50/30/20 Budget Calculator

By Sarah Li Cain | Updated April 4, 2024

Budgeting can make money management simpler and help boost your financial wellness. It lets you understand exactly how much cash is coming in and going out, see where you might spend less, and guide your savings for future goals, such as homeownership, retirement, or taking that vacation to Bali you’ve been dreaming of.

There are many budgeting techniques, but the 50/30/20 budgeting rule has become an especially popular way to get a handle on your money. Using percentages as a guideline, this type of budget can help you understand how to spend and save effectively.

To help you get started, use this 50/30/20 calculator to help you allocate your money.

Calculator Definitions

To use a 50/30/20 calculator effectively, it can be a good idea to understand the terms involved. Here are some important ones:

• Monthly after-tax income: This amount includes what you take home after taxes. If you contribute to an employer-sponsored retirement plan (like a 401k), IRA, health savings accounts (HSA), or other type of automatic savings, those amounts get deducted from your pay as well.

• Necessities: These are considered items and services you need, including housing, utilities, food, transportation, phone, minimum debt repayments, childcare, and Internet connectivity.

• Wants: Sometimes referred to as discretionary spending, this includes things that are nice (and fun) to have but aren’t necessary for survival. For example, this category can include dining out, entertainment, vacations, streaming services, and splurge items.

• Savings & Debt Repayment: This is the amount earmarked for saving for the future, plus any extra debt payments you want to make. Items include contributions towards retirement accounts and emergency funds.

What is the 50/30/20 Budget?

The 50/30/20 budget rule is a popular budgeting tactic that can be helpful for allocating your spending and saving. It gained attention when Sen. Elizabeth Warren mentioned it in the book she co-authored, All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan.

Instead of setting specific amounts to go towards those categories, you will devote a certain percentage of your after-tax dollars towards different budgeting buckets.

This approach helps structure your funds so that you have enough money for your needs, savings goals and fun purchases. Whether you use a 50/30/20 budget calculator or figure it out yourself manually, the idea is to get you on track so that you can hit your desired financial goals.

Here’s how a 50/30/20 budget is broken down:

• Necessities: 50% of your income

• Wants: 30% of your income

• Savings & Debt Repayment: 20% or your income

  • necessities

    Necessities

    Necessities

    Needs are considered mandatory spending; that is, items you consider necessities. These may be spending you need to make in order to live, or payments you can avoid.

    Necessities may include:

    • Housing (like rent or your mortgage)

    • Insurance (examples include auto, homeowners, renters, and life insurance)

    • Food (can include formula for babies)

    • Transportation (such as public transport, car maintenance, gas, and parking tolls for commuting purposes)

    • Basic utilities (like Internet, electricity, telephone, sewage and water)

    • Minimum loan payments

    • Childcare or other work-related expenses

    • Healthcare and medications

  • wants

    Wants

    Wants

    Wants, or discretionary spending, can vary from person to person. For instance, clothing may be considered a necessity for someone who has to wear a work uniform. However, it can be a discretionary cost for someone that simply likes to go shopping and buy some sweaters on sale.

    Some examples of wants may include:

    • Entertainment (like streaming services, concert or sporting event tickets, and vacations)

    • Travel and vacations

    • Dining out

    • Shopping (aside from items you need)

    • Gym memberships

    • Personal care services (facials, blowouts, and the like)

  • savings

    Savings and Debt Repayment

    Savings and Debt Repayment

    Savings refers to the amount you should put away for your future needs. These needs can include short-term or long-term savings like retirement. This part of the budget also includes any additional debt payments.

    Some items that fall into the savings part of the 50/30/20 budget includes:

    • Growing and maintaining an emergency fund

    • Retirement contributions like ones towards your 401k or individual retirement account (IRA)

    • Contributions towards your child’s future like a 529 or other type of college savings plan

    • Student loan payments

    • Extra credit card, mortgage, or other type of loan payment (assuming there’s no prepayment penalty)

    • Savings goals like ones for a home down payment or occasional events like holiday gifts

How the 50/30/20 Budget Calculator Can Help

The 50/30/20 budget calculator can help you identify how your spending on needs and wants and your saving efforts add up vs. your earnings. This may reveal that you should cut back on some discretionary spending. Or it might show that you can sock more away towards your down payment fund than you thought.

