Fawnly
Joint Budget Planner beta
Budget and track spending for two. Divide expenses fairly with our Dividing Expenses tool.
This planner is in beta mode. We are still making some changes. Feedback is very welcome.
Your household picture
Where it goes (by category)
Where each wage goes
Fixed vs variable
Essential vs non-essential
Across the year - money out each month (bars) vs income (line)
Dividing expenses
Which split is fairest? Every dividing method explained
There's no single "correct" way to split shared costs - what's fair depends on how different your incomes are and how you both feel about money. This planner gives you every common approach so you can try them and see the numbers. Pick the one you both feel good about.
The two big ideas behind "fair": splitting equally (you each pay the same pounds) treats you as two individuals; splitting proportionally (you each pay the same share of your income) leaves you both with a similar sense of stretch when one earns more. Most couples with different incomes find proportional feels fairer - but it's your call.
- By share of income. The most popular fair split. If one of you earns 60% of your combined income, they cover 60% of the shared costs. Nobody is squeezed harder than the other relative to what they earn. Best when your wages are quite different.
- Keep a % each, pool the rest. You each hold back some money as your own - a % of your own wage, a % of your combined income shared equally, or a set amount each - and pool the rest to cover shared bills. Any extra in the pool goes to joint savings or back to your own accounts. Good if you want guaranteed personal money before bills. If someone's own spending comes to more than they keep, their leftover shows red - a flag they're overcommitted.
- Fixed amount into joint each. You each pay a set amount into the joint account, like a standing order, and everything else stays personal. Simple and predictable. If the two amounts don't quite cover the shared costs, the planner shows the surplus or shortfall so you can adjust.
- Protected allowance, then income split. Each of you keeps a base allowance first (a set amount, or a % of your wage), and only the income above that is split by proportion. This protects a living minimum for the lower earner before anything is shared - kinder when one wage is low.
- By a set ratio. You choose the ratio yourselves, e.g. 60:40 or 70:30. Handy when you've agreed a split that isn't exactly your income ratio - maybe one of you uses the car far more, or wants to contribute more by choice.
- Custom % of each wage. You set the exact percentage each person pays of their own wage (e.g. Alex 80%, Sam 75%). Useful for fine-tuning until you both have a similar amount left over.
- By category (who it belongs to). Instead of a formula, you assign each shared bill to whoever pays it, using the "Paid by" dropdown on that bill. Manual lets you assign freely, with an optional settle-up figure so it still evens out. Auto lets you set a target split and the planner assigns bills to hit it. Good when you'd rather divide the actual bills than move money around.
- Equalise leftover. The planner works out the contributions so you're both left with the same amount of money after your share and your own spending. The fairest option if your goal is equal disposable income regardless of who earns what.
Two safety nets apply to any method: tick "Don't let anyone go negative" so nobody is asked to pay more than they earn, and turn on "Track personal spending" if you want each person's own costs kept separate from the shared split. Remember these figures are a guide to talk it through, not a legal arrangement.
Bills across the year when money actually leaves - check it's there
Money coming in
Enter each person's take-home pay - the amount that goes into your account. This already has tax, pension, National Insurance, student loan and any salary-sacrifice (like cycle-to-work) deducted, so you don't need to budget for those separately. Add salary, self-employment, benefits, gifted money, dividends, interest and bonuses.
| Source | Who | Type | Frequency | Amount | Per month |
|---|
Money going out Shared = joint cost. Name = non-shared expenses belonging to an individual
| What | Who pays | Category | Type | Ess. | Frequency | Amount | Per month |
|---|
What's in each account
Regular transfers between accounts - fund your pots
Move a set amount each month from one account to another.
Extra & unexpected spending one-offs that aren't budgeted for
Log an unbudgeted cost such as a car repair, a vet bill, a birthday. It will be added to that month's total.
Savings & sinking funds
Committed - money set aside for a known future cost, like car insurance, built automatically from the money going out section. For a goal you're building towards, like a holiday or a deposit, add a target and a date to any row in Savings & investments.
