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Household Budget Planner

Create a simple monthly budget from income, bills, food, debts and savings.

Use the calculator

Your estimate appears here.

How this calculator works

A household budget compares what comes in each month with what goes out. This planner asks for your monthly take-home income and five spending groups: housing, bills, food and household shopping, debt repayments and planned saving. It adds up the spending, takes it away from income and shows the money left. It also shows your planned saving as a share of income.

Use take-home pay, the amount that actually reaches your bank account, not gross salary. If you are not sure what that is, the take-home pay calculator gives an estimate. Include any other regular income, such as benefits or maintenance, that you can rely on.

The most realistic numbers come from your bank statements. Average the last three months for anything that changes, and divide yearly costs (car insurance, the TV licence, annual subscriptions) by 12 so they are not forgotten.

Worked examples

Both results were produced by this planner.

Example 1: a single earner with £2,800 a month

Housing £900, bills £450, food £500, debt £200 and saving £250 add up to £2,300. That leaves £500 for everything else, such as travel, clothes, gifts and leisure, and the planned saving rate is 8.93%. Seeing this "everything else" figure is often the most useful part of a budget, because it is where spending tends to drift.

Example 2: a tighter budget with £2,200 a month

Housing £850, bills £380, food £420, debt £300 and saving £100 total £2,050, leaving £150, with a saving rate of 4.55%. Here the debt repayments are a larger share of income than the saving. The household might look at whether any debt could be moved to a lower rate, or check bills and subscriptions, before deciding where the £150 should go.

If the money left is negative, spending is higher than income. That is a signal to review the largest categories first, and to seek free debt advice if borrowing is covering the gap.

Assumptions and what this calculator does not cover

  • Five groups only: the planner does not have a separate line for transport, childcare, clothes or leisure. Add essentials like travel to work into "bills", or treat them as part of the money left.
  • Monthly figures: it assumes income and costs are monthly. Convert weekly or four-weekly amounts first (for example, a weekly amount × 52 ÷ 12).
  • No judgement: it does not compare your spending with other households or say what a "good" result is. Rules of thumb such as 50/30/20 are starting points, not targets.
  • Not saved: your figures stay in your browser and are not stored, so note them down if you want to compare months.
  • Not advice: it cannot tell you which debts to prioritise. Priority debts such as rent, council tax and energy have more serious consequences if they are missed.

Turning the result into a plan

Once you know the money left, decide what it is for before the month starts. A simple approach is to split it into a few named pots: travel, personal spending, irregular costs (birthdays, car servicing, school trips) and anything extra you want to save or repay. Even rough amounts make it easier to notice when one area is running ahead.

If your budget does not balance, look at the largest items first. Housing and debt are usually the biggest fixed costs, and changing them takes time, so it may help to look at bills next: checking whether you are on the right energy tariff, whether your council tax band and any discounts are correct, and whether you still use every subscription. Small savings repeated each month add up over a year.

Review the budget against what actually happened at the end of each month. The aim is not to hit every figure exactly, but to understand where the gaps are so the next month's plan is more realistic.

Frequently asked questions

Should I use gross or net income?

Use net (take-home) income, after tax, National Insurance, pension and any student loan deductions. Gross salary overstates what you can actually spend.

What counts as a bill?

Regular unavoidable costs such as council tax, energy, water, insurance, phone and broadband. Many people also include travel to work here.

How often should I update my budget?

Whenever your income or a major cost changes, and at least once a year when bills such as council tax and insurance renew.

What does a negative result mean?

Your planned spending is higher than your income. Review the biggest categories first. If you are relying on borrowing to cover the gap, free, confidential debt advice is available, and GOV.UK lists the options.

Is "money left" the same as spare money?

No. It still needs to cover anything not listed, such as travel, clothes, gifts and irregular costs. Giving it a plan, even a rough one, makes it easier to stay on track.

Sources

Rates for tax year 2026/27, last reviewed October 2026.

Results are estimates for planning, not financial or tax advice. See our terms and methodology.