Home › Money

Budget your take-home pay in two minutes.

Put in what lands in your account each month and what goes out. See what is left, how your spending splits, and your three biggest costs. It runs on this device and nothing is sent anywhere.

A planning tool, not financial advice. For free, impartial guidance, use MoneyHelper.

These are example amounts. Change them to yours.
Coming in
What reaches your bank account after tax, National Insurance, pension and student loan. It is on your payslip.

Paid every week or four weeks? Multiply one payment by 52 or 13, then divide by 12. Only know your salary? Estimate your tax on GOV.UK.

Essentials

The bills you have to pay, and food and travel to get through the month.

Gas and electricity
Fuel, fares, parking
Home, car, pet, life
The rest

Things you choose to spend on.

Streaming, apps, gym
Eating out, clothes, fun
Paying down and putting by

Debt repayments and money you save.

Cards, loans, overdraft

Saved only in this browser. Untick to delete them.

Left over £250 a monthSee breakdown

Your month

Coming in
£2,400
Going out
£2,150
Left over
£250

You have £250 a month left over.

How it splits

Compared with the 50/30/20 rule of thumb: about half on essentials, 30% on the rest and 20% on savings and paying down debt. It is a starting point, not a target everyone can hit.

Your spending by group, as a share of take-home pay, next to the 50/30/20 guide
GroupPer monthShareGuide

Your three biggest costs

    How to budget your pay

    The CSV opens in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.

    Want this offline? The Monthly budget planner for Excel does the same sums on your own computer, with every month tracked. £7, pay once.

    How to budget your take-home pay

    Five steps. Do them once with last month's bank statement open, then check back each payday.

    1. Start with what actually lands.Use the amount paid into your account, not your salary. If it changes month to month, use a low month.
    2. List the fixed bills.Rent or mortgage, council tax, energy, water, phone and insurance. Your statement and direct debits show the real amounts.
    3. Estimate the rest from your statements.Add up three months of food, transport and everything else, then divide by three. Guesses usually come in low.
    4. Pay yourself on payday.Set a standing order to savings for the day your pay arrives, so it goes before you can spend it.
    5. Balance it.If you are overspending, trim the rest first, then shop around for bills when deals end. If debts are the problem, get free advice early.

    Common questions

    Is anything I type sent anywhere?

    No. The sums run in your browser. If you tick "Remember my amounts on this device", they are saved in this browser only, and unticking deletes them.

    What is the 50/30/20 rule?

    A rule of thumb for splitting take-home pay: about 50% on essentials, 30% on everything else and 20% on savings and paying down debt. It is not an official rule. With high rent or low pay, essentials often take more than half, and that is common.

    Why are debt repayments grouped with savings?

    Paying down debt improves your finances in the same way saving does, so the 50/30/20 rule counts both in the 20%. The tool follows that.

    My pay changes every month. What should I put in?

    Use a low, typical month. Anything extra in a better month can go to savings or debt.

    Is this financial advice?

    No. It is a planning tool that adds up the numbers you give it. For free, impartial guidance, use MoneyHelper. For help with debt, contact StepChange.

    Links checked 30 Sep 2026. RuleMind is not connected to MoneyHelper, StepChange or GOV.UK.