If you've never made a budget, the goal isn't perfection — it's awareness. Once you can see the numbers, better decisions get a lot easier.
The 50/30/20 starting point
- 50% needs — rent, bills, groceries, transport, minimum debt payments.
- 30% wants — eating out, subscriptions, hobbies, nice-to-haves.
- 20% future — savings, emergency fund, extra debt payments.
These are starting ratios, not rules. If your rent alone is 45% of your income, adjust — the point is that every pound has a job.
Build it in four steps
- Add up your take-home income (after tax).
- List your fixed costs — the bills that are the same every month.
- Estimate variable costs — food, fuel, fun.
- Whatever's left goes to savings first, before it disappears.
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Pay yourself first
Move money to savings the day you get paid, not whatever's left at month-end. There's never anything left at month-end.
Run your numbers
The Grocery Budget Calculator and Rent Affordability Calculator plug straight into this.