Money Flow · Interactive Sankey Tool
Where your money actually goes.
Trace every dollar from paycheck to purpose. Edit your numbers — the flow map, and the amount you keep, redraw as you type.
Budget summary
Against the 50/30/20 guideline
The 50/30/20 rule of thumb suggests roughly 50% of take-home pay to needs, 30% to wants, and 20% kept for savings or debt payoff. Categories count as needs or wants by their names. A reference point, not financial advice.
Your numbers
Every amount below is yours to change — click a value and type, nudge it with the up/down arrow keys, or use the small step arrows. Category totals roll up from their line items.
The flow
Hover or tab to a block to isolate its streamSwipe the chart sideways to see every column.
Text alternative to the diagram above: every money flow listed as a row, from source to destination.
| From | To | Amount | % of income |
|---|
How This Tool Works
Four Columns
The diagram reads left to right: Sources (your income entries), Budget (the combined monthly total), Categories (Housing, Food, Transport, etc.), and Detail (individual line items). Money flows from each column into the next.
Proportional Heights
Every flow's height is proportional to its dollar amount, using one shared scale across the whole diagram — a $2,000 flow is always exactly twice as tall as a $1,000 flow, whether they're in the same column or not.
Category Totals
A category's total rolls up automatically from its line items (Rent + Utilities + Internet = Housing). Categories with no line items use the flat amount you enter directly.
Savings Is the Residual
You keep = Monthly income − Spending. That amount becomes the "You keep" flow, and Savings rate = You keep ÷ Monthly income × 100. If spending exceeds income, the tool shows a deficit banner instead of drawing an invented savings flow.
This is an educational visualization of the numbers you type in — it does not connect to any bank account, and nothing you enter is uploaded to a server. The 50/30/20 comparison classifies categories as needs or wants by their names and uses the common budgeting guideline purely as a reference point. It is not financial, tax, retirement, or investment advice; consult a qualified professional before making financial decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Sankey diagram shows how a quantity moves through a system as a series of proportionally-sized flows. This tool traces your monthly money through four stages: Sources (your income), Budget (the combined total), Categories (Housing, Food, Transport, etc.), and Detail (individual line items like Rent or Groceries). Wider flows represent larger dollar amounts.
Savings rate = (Monthly income − Spending) ÷ Monthly income × 100. The dollar amount you keep flows into a "You keep" node in the diagram; the percentage is shown in the stat strip and the "Of every dollar in, N¢ stays with you" caption. If spending exceeds income, the tool shows a deficit banner instead of inventing a savings flow.
No account and no server storage. Your numbers live in this browser's local storage and, optionally, in the page's own URL after you use "Copy share link." If you import a bank CSV, the file is read and categorized entirely in your browser too. Nothing is uploaded to Digital Calculator or any third party.
Yes. Selecting "Copy share link" encodes your current income and spending entries directly into the page URL and copies it to your clipboard. Anyone who opens that link sees the same diagram instantly — no sign-in, and no data passes through a server.
Related Calculators
Related Reading
- CFPB — Budgeting Tools — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau guidance on building and tracking a budget.
- SEC — Investor.gov Financial Tools — Free calculators and investing resources from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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