Tool · Calculator
Budget Calculator
Plan a monthly budget by entering your income, expenses, and savings goal. See your surplus or shortfall at a glance, in Australian dollars.
Enter your monthly income, break your spending into categories, and set a savings target to see whether you finish the month in surplus or shortfall. Adjust the numbers until the plan balances, then use it as a baseline to check your real spending against.
Budget Planner
Break down your monthly budget and see how much room you have for savings.
Left after savings
$1,200
Total expenses
$4,000
Net income
$2,500
Savings target
$1,300
You are on track to hit your savings goal with room left for extra expenses or investing.
This is the calculator I use to sanity-check my own numbers. It gives estimates, not advice - what to do with the result is yours to work out.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I make a monthly budget?
- Start with your total monthly income after tax, list your regular expenses by category, and set a savings target. Subtract expenses and savings from income: a positive number is a surplus you can direct somewhere useful, a negative number is a shortfall that means something has to give. Revisit it every month as your real spending becomes clear.
- What is the 50/30/20 budget rule?
- It's a simple split of after-tax income: roughly 50% to needs like rent, food, and bills, 30% to wants like dining out and subscriptions, and 20% to savings and extra debt repayments. It's a starting guide, not a law. High housing costs in many Australian cities push the needs share higher, so treat the ratios as a target to move towards.
- Should I budget on gross or net income?
- Use your net (after-tax) income, the amount that actually lands in your account, because that's what you can spend. Budgeting on gross income overstates what you have by the size of your tax and Medicare levy. If your pay varies, base the budget on a conservative typical month rather than your best one.
- Where should my surplus go?
- That depends on your situation, but a common order is: a small starter emergency fund, then any high-interest debt like credit cards, then a fuller emergency fund of a few months of essentials, then longer-term goals like extra super or investing. The right answer is personal - this tool just shows you how much surplus there is to work with.