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Budgeting & Cash Flow Explorer

Build a personal budget, see where your money goes with a waterfall chart, and check how well you follow the 50/30/20 rule. Compare scenarios side by side and calculate your emergency fund coverage.

Cash Flow

$1,150.00$2,300.00$3,450.00$4,600.00Income$4,000.00Housing$1,200.00Food$400.00Savings$400.00Transportation$300.00Debt$300.00InsuranceUtilitiesEntertainmentSurplus$800.00

Quick Presets

Income Sources

$

Expenses

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$
$
$
$
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$
$

Budget Summary

Monthly Income
$4,000.00
Monthly Expenses
$3,200.00
Monthly Surplus
$800.00
Emergency Coverage
0.1 mo
per month of savings

50/30/20 Rule Analysis

Needs66.3% / 50%
Wants3.8% / 30%
Savings10.0% / 20%
Consider increasing savings to at least 20%. Try reducing needs below 50%.

Category Breakdown

needHousing
$1,200.00 (30.0%)
needFood
$400.00 (10.0%)
savingSavings
$400.00 (10.0%)
needTransportation
$300.00 (7.5%)
needDebt
$300.00 (7.5%)
needInsurance
$250.00 (6.3%)
needUtilities
$200.00 (5.0%)
wantEntertainment
$150.00 (3.8%)

Reference Guide

50/30/20 Rule

A simple budgeting guideline that divides after-tax income into three categories.

Needs≤50%,Wants≤30%,Savings≥20%\text{Needs} \le 50\%, \quad \text{Wants} \le 30\%, \quad \text{Savings} \ge 20\%

Needs include housing, food, transportation, and insurance. Wants cover entertainment and non-essentials. Savings include retirement contributions and emergency funds.

Emergency Fund

Financial experts recommend keeping 3 to 6 months of living expenses in a readily accessible account.

Fund=Monthly Expenses×Months of Coverage\text{Fund} = \text{Monthly Expenses} \times \text{Months of Coverage}

This buffer protects against job loss, medical emergencies, or unexpected repairs without going into debt.

Cash Flow Analysis

Cash flow tracks money entering and leaving your accounts over a period. Positive cash flow means more money in than out.

Cash Flow=Total Income−Total Expenses\text{Cash Flow} = \text{Total Income} - \text{Total Expenses}

The waterfall chart shows how income is consumed by each expense category, revealing the surplus or deficit.

Budget Categories

A well-structured budget separates expenses into fixed needs, variable wants, and savings goals.

Fixed needs include housing, utilities, insurance, and minimum debt payments. These are hard to reduce quickly.

Variable wants like entertainment and dining out are the easiest to adjust when tightening a budget.

Savings should be treated as a non-negotiable "expense" paid to your future self.