Tools
See where your pay actually goes.
A free Australian budget calculator that works in weekly, fortnightly, monthly or yearly amounts. Enter your take-home pay and spending to see your surplus and how you track against the 50/30/20 rule. Nothing is saved — your numbers stay in this browser tab.
Step 1
Your take-home pay
Step 2
What you spend per fortnight
Left over per fortnight
$0
About $0 a year before anything unexpected. Where it goes next — savings, debt, investing — is the interesting decision.
Breakdown
Share of your total spending
The 50/30/20 check
How you compare to the 50/30/20 rule
Enter your take-home pay above to see how your spending compares against the 50/30/20 guide.
Needs
guide 50%—
Housing, utilities, groceries, transport, insurance, debt
Wants
guide 30%—
Eating out, entertainment, subscriptions, fitness
Savings
guide 20%—
Whatever is left after needs and wants
How this budget calculator works
Everything converts behind the scenes — weekly amounts multiply by 52, fortnightly by 26 and monthly by 12 — so you can enter numbers in whatever rhythm your pay arrives and still get an honest yearly picture.
The goal is not a perfect budget. It is to see, in one screen, whether more is coming in than going out — and which two or three categories actually decide that answer for you.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 50/30/20 rule?
The 50/30/20 rule is a simple budgeting guide: put roughly 50% of your take-home pay towards needs (housing, utilities, groceries, transport, insurance, minimum debt repayments), 30% towards wants (eating out, entertainment, subscriptions) and 20% towards savings or paying debt down faster. It is a starting point, not a law — high rents in Australian capital cities push many budgets past the 50% needs line, and that is a reason to adjust the guide, not to give up on it.
How often should I budget?
Set the budget once, then review it briefly each pay cycle and properly once a month. The monthly check matters most: compare what you planned against what actually happened, adjust one or two categories, and move on. A budget you revisit for ten minutes a month beats a perfect one you abandon.
Should I budget weekly or fortnightly?
Match your pay cycle. Most Australians are paid fortnightly, and budgeting per fortnight means every number on this page lines up with what lands in your account. If you are paid weekly or monthly, use that instead — the maths converts either way, but a budget in the same rhythm as your pay is far easier to stick to.
Is this calculator private?
Yes. Nothing you enter is stored, sent to a server, or visible to anyone else. The calculation runs entirely in your browser and clears when you close the tab.
This calculator is general information only and does not constitute personal financial advice. Results are estimates and depend on the values you enter. Consider seeking advice from a licensed adviser before acting.
Skip the spreadsheet
Want this tracked from your real bank data?
Cove connects to your Australian bank accounts through the Consumer Data Right and sorts your actual transactions into categories as they happen — so your budget tracks itself instead of relying on estimates. Start with 7 days free, then $9.99 AUD per month.