Step 1: Start with what you take home
Budget with your pay after tax, the Medicare levy and any HELP repayments, not your salary. On $80,000 a year, that’s about $2,457 a fortnight in 2026–27. Your employer’s super is paid on top, so leave it out. The pay calculator works out your own figure.
If you’re paid fortnightly but your bills are monthly, convert them: multiply a monthly bill by 12 and divide by 26.
Step 2: See where your money goes
Look back at one or two months of bank and card statements. Most banking apps sort spending into categories. Don’t judge it yet: just find out what you really spend on rent, groceries, transport, subscriptions, buy now pay later and eating out. Moneysmart’s free budget planner can help you list it all.
Step 3: Split it 50/30/20
| Share | For | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 50% | Needs: what you must pay | Rent or mortgage, groceries, energy, transport, rego, insurance, minimum debt repayments |
| 30% | Wants: what makes life enjoyable | Eating out, streaming, holidays, hobbies |
| 20% | Saving and paying off debt faster | Emergency fund, extra home loan repayments or your offset, investing |
| Part | Amount |
|---|---|
| Needs: rent, groceries, bills, transport | $1,228.46 |
| Wants: eating out, streaming, holidays | $737.08 |
| Saving and extra debt repayments | $491.38 |
| Take-home pay a fortnight | $2,456.92 |
After income tax and the Medicare levy. Your employer’s super is paid on top, so it isn’t part of the budget.
Step 4: Plan for the yearly bills
Some of the biggest costs come once or twice a year: car rego, car and home insurance, council rates, private health insurance if you pay yearly, and Christmas. Add them up and save a share each pay.
Example: if rego, car insurance and contents insurance come to $2,400 a year, put aside about $92 a fortnight in a separate account. When the bills arrive, the money is waiting.
If the numbers don’t fit
In Sydney or Melbourne, rent alone can take half your pay. Treat 50/30/20 as a guide, not a test:
- Cut wants first. They’re the easiest to change, and subscriptions add up.
- Compare energy, insurance and phone plans every year: loyalty rarely pays. The government’s Energy Made Easy site compares energy plans, and Victoria has Victorian Energy Compare.
- Check what you can get. Family Tax Benefit, Rent Assistance and other payments can add to your budget: see payments you might be missing.
- Save something, even 5%. The habit matters more than the amount at first.
Make it automatic
- Set an automatic transfer to savings for payday, before you can spend it.
- Use separate accounts for bills, spending and savings, so you can see what’s left.
- Pay bills by direct debit so you’re never late.
- Check in once a pay cycle, and adjust when your pay or rent changes.
Try your own numbers in the budget calculator, which shows the 50/30/20 split next to what you really spend.