The 50/20/30 Budget Explained (And How you can make it work) (2024)

FAQs

The 50/20/30 Budget Explained (And How you can make it work)? ›

The 50-30-20 rule recommends putting 50% of your money toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings. The savings category also includes money you will need to realize your future goals.

The 50/30/20 budget rule states that you should spend up to 50% of your after-tax income on needs and obligations that you must have or must do. The remaining half should be split between savings and debt repayment (20%) and everything else that you might want (30%).

Try the 50/30/20 rule as a simple budgeting framework. Allow up to 50% of your income for needs, including debt minimums. Leave 30% of your income for wants. Commit 20% of your income to savings and debt repayment beyond minimums.

Our 50/30/20 calculator divides your take-home income into suggested spending in three categories: 50% of net pay for needs, 30% for wants and 20% for savings and debt repayment. Find out how this budgeting approach applies to your money.

The 50/30/20 rule can be a good budgeting method for some, but it may not work for your unique monthly expenses. Depending on your income and where you live, earmarking 50% of your income for your needs may not be enough.

Ready to talk to an expert? Are you approaching 30? How much money do you have saved? According to CNN Money, someone between the ages of 25 and 30, who makes around $40,000 a year, should have at least $4,000 saved.

According to the Ramsey Solutions post, the recommendation is to invest 15% of your household income for retirement. The article uses the example of a household income which is $80,000 annually. Based on these earnings, each year you need to invest $12,000 towards your retirement savings.

In his free webinar last week, Market Briefs CEO Jaspreet Singh alerted me to a variation: the popular 75-15-10 rule. Singh called it leading your money. This iteration calls for you to put 75% of after-tax income to daily expenses, 15% to investing and 10% to savings.

Assign a task to every dollar you earn. Budget to save money, but be sure to set funds aside for entertainment, shopping, and other miscellaneous items. When every cent has a predetermined destination and income minus spend equals zero, you have created a zero-balance budget; this is the goal.

What is the #1 rule of budgeting? ›

The 50/30/20 rule is a budgeting technique that involves dividing your money into three primary categories based on your after-tax income (i.e., your take-home pay): 50% to needs, 30% to wants and 20% to savings and debt payments.

The 70-20-10 budget formula divides your after-tax income into three buckets: 70% for living expenses, 20% for savings and debt, and 10% for additional savings and donations. By allocating your available income into these three distinct categories, you can better manage your money on a daily basis.

1. The zero-based budget. The concept of a zero-based budgeting method is simple: Income minus expenses equals zero. This budgeting method is best for people who have a set income each month or can reasonably estimate their monthly income.

Alternatives to the 50/30/20 budget method

For example, like the 50/30/20 rule, the 70/20/10 rule also divides your after-tax income into three categories but differently: 70% for monthly spending (including necessities), 20% for savings and for 10% donations and debt repayment above the minimums.

50% of your after-tax income (take-home pay) covers needs. These are essentials, such as housing, food and transportation. 30% covers wants, which can range from dinners out to vacations to charity. 20% covers debt repayment and savings, such as retirement contributions and credit card payments.

For this reason, you can anticipate having a tough time bringing about substantial transformations in your organization. As a rule of thumb, 20% of your people will support your efforts to initiate change, 50% will be undecided, and the remaining 30% will resist you.

The rule targets 50% of your after-tax income toward necessities, 30% toward things you don't need—but make life a little nicer—and the final 20% toward paying down debt and/or adding to your savings.

The basic idea of the 50/30/20 rule is simple. You allocate 50% of your post-tax income to “needs” and another 30% to “wants.” That leaves you with at least 20% of your net income that you're able to save or use to pay down existing debt.

The 40/40/20 rule comes in during the saving phase of his wealth creation formula. Cardone says that from your gross income, 40% should be set aside for taxes, 40% should be saved, and you should live off of the remaining 20%.