Not only can a 50/30/20 budget calculator help simplify the process of managing your money, remember that it can also be a valuable tool when your financial situation changes.

It can be easy to update your budget when you, say, you get a raise, have a baby (and add childcare expenses to the mix), or start bringing in some more cash via a low-cost side hustle.

More budgeting resources:

Enhance your 50/30/20 strategy with better banking.

With SoFi Checking and Savings, get up to 4.60% APY1, no account fees2, and up to $300 with direct deposit†.

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1 SoFi members with direct deposit activity can earn 4.60% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Direct Deposit means a deposit to an account holder’s SoFi Checking or Savings account, including payroll, pension, or government payments (e.g., Social Security), made by the account holder’s employer, payroll or benefits provider or government agency (“Direct Deposit”) via the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) Network during a 30-day Evaluation Period (as defined below). Deposits that are not from an employer or government agency, including but not limited to check deposits, peer-to-peer transfers (e.g., transfers from PayPal, Venmo, etc.), merchant transactions (e.g., transactions from PayPal, Stripe, Square, etc.), and bank ACH funds transfers and wire transfers from external accounts, do not constitute Direct Deposit activity. There is no minimum Direct Deposit amount required to qualify for the stated interest rate.

SoFi members with Qualifying Deposits can earn 4.60% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Qualifying Deposits means one or more deposits that, in the aggregate, are equal to or greater than $5,000 to an account holder’s SoFi Checking and Savings account (“Qualifying Deposits”) during a 30-day Evaluation Period (as defined below). Qualifying Deposits only include those deposits from the following eligible sources: (i) ACH transfers, (ii) inbound wire transfers, (iii) peer-to-peer transfers (i.e., external transfers from PayPal, Venmo, etc. and internal peer-to-peer transfers from a SoFi account belonging to another account holder), (iv) check deposits, (v) instant funding to your SoFi Bank Debit Card, (vi) push payments to your SoFi Bank Debit Card, and (vii) cash deposits. Qualifying Deposits do not include: (i) transfers between an account holder’s Checking account, Savings account, and/or Vaults; (ii) interest payments; (iii) bonuses issued by SoFi Bank or its affiliates; or (iv) credits, reversals, and refunds from SoFi Bank, N.A. (“SoFi Bank”) or from a merchant.

SoFi Bank shall, in its sole discretion, assess each account holder’s Direct Deposit activity and Qualifying Deposits throughout each 30-Day Evaluation Period to determine the applicability of rates and may request additional documentation for verification of eligibility. The 30-Day Evaluation Period refers to the “Start Date” and “End Date” set forth on the APY Details page of your account, which comprises a period of 30 calendar days (the “30-Day Evaluation Period”). You can access the APY Details page at any time by logging into your SoFi account on the SoFi mobile app or SoFi website and selecting either (i) Banking > Savings > Current APY or (ii) Banking > Checking > Current APY. Upon receiving a Direct Deposit or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits to your account, you will begin earning 4.60% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% on checking balances on or before the following calendar day. You will continue to earn these APYs for (i) the remainder of the current 30-Day Evaluation Period and through the end of the subsequent 30-Day Evaluation Period and (ii) any following 30-day Evaluation Periods during which SoFi Bank determines you to have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits without interruption.

SoFi Bank reserves the right to grant a grace period to account holders following a change in Direct Deposit activity or Qualifying Deposits activity before adjusting rates. If SoFi Bank grants you a grace period, the dates for such grace period will be reflected on the APY Details page of your account. If SoFi Bank determines that you did not have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits during the current 30-day Evaluation Period and, if applicable, the grace period, then you will begin earning the rates earned by account holders without either Direct Deposit or Qualifying Deposits until you have Direct Deposit activity or $5,000 in Qualifying Deposits in a subsequent 30-Day Evaluation Period. For the avoidance of doubt, an account holder with both Direct Deposit activity and Qualifying Deposits will earn the rates earned by account holders with Direct Deposit.

