Take $5,200 of monthly pay after tax and $4,500 of spending, and $700 is left at month end. Type your own income and costs below and find out if your plan balances or comes up short.
How does your money split into needs, wants and savings?
Besides the leftover amount, the calculator sorts your spending into three shares. Needs are housing, utilities and phone, groceries, transport, insurance and debt payments. Wants are fun and dining out. Savings gets its own line. The table sets the default plan next to the common guide.
| Share | Default plan | Common guide |
|---|---|---|
| Needs | 68% of income | 50% |
| Wants | 9% of income | 30% |
| Savings | 10% of income | 20%, together with debt |
One catch. The guide puts debt with savings, while the calculator counts debt payments as a need, so your needs figure will look higher than the guide’s. Don’t panic over that, it’s a difference in bookkeeping and nothing more.
What does the default plan look like?
It’s $2,000 for rent or a mortgage, $250 for utilities and phone, $550 for groceries, $300 for transport, $150 for insurance, $300 for debt payments, $450 for fun and $500 for savings. That adds up to $4,500. Needs come to $3,550, or 68% of income, and $700 is left.
Now push housing up to $3,200. Spending climbs to $5,700 and you’re $500 short, with needs at 91% of income. A warning tells you spending is higher than income. Look first at the biggest line, which is nearly always housing, and only then at flexible lines like fun and dining out.
The other direction helps too. Raise savings to $1,000 and cut fun to zero, and spending is $4,550, so $650 is left. The savings share rises from 10% to 19% of income.
Where do budgets go wrong?
Yearly costs. Insurance renewals, gifts, car repairs and travel all come around once a year and wreck a monthly plan that ignored them. Divide each by 12 and add the result to a monthly line. The other slip is using gross pay instead of take-home pay, which makes every share look smaller than it really is.
The calculator has eight fixed lines and no category for childcare, medical costs or subscriptions, so put those in the closest line. It also covers one month only and doesn’t track what you actually spend. Give it a month, compare your plan with your bank statements, then adjust the numbers to match real life.
What should you check next?
Not sure what lands in your account after tax? The take-home pay calculator works it out from your salary. To see how savings and debts add up over time, try the net worth calculator. And if the budget shows a card balance you can’t ignore, the credit card payoff calculator turns it into a repayment plan.
Where does the math come from?
Nothing outside your inputs is used. The calculator adds your eight spending lines, subtracts the total from your income, and divides groups of lines by income to get the shares. The 50/30/20 guide is a rule of thumb, not an official standard. This website has no connection with the CRA or any government body.
Frequently asked questions
What income should I enter?
Your monthly pay after tax and deductions, the amount that lands in your bank account. If your pay varies, use a low average month.
What is the 50/30/20 rule?
A common guide that puts 50% of income to needs, 30% to wants and 20% to savings and debt. The calculator shows it for reference, but your own numbers matter more.
Why does the calculator treat debt payments as a need?
Minimum payments are a fixed cost you have to meet, like housing, bills, food, transport and insurance. That's why the needs share can look high.
What if my spending is higher than my income?
The result turns negative and a warning appears. With rent at $3,200 and the other defaults, you'd be $500 short.
Does savings count as spending?
Yes. The savings line is treated as money spent, so the leftover figure is what remains after you've saved.
Sources and updates
Updated: . How we check rates · Editorial team · Updates
Estimate only. These figures are a planning estimate, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Tax-Services.ca is an independent publisher: we don't prepare or file tax returns, and we don't offer tax, legal or accounting services. We have no connection with the Canada Revenue Agency, Revenu Québec or any provincial government. Your real amounts depend on details this tool cannot see, so confirm them with an official source or a qualified professional before you act.