earner a simple rule to follow before spending grows.
- Resetting your finances after a raise so the extra income is split deliberately, not absorbed by lifestyle.