Members without either Direct Deposit activity or Qualifying Deposits, as determined by SoFi Bank, during a 30-Day Evaluation Period and, if applicable, the grace period, will earn 1.20% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances.

Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of 10/24/2023. There is no minimum balance requirement. Additional information can be found at https://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet.

2 Our account fee policy is subject to change at any time.

† †

The following describes the terms that apply to participation in the SoFi Checking and Savings direct deposit promotion (the “Direct Deposit Promotion”) offered by SoFi Bank, N.A, Member FDIC (“SoFi”).

Eligible Participants: All new and existing members without any history of direct deposit transactions into their SoFi Checking and Savings account are eligible for the Direct Deposit Promotion. Members who previously enrolled in direct deposit into either SoFi Money or SoFi Checking and Savings, whether currently still enrolled or not, do not qualify for this Direct Deposit Promotion. Bonuses are limited to one per SoFi Checking and Savings account. In the case of a joint account, only the primary account holder (the member who signed up first) is eligible for a bonus.

Promotion Period: The Direct Deposit Promotion will begin on 12/7/2023 at 12:01AM ET and end on 6/30/24 at 11:59PM ET.

Bonus Terms: In order to qualify for eligibility for a bonus, SoFi must receive at least one Direct Deposit (as defined below) from an Eligible Participant, the first of which must be received on or after 12/7/2023. Direct Deposits are defined as deposits of $1,000.00 or greater from an enrolled member’s employer, payroll, benefits provider, or government agency via ACH deposit. Deposits that are not from an employer, payroll, benefits provider, or government agency (such as check deposits; P2P transfers such as from PayPal or Venmo, etc.; merchant transactions such as from PayPal, Stripe, Square, etc.; and external bank ACH transfers not from employers) do not qualify for this Direct Deposit Promotion. The amount of the bonus, if any, will be calculated during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period as described and defined below.

Direct Deposit Bonus Period: The Direct Deposit Bonus Period begins when SoFi receives a Direct Deposit within the Promotion Period and ends 25 calendar days later (the “Direct Deposit Bonus Period”). For the avoidance of doubt, the Direct Deposit Bonus Period shall not extend beyond the Promotion Period. The bonus amount will vary based on the total amount of Direct Deposits received during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period. Once the Direct Deposit Bonus Period has elapsed, SoFi will determine if you have met the offer requirements and will deposit any earned bonus into your checking account within seven (7) business days. For example, if SoFi receives between $1,000.00 and $4,999.99 in Direct Deposits during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period, you will receive a one-time cash bonus of $50. A member may only qualify for one bonus tier and will not be eligible for future bonus payments if Direct Deposits subsequently increase after the Direct Deposit Bonus Period.

Total Direct Deposit Amount in Direct Deposit Bonus Period Cash Bonus Tier
$1,000.00 - $4,999.99 $50
$5,000.00 or more $300

Bonus Payment Timeline: SoFi will credit members who meet qualification criteria within seven (7) business days of the end of the Direct Deposit Bonus Period.

Bonuses are considered miscellaneous income and may be reportable to the IRS on Form 1099-MISC (or Form 1042-S, if applicable). SoFi reserves the right to exclude any Members from participating in the Direct Deposit Promotion for any reason, including suspected fraud, misuse, or if suspicious activities are observed. SoFi also reserves the right to stop or change the Direct Deposit Promotion at any time.

SoFi members with direct deposit can earn up to 4.60% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. There is no minimum direct deposit amount required to qualify for the 4.60% APY for savings (including Vaults). Members without direct deposit will earn up to 1.20% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of 10/24/2023. There is no minimum balance requirement. Additional information can be found at https://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet



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