Put in what comes in and what goes out, and the page shows what is left each month. It handles the awkward bits students deal with: a loan that arrives once a term, weekly grocery shops, and the bills that only turn up once a year.
Enter your income and costs
Everything is worked out in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
What is left each month
Your result shows up here once you add some income or some costs.
What to enter
- Income
- Only count money you receive. A loan or bursary that arrives once a term goes in as per term, and the page spreads it over the months. If the amount changes, use an average.
- Costs
- Enter each one the way you pay it. A weekly shop is per week, rent is per month, books are per term and a bill that comes once a year is per year. The page turns them all into a monthly amount.
- Essential or flexible
- Essential means you cannot skip it, like rent or food. Flexible means you could cut it if you had to, like eating out or subscriptions. This lets the page show what cutting back would free up.
- Savings
- Optional. If your costs are higher than your income, the page shows how many months your savings would cover the shortfall.
A worked example
Here is a made-up student in the UK with three terms. The numbers are invented for the example.
Coming in: part-time job £480 a month, family support £250 a month, student loan £2,400 a term. Going out: rent £650 a month, food and groceries £230 a month, bills, phone and internet £45 a month, transport £45 a month, books and course costs £90 a term, surprise bills £240 a year, eating out and coffee £70 a month, going out £90 a month, subscriptions £25 a month.
Turned into months, the student brings in £1,330 and spends £1,198. That leaves £133 a month, or 10% of income. The term loan counts as £600 a month, not £2,400.
| If | Left each month |
|---|---|
| Your numbers as they are | +£133 |
| Income 10% lower | -£1 |
| Income 25% lower | -£200 |
| Costs 10% higher | +£13 |
| Costs 25% higher | -£167 |
A 25% fall in income would put this student £200 short each month. Now say the job drops to £120 a month and there is £900 in savings. The student is £228 short each month, and the savings last about 4.0 months. Cutting every flexible cost (£185 a month) would bring the figure to -£43. That does not fully close the gap, so something else would have to change too.
The 50/30/20 rule for students
The 50/30/20 rule is a rule of thumb. It suggests about half of your income for needs, 30% for wants and 20% for saving. It was not written for students, and a student’s income is usually smaller and less flexible, so needs often take more than half.
Here it is for the made-up student above, whose income is £1,330 a month. Essentials come to £1,013, flexible spending to £185, and what is left is £133.
| Per month | Share of income | Rule of thumb | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials | £1,013 | 76% | 50% |
| Flexible spending | £185 | 14% | 30% |
| Left over or saved | £133 | 10% | 20% |
The student is well over 50% on essentials and under 20% on saving. That is common on a tight student income, and it is a sign to look at the largest essential, which is rent. Use the rule to see where you stand, and do not treat it as a target you have failed.
Rent as a share of income
Rent is usually the biggest cost, so it helps to see it as a share of income. In the example, rent is £650 a month on an income of £1,330, which is 49%. A common guideline is to keep housing near 30% of income. Students often go above it, especially in big cities, so a higher figure is not a mistake. It does tell you how little room the rest of the budget has.
To find your own, divide your monthly rent by your monthly income, including any loan spread over the months. The result above does that for you when you enter your costs under housing.
How the budget is calculated
- Each amount is turned into a monthly figure. Weekly amounts are multiplied by 52 and divided by 12, term amounts by the number of terms and divided by 12, and yearly amounts are divided by 12.
- The monthly incomes are added up, and so are the monthly costs.
- What is left is income minus costs. A negative number means a monthly shortfall.
- The what-if table recalculates the same budget with income 10% and 25% lower, and with costs 10% and 25% higher.
Left each month = monthly income – monthly costs
Assumptions to keep in mind
- The page works with averages. Your real months will go up and down, especially if a loan arrives in one lump.
- It treats a term loan as spread evenly across the year. In real life the money lands at once, so keep it separate and pay yourself from it.
- It works in one currency. Use one currency symbol for everything.
- It does not guess any of your numbers. Every figure is yours, so the result is only as good as your estimates.
- The what-if table uses round percentages, so it shows a rough size of the risk and not a forecast.
Mistakes that make a budget look better than it is
Counting the loan as spare cash
A term loan arrives in one go, so the account looks rich for a week. Spread over the months it is much smaller. Budget from the monthly figure and the money will last to the end of term.
Leaving out the yearly bills
A phone repair, a visa renewal, a flight home or a deposit only turns up once, but it still has to come from somewhere. Add a line for it and your budget is more honest.
Mixing weekly and monthly numbers
A 50 a week shop is not 50 a month. It is about 217 a month. Pick the right frequency and the page does the maths for you.
Only budgeting for term time
If your rent runs all year but your income stops over the summer, the term months look fine and the rest do not. Check the shortfall across the full year.
Treating everything as essential
If every line is essential, there is nothing to cut when money gets tight. Honest labels show how much room you actually have.
Questions students ask
How do I make a student budget?
List what comes in each month, list what goes out, and subtract. Count rent, food, bills, transport and study costs first, then the flexible things. Include a line for bills that only show up once a year. The page above does the monthly conversion for you.
Should I count my student loan as income?
Yes, if you will spend it, because it pays for your costs. Enter it as per term, or however often it lands, and the page spreads it across the months. Keep in mind that you will have to repay it later, which this page does not show.
What is the difference between essential and flexible costs?
Essential costs are the ones you can’t skip, like rent, food and travel to class. Flexible costs are the ones you could cut or pause, like eating out or subscriptions. If you are short each month, the page shows how far cutting every flexible cost would get you.
What if my income changes month to month?
Use an average over the last few months, then check the what-if table. It shows what happens if income drops by 10% or 25%, which is a quick way to see how safe the budget is.
Is there a way to see the cost of the whole degree?
That is a different question. The university cost calculator adds tuition and living costs for a full year or the whole degree, and the funding gap calculator shows how much of it your money covers.
