Budget calculator
How much can you spend per day?
Enter your income, fixed costs and savings goal: the calculator works out how much you can spend per day for the rest of the period, and whether you’ll close it ahead or behind at today’s pace. Your numbers never leave this page.
How it’s worked out
- Spendable budget = income − fixed costs − savings goal
- Left = spendable budget − spent this period
- Safe to spend per day = left ÷ days left in the period
- End-of-period forecast: your daily average so far, carried across the whole period and compared with the budget.
What to enter
- Income: your take-home pay, what lands in your account; leave irregular income out.
- Fixed costs: rent, building fees, bills, installments and subscriptions; divide yearly payments by 12.
- No savings goal yet? 10 to 20 percent of take-home pay is a common place to start.
- Day of the period: payday is day 1; if you’re paid on the 1st, it’s the day of the month.
Related guides
- How to make a monthly budgetSix steps to a monthly budget: find your take-home pay, pull your real spending, split fixed and variable costs, save first, give each category a limit and check in weekly.
- The 50/30/20 rule: what it is and how to use itThe 50/30/20 budget rule splits your take-home pay into needs, wants and savings. A worked example, how to find your own ratio, and how to adapt it when rent is high.
- 6 ways to save money from your salarySix ways to save from every paycheck, with the numbers: an automatic transfer on payday, a per-period amount for each goal, cuts added to savings, the 48-hour rule against your daily allowance, refunds and leftovers moved the day they land.
- How to budget period by periodBuild your budget in periods that fit how your income comes in: work out the period budget and your daily allowance, check your spending pace midway, then close the period and adjust.
Common questions
How do I work out a daily spending limit?
Take your fixed costs and savings goal off your income, subtract what you’ve already spent this period, and divide what’s left by the days remaining. For example, $1,800 to spend over a 30-day period is $60 a day.
Is the calculator free, and are my numbers saved?
It’s free. The sums happen in your browser; nothing you enter is sent anywhere or stored.
Why does the period start on payday rather than the 1st?
Budgeting from one payday to the next keeps “money left” accurate. If you’re paid on the 1st, the period is simply the calendar month.
Does Ceres do this for me?
Yes. Ceres recalculates your spendable budget and daily amount with every entry and shows them on the home screen and in its widget; Premium adds the end-of-period forecast.