Start freeSavings capacity

Savings capacity calculator

Find out how much you can put aside each month from your real income and spending, and what percentage of your salary it represents. Free and no sign-up.

Your margin

Work out your savings capacity

We subtract everything that goes out each month from your take-home income: fixed spending, variable spending and debt payments. What's left is what you can really save.

€
€
€
€

That number only matters if you hit it

The savings capacity you've just worked out comes from what you think you spend. mPF connects your accounts and shows you the real figure each month — which is almost always different — and warns you when the margin narrows.

Start free in the appRead the guide: how to start saving

Gratis y sin tarjeta. Se abre en el navegador — también está en iPhone y Android.

01

What savings capacity is (and why it isn't what's left over)

Your savings capacity is the difference between what you earn and what you spend in a normal month. The trap is in the word 'normal': almost everyone calculates with an idealised month and forgets the insurance paid once a year, the car service or the birthday dinner. That's why the number a calculator gives you is a starting point, not a promise: the good figure is the one that comes from looking at your real transactions over the last few months.

  • Take-home income minus fixed, variable and debt payments
  • Annual costs count: divide them by twelve
  • If you don't set it aside on payday, there's rarely anything left at month end
02

What savings rate is reasonable

The most quoted benchmark is 20% of take-home income, which comes from the 50/30/20 rule. It's a good target, but not a pass or a fail: with high rent or tight income, a steady 5% over a year is worth more than a 20% you abandon in March. What really predicts the outcome isn't the starting percentage, it's how many months in a row you keep it up.

  • 20%: the classic benchmark from the 50/30/20 rule
  • 10%: a solid, sustainable pace for most people
  • 5%: a decent start if things are tight; raise it when you can
03

How to raise your capacity without making life miserable

Fixed spending is where the big euros are and where cutting hurts least, because you negotiate once and the saving repeats every month: insurance, mobile and energy tariffs, subscriptions you don't use. Variable spending is better controlled with a weekly limit than with willpower. And if you have expensive debt, clearing it is saving in disguise: every €100 of card payment you remove is €100 of new capacity, and you stop paying interest too.

  • Renegotiate the fixed things once and save for twelve months
  • Set a weekly limit on the variable, not a resolution
  • Clearing expensive debt frees up capacity permanently
04

From the number to the automatic transfer

A savings capacity that doesn't turn into a scheduled transfer evaporates. The rule that works best is 'pay yourself first': on payday, the savings money leaves the current account before you can spend it. In mPF you can see your real capacity month by month from your transactions and track whether you're keeping to it, without noting anything down by hand.

  • A transfer on payday, not at month end
  • Your real capacity worked out from your transactions
  • A warning when the month's margin narrows

Frequently asked questions

What income do I enter if it's variable?

Use the average of the last six months and, if the gap between the best month and the worst is wide, also run it with the worst. Planning with the good month is the fastest way for the plan to break in the first lean one. With irregular income it's better to set saving as a percentage of what comes in, not as a fixed amount.

Do annual costs go into the calculation?

Yes, and not including them is the most common mistake. Car insurance, property tax, tuition or holidays exist even if they aren't paid this month. Add them all up, divide by twelve and put that number into fixed spending: your capacity will drop, but it'll be the real one.

I get a negative capacity. What do I do?

It means you're spending more than you earn this month, so the goal isn't to save yet: it's to close that gap. Start with fixed spending (the kind you renegotiate once) and with expensive debt, which is usually what eats the margin. Setting a savings goal before closing the hole only adds frustration.

Is savings capacity the same as what's left at month end?

No, and that's the difference between saving and not saving. What's left at month end is a remainder: it depends on what you've spent. Savings capacity is a decision you take at the start of the month and set aside before spending. People who save what's left over almost never save.

How much should I have saved given my capacity?

The first destination for your savings capacity is the emergency fund: between three and six months of essential spending. With the figure this calculator has just given you, you can estimate how long it'll take to gather it, and from there put the saving towards your goals or into investing.

Would you rather start gently?

We'll send you the Financial Order Kit as a PDF: the templates and the checklist to get your accounts in order at your own pace. Free, and without signing up for anything.

We'll send the kit and, very occasionally, something useful from mPF. Unsubscribe in one click whenever you like. No spam — it's not our style.

Do you have a website or a blog?Embed this calculator for free

Copy and paste this code into your page. It's free forever; all we ask is that you keep the attribution link to mPF.

It updates itself: when we improve the calculator, your site gets it.