Free tool · your numbers stay on your device
Budget, in one screen
Money comes in, money goes out, and somehow there is never quite enough left. Type what you bring home each month, fill in the spending categories, and the verdict updates as you go. Leftover or short, in plain dollars, with a breakdown of where it all goes.
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What actually lands in your account after taxes and deductions. Not your salary.
Monthly spending by category
Your best guess is fine. Last month's bank statement is better.
Rent or mortgage, plus renter or homeowner insurance.
Car payment, insurance, gas, repairs, bus or train fare.
Groceries, eating out, and coffee runs.
Electric, water, gas, trash, internet, phone.
Health, life, anything not already counted above.
Minimum payments on cards, loans, and student debt.
Streaming, apps, hobbies, going out.
Emergency fund, investing, anything you pay to future-you first.
The odds and ends that never fit anywhere.
- Left over each month
- $300$3,500 in, $3,200 out
- Take-home pay
- $3,500
- Total going out
- $3,200
The verdict
You are spending $3,200 of $3,500. That leaves $300 unassigned every month. Give each of those dollars a job first: more to savings or extra debt payments, before lifestyle creep spends it for you.
| Category | Monthly | Share of pay |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | $1,200 | 34% |
| Transportation | $350 | 10% |
| Food | $450 | 13% |
| Utilities | $200 | 6% |
| Insurance | $150 | 4% |
| Debt payments | $200 | 6% |
| Subscriptions and fun | $250 | 7% |
| Savings | $300 | 9% |
| Everything else | $100 | 3% |
The math, in plain English
The verdict is subtraction. Leftover is your monthly take-home pay minus every expense category added together. If the number is negative, you are spending more than you bring in, and the gap is the exact size of the shortfall.
Each share is one category divided by your take-home pay. It answers "where does my money actually go?" in percentages, which makes it easier to spot a category that is quietly eating the budget.
Savings shows up as spending on purpose. Money that moves to savings on payday is spoken for, like a bill. That is the whole pay-yourself-first idea: the budget treats it as gone before anything else can claim it.
Start from take-home pay, never salary. Taxes and paycheck deductions are already gone by the time you see the money, so they do not belong in the budget. These are estimates for education, not advice for your situation.
How to use this calculator
- Start with your monthly take-home pay, the amount that lands in your account.
- Fill in each spending category with your best honest guess.
- Read the leftover line. That is your verdict.
- Nudge one category at a time and watch the verdict change.
The formula
Leftover = take-home pay - (housing + transport + food + utilities + insurance + debt + fun + savings + other) Category share = category / take-home pay
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Christian BrinkleyNC Life & Health · Greensboro, NC
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The calculator shows where the money goes. A free 20-minute call puts your real budget next to real accounts and a plan you can keep.
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