A common starting point is about half for needs like rent and bills, about a third for wants, and the rest for saving and paying off debt. Adjust it to your life.
Build it in Spendry
- Add your monthly income.
- Create budgets for the categories you spend on most, each with a limit.
- Budgets fill up as you add expenses, and Spendry warns you before a limit is reached.
- At the end of the month, look at the charts and adjust next month's limits.
Tip
Use the free monthly budget calculator on this site to split your income before you set your limits.
Monthly budget calculator
Free monthly budget calculator: split your take-home pay into needs, wants, and savings or debt payments in seconds. No sign-up.
Questions
How many categories should a budget have?
Start with five to eight, such as housing, bills, groceries, transport, eating out, shopping and saving. Add more only when you need them.
What if I go over a budget?
Move money from another category, or carry the lesson into next month. A budget is a plan you adjust, not a test.
