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How to budget with the 50/30/20 rule: A simple, effective strategy to getting your money on track

Kat Aoki
How to budget with the 50/30/20 rule (Nora Carol Photography via Getty Images)

Mastering your money with an effective budgeting strategy is one of the keys to achieving financial freedom and living life on your terms — both now and in retirement. While budgeting may sound like a restrictive chore, the right approach might be more liberating than you think.

The 50/30/20 rule stands out among the many popular budgeting methods out there because of its simplicity. By dividing your monthly income into three main categories — needs, wants and savings and debt repayment — this powerful way of managing your money has helped many people tame their finances and build a better future.

Let's break down the 50/30/20 budgeting rule, including how it works, who it’s best for and how to get started.

The 50/30/20 rule is a no-frills budgeting method that allocates your after-tax income into three main categories:

  • 50% for essential needs like housing, car payments, insurance, groceries, utility bills and minimum repayments on credit cards, student loans and other debt.

  • 30% for discretionary wants such as dining out, travel, personal development, gym memberships and entertainment.

  • 20% for savings and extra payments towards debt beyond the minimums required.

By using broad percentage guidelines across these three categories, the 50/30/20 rule covers the necessities while providing room for enjoyment and working toward financial goals. Because you don’t meticulously account for every dollar spent, this budget doesn't feel overly restrictive or burdensome — potentially making it easier to stick to in the long run.

The 50/30/20 rule was introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren and her daughter, Amelia Warren Tyagi, in their book All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan. Together, Senator Warren, a Harvard bankruptcy law professor turned politician, and her daughter, a financial consultant, sought to offer a simple and effective budgeting strategy to help people master their finances.

For nearly 20 years, this classic budgeting method has been going strong, eliciting discussion today across Reddit from people who say they use it or some variation of it, like 70/20/10 or 60/20/20. Personal finance expert Ramit Sethi, who runs the website I Will Teach You to Be Rich, also advocates a variation of this method he calls the “conscious spending plan,” with room for your personal values.

It’s easiest to explain how the 50/30/20 budgeting rule works by using an example.

Let’s imagine a person named Sophia, who’s a self-employed accountant earning an after-tax income of $3,000 a month. According to the 50/30/20 rule, Sophia allocates her after-tax income as follows.

Sophia's needs include essential expenses that she can’t live without.

Sophia's wants are discretionary expenses that enhance her quality of life but aren’t necessities.

The remaining 20% of Sophia's after-tax income goes towards her longer-term financial goals and paying down high-interest debt.

Using the 50/30/20 rule, Sophia covers her essential needs first, which takes up the largest portion of her budget at 50%. Thirty percent is allocated to non-essential wants, while the remaining 20% is split evenly across emergency savings, retirement savings and repaying her high-interest debt.

💡 Expert tip: Adjust percentages to make the rule work for you

The percentages part of this budgeting strategy — 50%, 30% and 20% — are not hard-and-fast rules. For instance, if you live in an expensive city with a high cost of living, you may need to allocate a larger portion of your income toward the essentials. Conversely, if you have a high income or are aggressively working toward a specific financial goal, you may want to dedicate a much bigger percentage of your income toward investments, debt repayment or savings.

Key is finding an allocation breakdown that works best for you and your financial goals.

  1. It’s straightforward and easy to understand. That makes it a good choice for budgeting beginners or those who prefer a simple approach to managing their finances.

  2. It encourages a balanced approach to budgeting. This strategy covers the essentials while allowing room for discretionary spending and wealth building.

  3. It helps to avoid the pitfalls of overly restrictive budgets that can lead to burnout or frustration and trigger undisciplined spending.

  4. It’s flexible and adjustable, providing a framework for budgeting while allowing for some flexibility in how you allocate your funds within each category.

While anyone can use the 50/30/20 rule, it’s best suited for budgeters with stable incomes. A regular income allows you to more easily allocate your funds according to the 50/30/20 percentages, knowing that you'll have a similar amount of money coming in each month.

While the 50/30/20 rule is a great starting point for many, it’s not the best fit for everyone — especially for those living in high-cost areas or who have lower incomes.

Here are four situations in which the rule might fall short, along with alternative allocations that might better meet your needs.

