Enter your monthly expenses across 40+ categories to see exactly where your money goes. Includes 50/30/20 rule analysis, comparison against the UK ONS average, and personalised tips on where you can save by switching provider.
Start by entering your monthly take-home income at the top (optional but needed for the 50/30/20 analysis). Then work through each category and enter what you typically spend per month. For irregular expenses like holidays or car servicing, divide the annual total by 12 and enter the monthly equivalent.
As you type, the calculator updates in real time — you'll see a donut chart, a ranked breakdown by category, a 50/30/20 rule analysis (if income is entered), a comparison against the UK ONS average, and a list of categories where switching provider is likely to save money.
These are guidelines, not rigid rules. High rent in London or childcare costs may mean your Needs naturally exceed 50% — what matters is knowing where you stand and making deliberate choices.
ONS (Office for National Statistics) 2022/23 data shows the average UK single adult spends around £1,900 per month, with the largest shares going to housing (≈37%), food (≈12%), transport (≈8%), and utilities (≈5%). The benchmark in this calculator adjusts automatically for your currency region (UK/PL/LV).
Use the benchmark as a sanity-check rather than a target — regional costs, household size and lifestyle vary enormously. What matters most is that your savings rate is heading in the right direction.
Enter your monthly income (optional) and expenses by category. The calculator totals them instantly, draws a chart, shows a ranked breakdown and compares your spending against the UK average and the 50/30/20 rule. Categories marked can switch show how much you could save by changing provider.
No. The entire calculation runs locally in your browser — no figures or personal data are ever transmitted to any server. The calculator works offline.
A simple personal finance framework: allocate up to 50% of take-home pay to needs (housing, bills, food, transport), up to 30% to wants (entertainment, dining out, subscriptions), and save at least 20% (including pension). Popularised by Elizabeth Warren in All Your Worth.
Based on ONS 2022/23 data, the average UK single adult spends approximately £1,900/month and a couple around £2,700/month. The biggest costs are housing, food and transport. Actual spending varies significantly by region — London averages run 20–30% higher.
Yes — pensions are one of the most impactful budget lines to track. They count as savings in the 50/30/20 rule. UK auto-enrolment requires a minimum 8% of qualifying earnings (3% employer + 5% employee). Financial planning guidance generally recommends saving 10–15% of gross income toward retirement.
The BBC TV Licence is £169.50 per year (2024/25 rate), which works out at approximately £14.13 per month. It is required if you watch live TV or use BBC iPlayer on any device. It's a fixed UK government fee — you can't switch provider.
Energy and gas (typically 15–20% savings on switching), broadband (20–25%), mobile (25–30%), TV and streaming bundles (up to 40%), home insurance (20–25%), car insurance (15–20%), life and pet insurance (15%), and credit card balance transfers (can reduce interest to 0% for an introductory period).
Divide the annual estimate by 12 and enter it as a monthly figure. For example, if you expect to spend £600 on holidays and £300 on car repairs this year, enter £50 and £25 respectively. This prevents large annual bills from appearing as budget shocks.
A budget is not a punishment — it is simply a plan for where your money goes before the month spends it for you. The most robust starting point is the 50/30/20 rule, popularised by senator Elizabeth Warren: allocate roughly 50% of take-home pay to needs (housing, utilities, groceries, transport, insurance), 30% to wants (eating out, subscriptions, hobbies, holidays) and 20% to savings and debt repayment beyond the minimums.
The calculator above splits your net income into these three buckets and lets you compare the targets with what you actually spend. The point is not to hit the percentages exactly — London rent alone can breach 50% — but to see the gap and decide deliberately which bucket absorbs it.
On a take-home income of £2,400 a month, the guideline splits are £1,200 for needs, £720 for wants and £480 for savings. If your fixed bills actually come to £1,450, you are £250 over in the needs bucket — the honest options are trimming wants to about £470, accepting a smaller savings rate, or attacking the big fixed costs (rent, car, energy tariff) that most people treat as untouchable.
The lower your income, the larger the share that needs consume — that is arithmetic, not failure. Use the rule as a compass: if needs take 70%, the goal becomes moving that to 65% over a year (cheaper tariff, renegotiated rent, shared transport), not forcing a 20% savings rate overnight.
Minimum payments are needs — missing them has consequences. Anything you pay above the minimum belongs in the 20% bucket, because it builds your net worth exactly like saving does, often with a better guaranteed return.
Cash you can reach within a day or two, covering 3–6 months of needs (not full income). Build the first £1,000 fast, then grow it alongside other goals rather than pausing everything else for a year.