A starting plan for ₹80k 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 | ₹24,000 | 30% |
| Groceries | ₹8,000 | 10% |
| Bills and phone | ₹4,000 | 5% |
| Transport | ₹4,000 | 5% |
| Eating out | ₹9,600 | 12% |
| Shopping | ₹7,200 | 9% |
| Fun and subscriptions | ₹7,200 | 9% |
| Emergency fund | ₹8,000 | 10% |
| Investments | ₹8,000 | 10% |
Metro rent at ₹80k
The plan sets rent at ₹24,000. In most big cities that’s a good 1BHK. In Mumbai it may not stretch as far. If yours is ₹28,000, type it in. Wants drop from ₹24,000 to ₹20,000, and savings stay at ₹16,000.
Paying less, say ₹20,000? The ₹4,000 you save on rent goes to savings, not wants. You’d put away ₹20,000 a month.
Emergency fund: ₹2.4 lakh
Essentials on this plan come to ₹40,000 a month. Six months of that is ₹2.4 lakh. At ₹8,000 a month it takes 30 months. Send the full ₹16,000 there and it’s 15. Fund it first. A job switch or a hospital bill is a lot easier with that cushion behind you.
Give the extra a job
Once the fund’s built, ₹16,000 a month into a SIP or PPF is ₹1.92 lakh a year before returns. This is also the salary where bigger goals show up: a home down payment, a car, a wedding. Give each one its own category and a monthly amount, so it doesn’t share a balance with everything else.
Yearly costs add up
Family health insurance, car insurance and service, school fees, Diwali gifts. Add up last year’s and the total can be a surprise. The sinking fund calculator turns them into one monthly number. Compare with a ₹1 lakh budget to see where the next raise could go.