NZ Budget Planner

The 50/30/20 rule is a budgeting guideline popularised by US senator Elizabeth Warren: split your after-tax income into 50% needs (rent, groceries, power, minimum debt payments), 30% wants (dining out, subscriptions, hobbies), and 20% savings or extra debt repayment. It's a starting point, not a strict rule — some households need a different split.

After-tax (take-home) income — the amount that actually lands in your bank account once PAYE, ACC levy, KiwiSaver and student loan deductions have been taken out. If you only know your gross salary, use the take-home pay calculator first to get your net figure.

Needs are costs you can't avoid without real hardship: rent or mortgage, groceries, power and water, minimum debt repayments, insurance, and transport to work. Wants are everything discretionary — takeaways, streaming subscriptions, gym memberships beyond the basics, travel, and hobbies. The line is a judgement call; be honest with yourself rather than reclassifying wants as needs to make the numbers work.

This is common in NZ's high-rent cities, especially for renters and single-income households. If needs run at 60-70%, the 20% savings target becomes unrealistic short-term — focus on trimming the wants bucket first, and treat 50/30/20 as an aspirational target to work toward as income grows or costs (like rent) change.

Yes. Enter your income in whatever period you're paid — weekly, fortnightly, monthly, or annual — and the calculator converts it to a monthly figure internally so the 50/30/20 split and custom category percentages are always comparable.

No — 50/30/20 is a general personal-finance guideline, not an IRD rule or tax calculation. There's no "correct" split enforced by law; it's a rule of thumb for organising your own after-tax spending. For the tax side of your income (PAYE, ACC, KiwiSaver, student loan), see the take-home pay calculator.