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50/30/20 Budget Calculator

Split your monthly income into needs, wants and savings using the popular 50/30/20 rule — or adjust the percentages to fit your own situation.

Rent, groceries, utilities, minimum debt payments — the non-negotiables.

Eating out, subscriptions, hobbies — the classic 50/30/20 rule starts here at 30%.

Your monthly split

PKR 30,000

left for savings & debt payoff (20%)

Needs (50%)PKR 75,000
Wants (30%)PKR 45,000
Savings & debt (20%)PKR 30,000

What the 50/30/20 rule is

It's a simple budgeting framework, popularised by Senator Elizabeth Warren's book on family finances: roughly 50% of take-home income to needs (rent, groceries, utilities, minimum debt payments), 30% to wants (eating out, entertainment, subscriptions), and 20% to savings and extra debt payoff. It's a starting point, not a rule enforced anywhere — the calculator lets you adjust the needs and wants sliders and see what's left for savings.

Why "needs" is smaller than people expect

The category is meant to cover only genuine non-negotiables. A streaming subscription, eating out, or a gym membership are wants, however routine they feel — the test is whether you'd face real consequences (eviction, no food, no transport to work) by cutting it, not whether you'd be inconvenienced.

When to deviate from 50/30/20

In high cost-of-living areas, needs can easily exceed 50% no matter how careful the spending is — in that case, the ratio matters less than making sure something is going to savings and debt payoff every month, even if it starts smaller than 20%.

Frequently asked questions

Is take-home pay before or after tax?

After tax and any mandatory deductions — the actual amount that lands in your account each month, since that's what you can genuinely budget with.

What if my needs are more than 50% of income?

It's common in expensive cities, and it doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong — treat 50/30/20 as a direction to work toward rather than a hard requirement, and prioritise getting at least something into the savings category consistently.

Does debt repayment count as a need or savings?

Minimum required payments count as a need (they're non-negotiable); any extra you put toward debt beyond the minimum counts as part of the savings/debt category, since it's a choice rather than an obligation.