BloominHow much should I save each month?
A common guideline is to save about 20% of your take-home pay. It comes from the 50/30/20 budget, popularized by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi in their 2005 book All Your Worth, where 20% of take-home pay goes to savings and debt payments. Other rules of thumb suggest 10% to 15%.
Enter your pay to see what that is per paycheck and per month, change the percentage, or check it against your own goals.
What lands in your account after tax.
20% is the common guideline. Change it to see other amounts.
20% of your pay
$400 per paycheck
About $867 a month, or $10,400 a year.
- At 10%
- $200
- At 15%
- $300
- At 20%
- $400
No interest is added. Every number here is plain arithmetic.
This is a general guideline, not personal advice.
To improve these tools, we keep a rounded copy of the numbers and choices you enter. Names you type are kept only if they're common ones like Rent or Vacation. None of it is linked to your name or email. What we keep
How the numbers work
The calculator takes the percentage of one paycheck, then converts it to a monthly and yearly figure using how often you're paid. Every two weeks means 26 paychecks a year, so two months a year have a third paycheck. That's why the monthly figure is "about".
The goals check counts the paydays left before each goal's date and spreads what's left over them. If your percentage covers every goal, you'll see what's left over. If it doesn't, it's shared between the goals in proportion to what each needs, and the ones that would finish late are marked. It doesn't rank your goals; which comes first is your call.
What a percentage can't tell you
A guideline gives you a starting point, not an answer for your life. Rent, debt and how steady your income is all change what's realistic. The number also only helps if the money stays saved. Putting 20% aside and spending it a month later leaves you where you started.
Read next
Questions
How much should I save from each paycheck?
A common guideline is 20% of your take-home pay, from the 50/30/20 budget. On a $2,000 paycheck that's $400. Other rules of thumb put it at 10% to 15%, which would be $200 to $300.
Is 20% the right amount for everyone?
No single number fits everyone. 20% is a published guideline, not a rule, and what's realistic depends on your costs and your goals. The calculator lets you change the percentage and see what it means in dollars.
Does the 20% include paying off debt?
In the 50/30/20 budget, yes. The 20% covers savings and debt payments above the minimum. Minimum payments sit in the 50% for needs. This page only shows the amount, not how to divide it.
What if my goals need more than 20%?
The goals check shows how far apart the two numbers are and which goals would miss their dates. A later date or a smaller goal lowers what each paycheck needs to cover.
Does this include interest?
No. Every amount is a straight percentage of your pay, with nothing added for interest.