Budget Rules

Proven mental models for budgeting, saving, and building long-term wealth. Pick one rule and start.

Budgeting

50·30·20 Rule

Split your take-home income into Needs (50%), Wants (30%), and Savings (20%). The simplest budgeting framework that actually works.

Open calculator →
Safety

Emergency Fund Rule (3-6)

Calculate how much cash reserve you need for 3 to 6 months of essential expenses. Build a buffer before market investing.

Open calculator →
Automation

Pay Yourself First

Automate a savings transfer on income day so your future goals are funded before discretionary spending begins.

Open calculator →
Habits

The 1% Rule

Increase your savings rate by 1% periodically to build wealth through small, sustainable behavioral upgrades.

Open calculator →
Compounding

The Rule of 72

Use the 72 shortcut to quickly estimate how many years your money may take to double at a given return rate.

Open calculator →
Retirement

4% Retirement Rule

Estimate retirement corpus using the 4% withdrawal heuristic (or 25x annual expenses) and test baseline sustainability assumptions.

Open calculator →
Affordability

20/4/10 Car Rule

Evaluate car affordability by checking down payment ratio, loan duration, and monthly transport cost against income limits.

Open calculator →
Housing

28/36 Mortgage Rule

Measure mortgage affordability with housing and total debt-to-income thresholds used as a conservative screening framework.

Open calculator →
Budgeting

60:20:20 Rule

A budgeting framework for higher essential costs while preserving a 20% savings and 20% wants allocation.

Open calculator →
Budgeting

40:20:40 Rule

A savings-heavy budgeting variant that targets high long-term contribution rates when fixed costs are controlled.

Open calculator →