Household budget calculator

How much can I safely set aside each month?

Start with take-home household income. Count each expense once. Your reserve target is a choice based on your household, not a universal rule.As of 29 October 2026 · Reader-selected household assumptions

What comes in

Start with the money that reaches your account.

Monthly household take-home income€What arrives in your account each month, from every earner in the household.

Only know your gross salary? Work out your net pay first

What goes out

Count each expense once. A rough figure is enough; leave a row empty if it does not apply.

Housing€Rent including service charges, or the loan instalment for your home, plus electricity and heating.Groceries and household€Food, drugstore and household supplies.Insurance, phone and subscriptions€Monthly premiums, mobile and internet contracts, streaming and memberships.Getting around€Car costs and fuel, or a public transport ticket.Other fixed costs€Childcare, maintenance payments and anything else you pay every month without a choice.Spending you could cut back€Eating out, leisure, clothes and shopping: what you would reduce in a tight month.Yearly costs€ a yearAnnual premiums, car tax, holidays and presents, as a total for the year. The page sets aside a twelfth each month.Loan repayments€Consumer loans, car finance, buy-now-pay-later. Not the home loan if it is already under housing.

Your safety net

Money for the unexpected comes before investing. Choose how many months of essential costs it should cover.

Emergency money you already have€Cash on a call or savings account that you keep for emergencies, not for planned purchases.

How large should the reserve be? 3 monthsA secure salary, for example employed with no dependants 6 monthsA single earner, a family or a home of your own 12 monthsSelf-employed or an irregular income

Months to build the missing reservemonthsOver how many months you want to fill the gap. Shorter means less left for investing until then.

Required fields are marked. Review the optional settings, then calculate.

Reset

This case is outside what the calculator models

Enter at least one expense, so the page can work out what is left.

Rather than apply rules that do not cover it, no result is shown. Change the value the message names, or use the authority that owns the rule.

Start again from the supported defaults