Budget Planner
Plan your monthly budget with the 50/30/20 rule, or build your own detailed income and expenditure form — the same layout debt advice services and creditors ask for. Enter your after-tax income once and see exactly where it's going.
Enter your after-tax (net) income. Not sure what that is? Use the take-home pay calculator to work it out first.
A guideline popularised by US senator Elizabeth Warren: split take-home income into 50% needs, 30% wants, and 20% savings or debt repayment. It's a general rule of thumb, not a UK tax rule — adjust the split to fit your situation.
Needs (50%)
£1,500Wants (30%)
£900Savings & debt repayment (20%)
£600The 50/30/20 Budgeting Rule
The 50/30/20 rule is a simple way to sanity-check your spending without tracking every transaction. Split your after-tax income into three buckets:
- Needs (50%) — fixed essentials like rent or mortgage, Council Tax, energy, groceries and transport.
- Wants (30%) — discretionary spending like eating out, streaming subscriptions and hobbies.
- Savings & debt repayment (20%) — building an emergency fund, saving toward a goal, or paying down debt faster than the minimum.
It's a starting point, not a rule enforced anywhere — high housing costs in much of the UK often push the "needs" bucket well past 50%. Use the actual-spend fields in the calculator above to see exactly where your own split lands.
Use This as an Income and Expenditure Form
Switch to Income & Expenditure mode and this calculator becomes a self-service version of the income and expenditure form (sometimes called an income and expenditure template or statement) that free debt advice services — StepChange, National Debtline, Citizens Advice, MoneyHelper — ask you to complete before recommending a debt solution. Creditors often request the same information before agreeing an affordable repayment plan.
List your income once, then add each expense category as either a fixed £ amount or a % of income. Common UK rows to include: Rent / mortgage, Council Tax, Energy bills, Water, Broadband & mobile, TV Licence, Groceries, Transport, Insurance, Savings & debt repayment. The calculator totals your expenditure against your income and shows the monthly surplus or deficit — the number a creditor or debt adviser will want to see.
Not sure what your take-home income actually is? Work out net pay after Income Tax, National Insurance, student loan and pension deductions with the take-home pay calculator first, then bring that figure here.
Tips for Building a Realistic Budget
Use last month's bank statement
Guessing your grocery or transport spend usually underestimates it. Pull up your last full month's bank and credit card statements and categorise the actual transactions before filling in the calculator — it's far more accurate than estimating from memory.
Separate essential from discretionary debt repayment
Minimum payments on credit cards or loans are essential — missing them damages your credit file and can trigger charges. Anything you pay above the minimum to clear debt faster is closer to a savings goal. See the effect of paying more than the minimum with the credit card interest calculator.
Revisit after a bill changes
Energy, Council Tax and broadband contracts change at least once a year. Re-run the calculator whenever a fixed bill changes so your budget stays accurate rather than drifting stale.
Frequently asked questions
What is a budget planner?
A budget planner allocates your after-tax (take-home) income across spending categories so you can see whether you're heading for a monthly surplus or a deficit. This one supports two modes: a quick 50/30/20 split (needs / wants / savings) and a fully custom income and expenditure breakdown where you list your own categories.
What is the 50/30/20 rule?
A budgeting guideline popularised by US senator Elizabeth Warren: allocate 50% of after-tax income to needs (rent/mortgage, bills, groceries), 30% to wants (eating out, subscriptions, hobbies), and 20% to savings or debt repayment. It's a general rule of thumb, not a UK tax rule — treat it as a starting point and adjust the split to fit your circumstances.
What is an income and expenditure form?
An income and expenditure form (sometimes called an income and expenditure statement) lists everything you earn against everything you spend, month by month. Debt advice services such as StepChange, National Debtline and MoneyHelper ask for one before they can recommend a debt solution, and creditors often request one before agreeing a repayment plan. The custom-categories mode on this calculator produces the same layout — a monthly income figure against itemised expenditure — so you can use it to prepare your own before a call.
What income should I use — gross or net?
Use your after-tax (net) take-home pay, not your gross salary. If you're not sure what your net pay is after Income Tax, National Insurance, student loan and pension deductions, work it out first with the take-home pay calculator, then bring that figure here.
Should Council Tax count as a need or a want?
Council Tax is a need — it's a fixed household bill you're legally required to pay, alongside rent or mortgage, energy, water and the TV Licence (if you watch or record live TV). Groceries, broadband and mobile phone contracts are usually also treated as needs; dining out, streaming subscriptions and hobbies fall under wants.