See where your money goes each month. Add your income and your main costs, and this planner shows your totals, what is left, and your savings rate – updated as you type.
Going out Left over
Rent plus bills plus food usually take the biggest share — if money is tight, those three lines are where a small change makes the biggest difference.
Prefer a spreadsheet you can keep? Our guide builds one step by step: How to Make a Monthly Budget in a Spreadsheet
How to use the Monthly Budget Calculator
- Type your monthly take-home income into the first box. Use the amount that actually lands in your account, after tax.
- Fill in what you spend in a typical month: rent, bills and utilities, food and groceries, transport, shopping and fun, savings, and anything else in the Other box.
- Watch the totals as you type. The calculator updates live, so there is no button to press.
- Check the three results: total going out, money left, and your savings rate.
- Look at the bar underneath. The dark section is money going out and the light section is what is left, so you can see the split at a glance.
How it works
The maths is simple on purpose. The calculator adds up everything you spend, including savings, and takes it away from your income. What remains is your money left: the amount with no job yet. If it is positive, you have room to save more or clear a debt faster. If it is negative, you are spending more than you earn, and the categories show where the money goes.
One rough guide is the 50/30/20 split: about 50% of income on needs like rent, bills and food, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings and debt payments. Treat it as a compass, not a rule. In an expensive city, rent alone can break the 50% line. Your savings rate is simpler: the amount you save divided by your income, as a percentage.
Worked example
Say your income is 3,000 a month. Rent is 1,200, bills and utilities are 300, and food and groceries are 600. Everything else is zero. The total going out is 1,200 + 300 + 600, which is 2,100. Money left is 3,000 − 2,100, which is 900. The bar shows 70% of your income going out and 30% left over. That spare 900 is the interesting number: some of it could move into the savings box, and the savings rate would update as you type it in.
Common mistakes
- Using your salary before tax instead of the take-home amount. The budget only works with money you actually receive.
- Forgetting irregular costs, like car insurance paid once a year. Divide the yearly bill by 12 and include the monthly share.
- Leaving out small daily spending. Coffees, snacks and top-ups add up to a real number by the end of a month.
- Putting money in savings but also counting it as money left. In this calculator, savings is part of your money going out, because it has a job already.
Frequently asked questions
Q: What if my money left is negative?
It means your spending adds up to more than your income. Look for the biggest category first, not the smallest. Cutting one large bill usually beats skipping ten small treats.
Q: What savings rate should I aim for?
Any positive rate is a start. Many people aim for 10% at first and build towards 20% over time. If your income is 3,000, a 10% rate means putting 300 a month into savings.
Q: Should savings really count as money going out?
Yes, in this calculator it does. Money you have committed to savings is not spare, so counting it as going out gives you an honest picture of what is genuinely left.