Budget Template Selector Calculator

Suggested category percentages by income level.

Inputs

Monthly take-home income ($)

Household size

Template (1=50/30/20, 2=70/20/10, 3=Aggressive)

High-cost area? (0=No, 1=Yes)

Tab to move between fields

Results

Housing (%)

28%

Housing ($)$1,400.00

Other needs (%)24%

Other needs ($)$1,200.00

Wants (%)28%

Wants ($)$1,400.00

Savings (%)15%

Savings ($)$750.00

Debt repayment (%)5%

Debt repayment ($)$250.00

How to Use This Calculator

Enter Monthly take-home income ($), Household size, and Template (1=50/30/20, 2=70/20/10, 3=Aggressive).
Set High-cost area? (0=No, 1=Yes).
Review the Housing (%) (%) result.
Use Housing ($) ($) and Other needs (%) (%) to inform your decision.

What each input means

Monthly take-home income ($): Your monthly income after taxes.
Household size: Number of people in your household.
Template (1=50/30/20, 2=70/20/10, 3=Aggressive): 1: Balanced 50/30/20 rule. 2: Conservative 70/20/10 with debt focus. 3: Aggressive savings for financial independence.
High-cost area? (0=No, 1=Yes): Set to 1 if you live in a high-cost-of-living area (adjusts housing allocation).

What each result means

Housing (%): Recommended percentage for rent/mortgage, insurance, and utilities.
Housing ($): Dollar amount for housing.
Other needs (%): Non-housing necessities: food, transport, healthcare, childcare.
Other needs ($): Dollar amount for non-housing needs.
Wants (%): Discretionary spending: dining out, entertainment, subscriptions, hobbies.
Wants ($): Dollar amount for wants.
Savings (%): Emergency fund, retirement, investments.
Savings ($): Dollar amount for savings.
Debt repayment (%): Extra payments toward debt above minimums.
Debt repayment ($): Dollar amount for debt payoff.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Monthly take-home income ($) = 5000, Household size = 2, Template (1=50/30/20, 2=70/20/10, 3=Aggressive) = 1, High-cost area? (0=No, 1=Yes) = 0 = 4 input(s) provided
Calculate Housing
Housing = number
28 = 28%
Calculate Housing
Housing
1400 = $1,400
Calculate Other needs
24 = 24%

Engine last updated July 26, 2026.

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