Thought the 50/30/20 budget rule was a gimmick but it actually works

I always figured those percentage budgets were for people who didn't have real bills. After 6 months of tracking, my rent is exactly 30% and I accidentally saved $200 more than usual by not overspending on the 'wants' category. Has anyone else had it click for them after trying it?

3 comments

3 Comments

pat_fisher246d ago

Wait, did you track it manually or use an app? I’m curious how you got the rent to stay at exactly 30% with all the yearly increases landlords love to throw in.

drew555d ago

Manually tracking sounds like a pain but yeah, I agree with @fiona985 on planning the fun spending a week ahead. I tried using an app for like two months and my rent ended up being 27% one month and 32% the next because of random fees or whatever. Feels like if you really care about this stuff down to the dollar, you're gonna stress yourself out for no reason. It's not that serious unless you're actually drowning in debt, which is a whole different problem.

fiona9856d ago

Does anyone find themselves tweaking the percentages just a little? I had to shift mine to 40/30/20/10 cause my rent eats up more than 30% even with a roommate, but the extra 10% goes straight to debt so it still feels balanced. The hardest part for me was the "wants" category - I had to start planning my fun spending a week ahead instead of just buying stuff on impulse. It's weird how strict rules like this can actually free you up from feeling guilty about every little purchase.

-1