In areas or regions with a high cost of living, the 50% allocated to needs may not be sufficient to cover your mortgage payments or rent. If you live in an expensive city like Los Angeles, Miami or New York City, costs for everyday essentials can easily consume 50% or more of your take-home income, leaving less room for the non-essentials.

🔍 Alternative budgeting allocation

Adjust the percentages to better suit your personal situation, such as 60% for needs, 20% for wants and 20% for savings and debt repayment.

If you have a lower income, it won’t make sense to allocate 30% of your take-home pay to wants, as a larger portion of your income might need to go toward covering basic needs.

Say you earn an income of $2,000 a month. Following the 50/30/20 rule would mean allocating $1,000 to needs, $600 to wants and $400 to savings or high-interest debt. But if your monthly rent and food bill is $1,200 a month, these percentages won’t work.

🔍 Alternative budgeting allocation

Try a 70/20/10 rule — with 70% for needs, 20% for savings and debt repayment and 10% for non-essential wants.

If you have a significant amount of credit card, student loan or other high-interest debt, allocating 20% to savings and debt repayment may not be enough to make substantial progress toward your debt-reduction goals.

Say you earn $2,500 after taxes but owe $15,000 on credit cards with an average 21% APR. According to the 50/30/20 rule, you’d allocate $500 each month to savings and debt repayment. But at that rate, it could take more than 10 years to pay off that $15,000 balance, not to mention the thousands in interest you’d rack up.

🔍 Alternative budgeting allocation

Consider using the debt avalanche or debt snowball payoff strategy, which focuses on paying off high-interest debt aggressively while maintaining a leaner budget in other areas.

Dig deeper: Top 4 tips for paying off credit card debt

If you want to sock away as much as possible for retirement or major expenses, the 20% allocation to savings may not be ideal for reaching your goals.

Let’s say you're 50 years old and plan to retire at age 65. You currently earn $80,000 per year and estimate that you'll need to save an additional $500,000 on top of your existing retirement savings. If you follow the 50/30/20 rule, you would allocate $16,000 a year (or 20% of your income) toward savings and investments.

Assuming an average annual return of 6% on your investments, you’d save around $372,000 saved by age 65 — which falls short of your $500,000 target. In this case, you’d want to allocate more than 20% for your savings percentage.

🔍 Alternative budgeting allocation

Implement a “pay yourself first” budgeting strategy, where you’d determine your savings goals first and then allocate your remaining funds to needs and wants.

Getting started with the 50/30/20 rule is a straightforward process. Follow these steps to implement this budgeting strategy, remembering that it could take a few months to make adjustments and get it right according to your spending and savings goals.

Your first step is to determine your monthly income after taxes and deductions. Include all sources of income, such as your salary, bonuses, rental income and freelance, consulting or gig work.

Monitor your spending for one to three months to get a clear picture of your income, expenses and spending habits. A budgeting and tracking app can streamline your work, but you can also use a spreadsheet or good ol’ pen and paper to record your income and spending.

Using your budgeting app, spreadsheet or other method, allocate 50% of your after-tax income to needs, 30% to wants and 20% to savings and debt repayment. Remember, the 50/30/20 rule is a guideline only, and you can always adapt the percentages to your particular situation.

Use your expense tracking data and your 50/30/20 (or other percentage allocation) to create a monthly budget and set short- and long-term financial goals.

🔍 Expert tip: More mature budgeters might need to incorporate financial milestones and goals focused on boosting your retirement fund, supporting family or bridging healthcare gaps.

Common adjustments you might need to incorporate into your budget include:

  • Maximizing retirement savings. If retirement is on the horizon, you might want to contribute the maximum amount to your 401(k)s, IRAs and other retirement accounts. This may include catch-up contributions, which allow those ages 50 and older to save extra money in these accounts.

  • Paying off a mortgage. Eliminating mortgage debt before retirement can significantly reduce your monthly expenses and provide greater financial freedom. Many folks aim to pay off their mortgages within five to 10 years of retiring.

  • Supporting a child’s or grandchild’s education. Parents in their 50s may be helping children or grandchildren pay for college tuition, books and living expenses. You might set milestones for contributing a specific amount to college savings or for paying off student loans.

  • Building an emergency fund. At this stage, it's crucial to have a substantial emergency fund to cover unexpected expenses, such as medical bills or home repairs. A milestone might be saving six to 12 months' worth of living expenses within a high-yield savings account in the next few years.

