Budget Like A ProFuture spending planner
Most money tools tell you where your money went. This one tells you what you can spend next. Enter what comes in and what's already committed, and see the money that's genuinely free for a holiday, a weekend away or anything else you're looking forward to.
Everything that reliably lands in your account each month.
Rent or mortgage, bills, insurance, travel, subscriptions, debt payments.
What you want to keep putting away, including your emergency fund.
Yearly bills, Christmas, a car service — spread across the months.
Available to spend
£320
a month on whatever you like
That's £960 over three months, £1,920 over six and £3,840 over a year — before you add anything you're already planning.
Add something you're planning
A holiday, a new sofa, a weekend away. Enter what it costs and when it lands to see the effect on the year ahead.
The whole thing — flights, hotel, spending money.
When you'll actually pay for it.
The next twelve months
| Oct | £20 |
|---|---|
| Nov | £20 |
| Dec | £20 |
| Jan | £20 |
| Feb | £320 |
| Mar | £320 |
| Apr | £320 |
| May | £320 |
| Jun | £320 |
| Jul | £320 |
| Aug | £320 |
| Sept | £320 |
- Over 3 months
- £60
- left after everything planned
- Over 6 months
- £720
- left after everything planned
- Over 12 months
- £2,640
- left after everything planned
Setting aside £300 a month for 4 months covers it, leaving £20 a month for everything else.
An estimate based on the figures you entered. It assumes your income and costs stay roughly the same, and doesn't include interest, pay rises or anything you haven't listed. It's a planning tool, not financial advice.
How the figure is worked out
Every planned pound is taken out before we call anything spendable, in this order:
- 1. Income that reliably arrives each month.
- 2. Fixed costs — rent or mortgage, bills, insurance, travel, debt repayments.
- 3. Savings and goals you want to keep funding.
- 4. Known future costs, spread over the months before they land.
- 5. What's left: your available discretionary spending.
The fourth step is where most budgets fall over. A £1,200 holiday in six months isn't a surprise — it's £200 a month starting now. Read the full methodology.
Worked example
Someone earning £2,000 a month, with £1,200 of fixed costs, £200 going into savings and £280 a month set aside for a summer trip and annual bills, has £320 a month free. Over six months that's £1,920 of genuinely discretionary money — enough to plan a trip around, with the bills already covered.
Plan a specific thing
- Holiday budget calculator — what a trip costs per month between now and departure.
- Disposable income calculator — income minus essentials, the simple version.
- How much can I afford to spend? — a single purchase, checked against the next 12 months.
Questions people ask
What is a future spending planner?
It's a way of working out what you'll be able to spend in the months ahead, rather than reviewing what you already spent. You start from your income, take off your fixed costs, savings and known one-off bills, and what's left is what you can genuinely plan around.
How far ahead should I plan?
Twelve months covers almost every irregular cost — insurance renewals, birthdays, a holiday, car servicing. Three months is enough to plan a single trip or purchase.
Is this the same as budgeting?
Budgeting usually means categorising money you've already spent. Planning means deciding, in advance, what a future trip or purchase can cost without upsetting your bills or savings.