Committed · your sinking funds
How to build pots & sinking funds
A sinking fund is a pot you feed a little each month to save for non-monthly expenses. In "Money going out", set the bill's Frequency:
- Yearly (spread) - enter the annual cost once (e.g. car insurance £600). It sets aside £50 a month.
- Irregular (spread) - enter the cost each time and how many times a year. It spreads the total evenly into a monthly pot.
- Yearly (one month) or Irregular (set months) - if you'd rather pay the lump in the actual month it falls, pick these and choose the month(s). The year calendar then shows the real spike.
Every "spread" bill is listed as a sinking fund.
Savings & investments
Add a monthly amount for any pot. To turn one into a goal, also give it a target, what you've saved so far and a date to reach it by - we'll show if you're on track.
| Pot / goal | Who | Frequency | Amount | Per month | Goal £ | Saved £ | Reach by | On track? |
|---|
Frequently asked questions
Is my data private?
Yes. Everything you enter is worked out and stored only in your own browser. Nothing is sent to a server or shared. Use the Backup button to save a copy to your device and then you can reload at a later date.
How do we split shared costs fairly?
There is no single correct answer, so the planner gives you eight methods to try: by share of income, keep a percentage each and pool the rest, a fixed amount into the joint account each, a protected allowance then an income split, a set ratio like 60:40, a custom percentage of each wage, by category (assign each bill to whoever pays it, with an optional settle-up), or equalise leftover (worked out so you both have the same money left over). Splitting by share of income is the most popular when wages differ, because you each pay the same proportion of what you earn. The per-person cards update instantly so you can compare. See 'Which split is fairest?' for each method explained.
What if our income doesn't cover our outgoings?
If you are spending more than comes in, the household picture shows a shortfall helper. It tells you how much you are short each month and across the whole year, and how much you would need to draw from savings or borrow to cover it. If you are also setting money aside into savings, it points out that pausing that would close some or all of the gap. Trimming outgoings is usually the safest fix, and the fixed vs variable breakdown and essential vs non-essential breakdown will show you where there is room to cut.
Do we need a joint account?
No. Tick 'We have a joint account' if you pool money into one account. Untick it and there is no pooling: each person simply pays their share of the shared costs from their own account, shown in the Dividing expenses section.
How do the accounts work?
Each wage goes into the account you choose under 'Paid into', and each bill is paid from the account under 'Paid from'. If you have a joint account, each person's share from the split you picked is automatically moved from their account into the joint account. 'What's in each account' then shows money in, money out and the balance for each. You can add extra pots, including spending pots and savings pots that show money building up towards a goal.
How do we keep a pot topped up, and what is the emergency top-up?
Use 'Regular transfers between accounts' to move a set amount each month into a spending or savings pot - for example from the joint account into the groceries pot. For a one-off, the '+ emergency top-up' button on a pot asks how much you are adding and who is paying.
Can we use different percentages so we both have similar money left?
Yes. Choose 'Custom % of each wage' and set each person's percentage, for example 80% and 75%, or choose 'Equalise leftover' to have the planner work out the contributions so you both have the same amount left over.
What is a sinking fund?
A sinking fund is a pot you pay a little into each month, so a big, occasional bill is budgeted for monthly. Set a bill's Frequency to Yearly (spread) or Irregular (spread) and the planner sets aside the right amount each month. These appear under Savings & sinking funds as your Committed pots, with the monthly total to set aside.
How do we set a savings goal?
On any line in the Savings & investments section, add a goal amount, what you have saved so far, and a date to reach it by. The planner then shows whether you are on track, or how much more you would need to put away each month to get there in time.
What do the Frequency options mean?
Weekly, Same each month and Every 4 weeks repeat every month. Yearly (spread) and Irregular (spread) turn an annual or now-and-then cost into a monthly pot. Yearly (one month) and Irregular (set months) drop the cost in the actual month or months it falls. Varies by month lets you type a different amount for each of the twelve months.