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Calcimator

Zero-Based Budget Builder

Allocate every dollar of your income to a category until your remaining balance hits zero. The gold standard of intentional budgeting.

Inputs

$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$

Results

Total Allocated

$5,000.00

≈ 5 smartphones

Remaining to Assign

$0.00

Housing % of Income30%
Savings % of Income15%
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter Monthly Income, Housing, and Transportation.
  2. Set Food & Groceries, Utilities, and Insurance.
  3. Adjust Debt Payments, Savings & Investing as needed.
  4. Review Total Allocated ($) and Remaining to Assign ($).
  5. Use Housing % of Income and Savings % of Income to inform your decision.

How the result changes with Housing

HousingTotal AllocatedRemaining to Assign
$5,000.00$8,500.00-$3,500.00
$17,500.00$21,000.00-$16,000.00
$32,500.00$36,000.00-$31,000.00
$45,000.00$48,500.00-$43,500.00

What each input means

Monthly Income
Total take-home pay after taxes.
Housing
Rent or mortgage payment.
Transportation
Car payment, gas, transit passes.
Food & Groceries
Groceries and dining out.
Utilities
Electric, water, gas, internet.
Insurance
Health, auto, life, renter's.
Debt Payments
Student loans, credit cards, etc.
Savings & Investing
Emergency fund, 401k, IRA.
Entertainment
Streaming, hobbies, events.
Personal
Clothing, grooming, misc.
Giving & Charity
Donations, tithes, gifts.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    Monthly Income = 5000, Housing = 1500, Transportation = 400, Food & Groceries = 500 = 11 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Total Allocated
    Total Allocated
    5000 = $5,000
  3. Calculate Remaining to Assign
    Remaining to Assign
    0 = $0
  4. Calculate Housing % of Income
    Housing % of Income
    30 = 30
  5. Calculate Savings % of Income
    Savings % of Income
    15 = 15

Engine last updated .

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