Family Budget Calculator
Add your household's monthly take-home pay and costs to see what's left over, your real savings rate, and which categories are running above common guidelines.
Household income (monthly, after tax)
Monthly costs
Your family budget
- Income
- $8,000
- Planned costs
- $6,130
- Left over
- $1,870
- Savings rate
- 31%
$1,870 a month has no job yet. Give it one — an emergency fund, a goal, or extra debt payments.
That's about $1,533 per family member each month.
How to build a family budget that sticks
Start from take-home pay, not salary. List fixed costs first (housing, childcare, insurance, debt), then flexible ones (groceries, transport, fun). Whatever is left should be given a job — savings, a goal or extra debt payments — before the month starts.
Review it together once a month. Families that check their budget as a team argue less about money, because the numbers are shared instead of held by one person. Want a simple rule of thumb instead? Try the 50/30/20 budget calculator.
Family budget questions
How much should a family budget for groceries?
Many families spend roughly 10–15% of take-home pay on groceries. Planning meals weekly and buying staples in bulk are the fastest ways to bring that number down.
What percentage of income should go to housing?
A common guideline is to keep rent or mortgage, plus utilities, at or below 30–35% of take-home pay. Above that, the rest of the budget gets tight quickly.
How much should a family save each month?
Aim for at least 10–20% of take-home pay across emergency savings, retirement and goals. If that is not possible yet, start small and raise it one point at a time.
Should both partners' income go into one family budget?
Yes — combine both take-home incomes so shared costs are visible in one place, then agree on a personal allowance for each partner.
Keep your family budget up to date automatically
Nest gives your family a shared space to log spending, track bills and save toward goals together — with a private space for each person too.
Build my family plan (1 min)