Finances & BudgetingFree budget tool
Put 70% of each paycheck toward living costs, 20% toward savings and 10% toward debt or giving. It suits high-rent cities, where needs alone take more than half. Add your bills to see which paycheck has to pay each one.
Highlights
This planner splits every paycheck (or monthly salary) into buckets, such as bills, savings and spending. Then it gives each bill to the payday that has to pay it.
If a later paycheck can't cover its bills, it tells you how much to keep back from an earlier one. It works with any pay schedule, more than one income, and every currency in use around the world.
The example below is already filled in. Change the income in Step 1, the buckets in Step 2 and the bills in Step 3. The results in Step 4 update as you type.
ExampleExample figures loaded. Change anything.
Add every income you get paid from.
Fixed amounts first, then percentages. "What's left" takes the rest.
Per paycheck $1,540.00
Per paycheck $440.00
Per paycheck $220.00
Monthly bills and the day they're due.
Paying ahead
A buffer for slow transfers. A bill due just after a payday is paid from the paycheck before it.
Your split
Salary: $2,200.00, every two weeks
Each bill goes to the latest payday before its pay-by date.
October 2026
Hold back $740.00
Salary $2,200.00
Bills $150.00 from $1,540.00 bills money
Keep $740.00 of this payday's bills money for the Oct 23 payday, which can't cover its bills alone. $650.00 is still free.
Short by $740.00
Salary $2,200.00
Bills $2,280.00 from $1,540.00 bills money
Covered by money held back from an earlier payday.
70/20/10 budgeting guide
Where rent takes a big share of your pay, keeping needs to 50% isn't realistic. The 70/20/10 rule gives living costs 70% of each paycheck and still saves 20%. This calculator applies it to each paycheck and shows whether the paycheck that pays rent can actually cover it.
Need another split or more than one income? Use the paycheck split calculator.
70/20/10 or 50/30/20?
Both save 20%. The difference is how much room your living costs get.
Worked example
The example in the calculator: 2,200 every two weeks, split 70/20/10, with rent of 2,100.
Each paycheck puts 1,540 in living costs. The bills are rent of 2,100 due on the 1st, car insurance of 180 on the 28th, plus a phone and internet. They come to 2,430 a month, and a typical month brings about 3,337, so 70% covers them.
Rent and car insurance both fall to the October 23 paycheck. That's 2,280 of bills for 1,540 of living-costs money: 740 short.
So the October 9 paycheck, which only has 150 of bills, holds back 740 for the 23rd. The other 650 is free for groceries and everyday spending.
| Payday | Living costs | Bills | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 9 | 1,540 | 150 | Hold back 740 · 650 free |
| Oct 23 | 1,540 | 2,280 | Short by 740 |
Quick reference
How common take-home amounts divide under the rule.
| Take-home pay | Living costs (70%) | Savings (20%) | Debt or giving (10%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | 700 | 200 | 100 |
| 1,500 | 1,050 | 300 | 150 |
| 2,000 | 1,400 | 400 | 200 |
| 3,000 | 2,100 | 600 | 300 |
| 4,000 | 2,800 | 800 | 400 |
Works for any currency, per paycheck or per month.
Popular splits
Not sure where to start? Load one of these into the planner, then adjust the percentages to fit your bills.
Half of each paycheck for needs such as rent, bills and food, 30% for wants, and 20% for savings and paying off debt. The most widely used starting point.
Needs 50% · Wants 30% · Savings & debt 20%
70% for living costs, 20% for savings and 10% for debt or giving. Suits higher-cost cities, where needs alone take more than half.
Living costs 70% · Savings 20% · Debt or giving 10%
60% for needs, 20% for savings and 20% for wants. A middle ground when 50% for needs is too tight.
Needs 60% · Savings 20% · Wants 20%
Move 20% to savings the day you're paid, then pay bills and live on the other 80%. The simplest split to stick to.
Savings 20% · Everything else 80%
The same for any currency: 2,000 dollars, pounds, euros or rand.
| Split | Each bucket gets |
|---|---|
| 50/30/20 | Needs 1,000 · Wants 600 · Savings & debt 400 |
| 70/20/10 | Living costs 1,400 · Savings 400 · Debt or giving 200 |
| 60/20/20 | Needs 1,200 · Savings 400 · Wants 400 |
| 80/20 (pay yourself first) | Savings 400 · Everything else 1,600 |
Method
The same rules apply to every plan, so you can check any result by hand.
This is a planning tool, not financial advice. It uses the take-home figures you enter and doesn't work out tax. Last reviewed .
Common questions
Common questions about the 70/20/10 rule and planning bills by paycheck.
A way to divide your take-home pay: 70% for living costs, 20% for savings and 10% for paying off debt or giving. Living costs cover both needs and everyday spending, so there's one bucket for the month's life and two smaller ones for the future.
Neither is better; they suit different costs. 50/30/20 keeps needs at half your pay, which is hard where rent is high. 70/20/10 accepts that living costs take more and protects your savings rate instead. Both save 20%. If your needs fit in 50%, 50/30/20 leaves more room for wants.
Debt payments above the minimum, such as extra on a credit card or student loan, or giving such as charity, church or family support. Minimum payments are a living cost and belong in the 70%. Once your debts are paid off, many people move the 10% into savings.
Then make sure the paycheck that pays rent can cover it. With a biweekly paycheck, rent can take most of one paycheck's living-costs money. The planner gives rent to the payday that has to pay it, and tells you how much to keep back from the paycheck before.
Yes. Load 70/20/10 as a starting point, then change any bucket in Step 2, for example to 75/15/10 while you clear a debt. Make sure one bucket is set to "What's left", so rounding never leaves money without a job.
Ready-made plans
The same planner with a different starting plan. Your saved plan comes with you to each one.
Related tools
Turn a photo of a bill list or payslip into rows or text. These tools also run in your browser, with nothing uploaded.