How much of my salary should I invest every month?

The 50-30-20 rule puts 20% of take-home pay into savings and investments, and many planners treat that as a floor. What matters more than the percentage is that the amount is fixed, automated through SIPs on salary day, and raised every year with your income.

Should I build an emergency fund before starting a SIP?

Usually, yes: three to six months of expenses in a liquid or overnight fund, or a sweep-in deposit, before long-term SIPs begin. Without it, the first emergency is paid for by redeeming the long-term fund at the wrong time or by a loan.

What if my needs are more than 50% of my income?

That is common in expensive cities and in the years of a home loan. Keep the savings share from falling to zero, even if it is 10%, and look at the wants share first. The point of the split is to notice where the money goes.

How do I budget with a variable income?

Budget from the lowest month of the past year, not the average. Fix the needs and the savings SIP to that figure, and treat anything above it as a top-up to goals or to a buffer that smooths the lean months.

Financial calculatorsMonthly Budget Calculator

Monthly Budget Calculator

Split your take-home salary into needs, wants and savings.

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Monthly take-home income₹1,00,000Needs (rent, food, EMIs)50%Wants (travel, eating out)30%

Needs: ₹50,000
Wants: ₹30,000
Savings & SIPs: ₹20,000

Needs₹50,000 50%
Wants₹30,000 30%
Savings & SIPs₹20,000 20%

The 50/30/20 rule is a starting point: 50% needs, 30% wants, 20% savings and investments.

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How this calculator works

Enter your take-home pay and move the needs and wants sliders. Whatever is left is the share that can go to goals and investments each month, starting from the 50-30-20 rule: half to needs, a third to wants, a fifth to savings. Adjust the split to your own life; the rule is a starting point.

What is a monthly budget calculator?

A monthly budget calculator splits your take-home pay into needs, wants and savings so you can see what is free to invest each month. It starts from the 50-30-20 rule and lets you move the sliders to your own life. The savings share is the amount your SIPs and goals can start from.

The 50-30-20 rule, in practice

01Needs: rent or EMI, groceries, utilities, school fees, insurance premiums, commuting.
02Wants: everything that would survive a bad month, from eating out to upgrades.
03Savings: the emergency fund first, then SIPs for each dated goal.
04The rule is a starting point: a high-rent city may push needs to 60%; a household with no EMI can push savings past 30%.

Questions people ask

The 50-30-20 rule puts 20% of take-home pay into savings and investments, and many planners treat that as a floor. What matters more than the percentage is that the amount is fixed, automated through SIPs on salary day, and raised every year with your income.
Usually, yes: three to six months of expenses in a liquid or overnight fund, or a sweep-in deposit, before long-term SIPs begin. Without it, the first emergency is paid for by redeeming the long-term fund at the wrong time or by a loan.
That is common in expensive cities and in the years of a home loan. Keep the savings share from falling to zero, even if it is 10%, and look at the wants share first. The point of the split is to notice where the money goes.
Budget from the lowest month of the past year, not the average. Fix the needs and the savings SIP to that figure, and treat anything above it as a top-up to goals or to a buffer that smooths the lean months.

Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully. Figures are illustrations at an assumed rate, not a forecast. Talk to us to match a plan to your goals.