Student Budget Calculator
List what comes in each month and what goes out, and see whether you are left with a surplus or a shortfall, how your spending compares with the 50/30/20 guideline, and how large the funding gap is for a whole term once tuition and aid are counted. Everything runs in your browser. Free, no sign-up.
Enter monthly amounts after tax — what actually reaches your account. Leave a line at 0 if it does not apply.
Monthly income
Subtotal: $1,200.00
Needs
Subtotal: $1,190.00
Wants
Subtotal: $275.00
Savings and debt repayment
Subtotal: $100.00
One term
Monthly balance
$1,200.00
Monthly income
$1,565.00
Monthly spending
$365.00
Short each month
Compared with the 50/30/20 guideline
| Group | Your amount | Your share of income | Guideline amount | Over (+) or under (−) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Needs | $1,190.00 | 99.2% | $600.00 | $590.00 |
| Wants | $275.00 | 22.9% | $360.00 | -$85.00 |
| Savings and debt repayment | $100.00 | 8.3% | $240.00 | -$140.00 |
50/30/20 is a rule of thumb — about 50% of after-tax income to needs, 30% to wants and 20% to savings and debt repayment. It is a guide, not a target everyone should hit; student needs often run higher.
Funding gap for one term
$9,760.00
Cost of the term
$7,800.00
Aid plus income
$1,960.00
Gap per term
$3,920.00
Gap per year
$490.00
Gap spread over the months
Cost of the term is tuition and fees plus the months of spending above. Aid plus income is the aid per term plus the months of income. The gap is the difference — what savings, new aid or a change in spending would have to cover.
How to Use the Student Budget Calculator
- 1. Choose a currency. Amounts are formatted for your currency and language.
- 2. Enter monthly income. Pay from a job or work-study after tax, money from family and anything else that arrives regularly. Do not include grants, scholarships or loans here — they go in the term section below, so they are not counted twice.
- 3. Enter monthly spending. Needs are things you must pay; wants are choices; savings and debt repayment are money you set aside or owe. Use 0 for anything that does not apply.
- 4. Describe one term. The months it lasts, the terms per year, tuition and fees, and the aid you receive per term.
- 5. Read the results. The monthly balance, the comparison with 50/30/20 and the term funding gap update as you type.
How the Numbers Are Worked Out
- Monthly balance = income − (needs + wants + savings and debt repayment). Negative means spending exceeds income.
- Share of income for each group = its monthly amount ÷ monthly income.
- Term funding gap = (tuition and fees + months × monthly spending) − (aid + months × monthly income). A positive gap is money the term costs beyond what aid and income provide; a negative one is a surplus.
- Gap per year is the term gap multiplied by the number of terms in your year, and the gap per month is the term gap divided by its months.
What 50/30/20 Means
The 50/30/20 guideline, popularized by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi in their 2005 book All Your Worth, suggests about 50% of after-tax income for needs, 30% for wants and 20% for savings and debt repayment. It gives a quick sense of balance, not a target that every budget should hit. A student paying rent on a small income will often spend well over 50% on needs, and that is a fact about prices, not a personal failing.
Use it as a prompt, not a verdict
If a group is far from the guideline, ask why. A high needs share points to housing or transport costs; a high wants share points to places you could trim if the balance is negative. The calculator reports your numbers; it does not tell you how to live.
Worked Example
Monthly income is 900 from a part-time job plus 300 from family: 1,200. Needs are 1,190 (rent 650, utilities 80, groceries 250, transport 60, phone and internet 40, health 50, books and supplies 60). Wants are 275 and savings are 100, so spending is 1,565 and the monthly balance is −365. Against 50/30/20 of 1,200, needs are 99.2% of income (guideline 600), wants 22.9% (guideline 360) and savings 8.3% (guideline 240).
For a four-month term with tuition and fees of 3,500 and aid of 3,000, the term costs 3,500 + 4 × 1,565 = 9,760 and aid plus income is 3,000 + 4 × 1,200 = 7,800. The funding gap is 1,960 for the term, 3,920 for two terms a year, or 490 a month across the term.
Common Gaps to Check
- Irregular income. Average summer or seasonal earnings over the months the budget covers rather than entering one month's peak.
- Annual costs. Divide fees, insurance and travel that arrive once a year by 12 and enter the result as a monthly amount.
- Aid timing. Aid usually arrives in lumps, so a term can look covered on paper and still leave a gap in a particular month.
- Borrowing to close a gap. If you are considering a loan, compare its cost with the Loan Payment Calculator or the Student Loan Repayment Calculator first.
This is an educational planning tool. It does not know your university's costs, your eligibility for any aid or the rules of any loan program, and it is not financial advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I make a monthly budget as a student?
- List your regular monthly income after tax, then every regular cost, split into needs, wants and savings or debt repayment. Subtract the total spending from income: a positive result is your monthly surplus and a negative one is a shortfall. Keep grants, scholarships and loans in a separate term-level step.
- What is the 50/30/20 rule?
- A budgeting guideline that puts about 50% of after-tax income towards needs, 30% towards wants and 20% towards savings and debt repayment. It is a rule of thumb. Students on low incomes with high housing costs often cannot reach it, and the table shows how far your own budget is from it.
- What counts as a need and what counts as a want?
- Needs are costs you must pay to live and study: housing, utilities, groceries, transport, a phone, health cover and course materials. Wants are optional: eating out, entertainment, subscriptions and personal spending. The line is personal, so move amounts between groups in your own head if your situation differs.
- How is the term funding gap calculated?
- Add tuition and fees to the months of spending, then subtract aid and the months of income. A positive result is the shortfall for the term; a negative result means the term is covered. Multiply by terms per year for an annual figure.
- Should I include scholarships and student loans as income?
- Enter them as aid per term, not as monthly income, so that money paid towards tuition is not counted twice. If aid is paid to you in monthly amounts for living costs, you can instead add the monthly equivalent to income and leave it out of aid.
- Is my budget information stored or sent anywhere?
- No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser, and nothing you enter is uploaded or saved, so refreshing the page returns the example numbers.