  • Preparing for healthcare costs. As you age, it’s likely your healthcare expenses will increase. Those in their 50s may want to save extra money for potential medical costs, alternative care not covered by insurance and long-term care insurance.

  • Creating a debt-free plan. Paying off credit cards, personal loans and other high-interest debt should be a priority in mid-life. A milestone could be becoming debt-free (excluding mortgage debt) within five to seven years.

Once you've created your 50/30/20 budget, it's time to put it into action. Here are tips to ensure you’re successful:

  • Automate your savings and bill payments. Set up automatic bill pay and transfers to your savings and investment accounts, which can keep you on track and avoid late fees.

  • Track your spending. Review your receipts, bank and credit card statements and expenditures regularly. Then use this information to identify areas to cut back and stick to budget limits. Many apps allow you to view your spending by category to help you quickly identify areas of high spending.

  • Use cash for variable expenses. Consider withdrawing cash for food, gas and entertainment. Once it's gone, wait until your next pay period before you take more cash out. This hands-on strategy can help curb overspending.

  • Involve others for support. Involving an accountability partner or family in your budget can provide motivation, support and fresh perspectives.

  • Celebrate successes. Treat yourself when you reach milestones, like saving a six-month emergency fund or paying off your credit cards. Positive reinforcement motivates long-term commitment.

Make it a habit to review your budget and spending, especially after a significant change in your income or expenses. It's also a good idea to reassess your budget after reaching a major financial milestone, like paying off debt or reaching a savings goal.

It may take some time to get used to the 50/30/20 rule. You might need to make some lifestyle changes to stay on track. But as you pay off debts and build more savings, you're sure to gain more confidence and financial freedom.

The 50/30/20 budgeting rule isn’t the only budget on the block. If percentages aren’t your thing or you prefer a more granular approach to your money, consider one of these alternatives instead:

  • Zero-based budgeting. This method assigns every dollar of your income to a specific category or purpose, ensuring that nothing goes unaccounted for. Zero-based budgeting is best for people who want granular control over their finances and don’t mind putting in the extra effort involved with this system.

  • Envelope system. This hands-on system allocates cash to different physical or digital "envelopes" for all your spending categories, which can promote discipline and avoid overspending. The envelope system is good for budgeters who want greater control over their spending habits through a closer connection to their money.

  • Pay yourself first. This system prioritizes savings and debt repayment over anything else by allocating funds to these categories first, and then distributing the remaining money to needs and wants. This system is ideal for people with stable incomes and low or no debt who are focused on building wealth for the future.

Dive deeper: 5 popular budgeting strategies — and how to find the best fit for how you save

Learn more about this budgeting strategy and managing your money before integrating the 50/20/30 rule into your finances.

Absolutely. The 50/30/20 rule is a flexible guideline that you can adapt to your specific circumstances, allocating your income however best fits your personal and financial goals.

Other interesting variations to consider include:

  • 70/20/10 — 70% for necessary living expenses, 20% for debt repayment and savings and 10% for investments or charitable contributions

  • 60/20/20 — 60% for necessary living expenses, 20% for savings and 20% for anything else

  • 80/20 — 80% for spending and 20% for savings

No. While retirement should be a part of your savings plan, 401(k) contributions are typically deducted from your income before it’s received as your paycheck.

The 50/30/20 rule is designed to help you assign spending categories to your take home pay, and so 401(k) contributions wouldn’t be included.

Yes. YNAB (You Need A Budget), Quicken Simplifi and other top budgeting apps can help you track your expenses and allocate your income according to the 50/30/20 rule — or whichever percentages you choose.

Common mistakes to avoid with the 50/30/20 rule include underestimating your true expenses, failing to track your spending accurately and not adjusting percentages to fit your unique situation. Keep a realistic eye on how you’re integrating your budget into your spending and lifestyle, and don’t be afraid to adjust it for long-term success.

Kat Aoki is a seasoned finance writer who's written thousands of articles to empower people to better understand technology, fintech, banking, lending and investments. Her expertise has been featured on sites like Forbes Advisor, Lifewire and Finder, with bylines at top technology brands in the U.S. and Australia. Kat strives to empower consumers and business owners to make informed decisions and choose the right financial products for their needs.

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