The 50/30/20 method

The buckets

Needs (50%)

rent, food, utilities, minimum debt payments

Wants (30%)

dining out, fun, subscriptions

Savings & debt (20%)

emergency fund, investing, extra payments

Take your monthly take-home pay, multiply by 50%, 30%, and 20%, and those are your three targets. Compare what you actually spend to each target. Within 5% counts as on track. It is a starting frame, not a straitjacket — adjust it to your life. This is plain math, not financial advice.

Worked example — $4,500/mo

Same calculation as the main screen, with a reproducible receipt.

$ budget-buddy compute --income 4500
needs    target  $2,250  actual  $2,200  (on-track)
wants    target  $1,350  actual    $600  (under)
savings  target    $900  actual    $250  (under)
left over $1,450/mo
sha256: 38aa8276fb3477f592c413db56de85053388b665db55098741267503e831c8d7

Saved plans

• Plan only — $6,000/mo (no actuals yet)verified

  $6,000/mo · saved 8/6/2026, 6:22:58 AM

  Bucket	Target	Actual	Δ
  Needs (50%)	$3,000	$0	—
  Wants (30%)	$1,800	$0	—
  Savings & debt (20%)	$1,200	$0	—

  sha256: 45ec6a8a25af05eed538d4544877b7e39e3dc7a33e85819d131de400558d2036

• Starter budget — $3,200/moverified

  $3,200/mo · saved 8/6/2026, 6:22:58 AM

  Bucket	Target	Actual	Δ
  Needs (50%)	$1,600	$1,800	+$200
  Wants (30%)	$960	$900	-$60
  Savings & debt (20%)	$640	$100	-$540

  sha256: a7fb65bcae364d18841242ba4bb85ad09c7fd1a2a12ea0c8fd9d3ff593f5cec3

• Lehane household — on trackverified

  $4,500/mo · saved 8/6/2026, 6:22:58 AM

  Bucket	Target	Actual	Δ
  Needs (50%)	$2,250	$2,200	-$50
  Wants (30%)	$1,350	$600	-$750
  Savings & debt (20%)	$900	$250	-$650

  sha256: 38aa8276fb3477f592c413db56de85053388b665db55098741267503e831c8d7