A starting plan for ₹15k a month
This uses take-home pay and puts rent at 30%. Got a different rent? Type it in and the rest adjusts: wants shrink first, savings last.
| Category | Per month | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | ₹4,500 | 30% |
| Groceries | ₹1,500 | 10% |
| Bills and phone | ₹700 | 5% |
| Transport | ₹800 | 5% |
| Eating out | ₹1,800 | 12% |
| Shopping | ₹1,300 | 9% |
| Fun and subscriptions | ₹1,400 | 9% |
| Emergency fund | ₹1,500 | 10% |
| Investments | ₹1,500 | 10% |
Rent decides everything
The plan above gives rent ₹4,500, which is 30%. In a metro that usually means a shared room, a hostel or a PG outside the centre. If you pay ₹7,000, type it in: wants drop from ₹4,500 to ₹2,000, and savings stay at ₹3,000. Living with family? Put 0, and all ₹4,500 goes to savings, so you’d save ₹7,500 a month.
₹3,000 for food, bills and travel
₹1,500 for groceries, ₹700 for bills and phone and ₹800 for transport. That’s tight, so cook more than you order, pick a cheap prepaid plan, and use the bus or metro where you can. If a mess or tiffin service is cheaper than cooking where you live, count it as groceries, not eating out.
Saving ₹3,000 a month
₹1,500 to an emergency fund and ₹1,500 to a recurring deposit or SIP. Essentials on this plan are ₹7,500 a month, so a three-month fund is ₹22,500. At ₹1,500 a month that takes 15 months. Send all ₹3,000 there and it takes 8.
Can’t manage ₹3,000 yet? Start at ₹500. The habit is the hard part, and the amount grows with your salary. See how long your pace takes with the emergency fund calculator.
When ₹15,000 doesn’t cover the month
Before cutting anything, write down every spend for one month. Most people find one or two leaks, like food delivery or a cab habit, that are worth more than every small cut put together. Fix those first. The ₹20k budget shows what the next raise opens up.
Questions about a ₹15k budget
How much should I save from a ₹15,000 salary?
Aim for ₹3,000 a month, which is 20%. If that’s too much right now, start with ₹500 or ₹1,000 and raise it with every increment. Move it out on salary day so it never sits with your spending money.
How can I save money from a ₹15,000 salary?
Rent and food are most of the month, so start there: living with family or sharing a room frees up the most. Then cut the small repeats like food delivery, cabs and unused subscriptions. Check what’s left in a category before you spend from it.
How much rent can I afford on ₹15,000?
About ₹3,500 is comfortable and ₹4,500 is a stretch. Above that, the plan takes it out of wants first. At ₹9,000 rent there’s nothing left for wants at all.
Is the 50/30/20 rule realistic on ₹15,000?
Only if rent is low. Needs get ₹7,500, and rent alone can take that in a metro. If needs go over, shrink wants before savings. A smaller wants budget is easier to live with than no savings. Past ₹9,000 rent, wants are already at zero and savings start to shrink too.