Monthly Budget Tool

Money Smart Seawolves | Interactive Resource

Build Your Monthly Budget

Plan your paycheck, everyday expenses, and savings goals in one place. Whether you are in college, beginning your career, or managing household finances, build a monthly budget that fits your life. No account required.

1. Income
2. Expenses
3. Savings
4. Results

Step 1 of 4

Your Income

Enter the amount of take-home income you expect to have available in a typical month. If you receive weekly or biweekly paychecks, add up the pay you expect to receive for the month before entering it here.

Money available to you

Enter monthly amounts only. Add more income sources if needed.

For each income source, enter the total take-home pay you expect in one month. For example, enter 4000.00 for a $4,000 month. Use numbers and an optional decimal point only; do not type a dollar sign or commas. Leave unused fields blank.

Income tip: Use take-home pay, not gross wages. Include only money you can use during the month. If your income changes from month to month, use a reasonable estimate and adjust it as needed. Credit card borrowing and transfers between your own accounts are not new income.

Step 2 of 4

Your Expenses

Enter how much you expect to spend each month on essentials and optional purchases. Leave categories blank if they do not apply to you.

Needs — Essential expenses

Examples include housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, care responsibilities, and required debt payments.

Enter what you expect to spend on each essential expense in one month. For bills paid less frequently, enter the amount you plan to set aside monthly. Use numbers only, such as 150.00; do not type $ or commas. Leave unused fields blank.

Wants — Discretionary expenses

Examples include entertainment, takeout, subscriptions, and personal shopping.

Enter what you plan to spend on each optional purchase in one month. Use numbers only, such as 50.00; do not type $ or commas. Leave unused fields blank.

Needs vs. wants: Your circumstances determine what is essential. You can move an expense between Needs and Wants. Include only costs that are not already deducted from your take-home pay. For bills paid less frequently, enter the amount you plan to set aside for them each month. Use the Move to Needs or Move to Wants buttons to change a category without dragging.

Step 4 of 4

Your Monthly Budget Results

Here's the breakdown of your planned money for a typical month. Use the edit buttons below to adjust your entries.

Available Monthly Funds$0.00

Monthly Expenses$0.00

Planned Savings and Extra Debt Payments$0.00

Remaining Monthly Balance$0.00

Where your monthly money goes

Allocation bar

Your Financial Wellness Suggestions

Compare my budget with the optional 50/30/20 guideline

This is an optional educational benchmark, not a rule. Housing costs, family responsibilities, and other circumstances may call for different allocations.

Category	Guideline	Your Budget

Results tip: This summary is based only on the monthly amounts you enter. The pie chart includes a written breakdown, so you do not need to distinguish colors to use it. Use Edit income, Edit expenses, or Edit savings to update your budget, then print or save it as a PDF.

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