Family budget planner
Where does the household salary go each month? Type your take-home pay and your costs, and see each one as a share of income, with a warning where rent, loans or savings are out of line.
Take-home means what actually lands in your account each month, after deductions such as pension contributions.
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Reading your budget
A popular rule of thumb splits take-home pay into 50% for needs, 30% for wants and 20% for savings and paying down debt. Our "UAE family" version keeps 50% for needs and 20% for savings, and sets aside 10% for family support and giving. Both are starting points, not rules.
Advisers often suggest keeping housing to about 30% of income. Above 35 to 40%, there's little left for savings or surprises. Paying by cheques? Plan them with our rent cheque planner.
Central Bank of the UAE rules say total loan repayments to banks and finance companies, including car loans, home loans and cards, must not exceed 50% of gross salary and regular income. The cap is a limit, not a target: many advisers suggest staying well under it. See our debt payoff plan.
Move savings out on payday, before spending starts. Build an emergency fund of a few months of essentials first.
Rent, school fees and insurance are often paid once or a few times a year. Pick "per year" next to them and the planner divides by 12, so the big bill doesn't catch you out.
Zakat is due once a year on savings above the nisab, so it isn't a monthly bill, but setting a little aside each month makes it easier. Work it out with our zakat calculator.
Sources: Central Bank of the UAE, Regulations Regarding Bank Loans and Other Services Offered to Individual Customers, Circular No. 29/2011, Article 7 (total repayment instalments must not exceed 50% of gross salary and regular income; rulebook.centralbank.ae), also reported by Khaleej Times ("Importance of borrowing responsibly"); Gulf News, "How much of your salary should you set aside for monthly rent, food, commute?" (7 March 2025: experts suggest about 30% for housing, 10 to 15% for transport, and the 50/30/20 rule); the 50/30/20 rule comes from Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi, "All Your Worth" (2005). The 35–40% rent alert, the 10% savings alert and the "UAE family" split are our own simple thresholds built on that guidance. We use take-home pay, while the Central Bank cap uses gross salary, so our loan check is a little stricter. This is a planning aid, not financial advice.