Why the 50/30/20 Budget Doesn't Work and What To Do Instead

#budget #personalfinance #budgetingtips

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DISCLAIMER: I am not an expert or a financial advisor. I simply love talking about finances and want to share my journey to financial freedom and help others along the way!

[haileyreign]

I wasn't ready for "The BMI of Finance" 😂😂😂

[thehomeless_trucker]

I never did like the 50/30/20 rule... big thing for me is that it allows you to blow more than you save.

[SOLTANA]

More like 50% rent 30% groceries 20% on everything else 😂

[edgonzalez]

Good one! Hopefully many young ones are exoosed to your content. Tha KEY is, soundly structure your life a soon as possible and make the right choices (no stupid purchases, mate selection for family, steady income progress, etc.).

[angiewolf]

Moral of the story...debt is horrible. When one has debt, their money is not theirs. While I get debt is the culture, one can choose to not go down that path. The debt and things culture in our society has got to change. It's okay to be different and not have debt.

[gretelwhite]

Writing a reality based budget is the most important thing, it forces you to face your situation and offers options to save. You just can't argue with the facts!

[ecouch]

I think 50/30/20 is a good starting place for someone new to personal finance to set some guard rails. However I think it only works for someone with little to no debt. So after going through a debt free journey, 50/30/20 can be a good next step

[lindadorman]

I think you have to take into consideration age as well. A lot of models assume older people have retirement funds, investments or property but this is not true. Many of us are starting, or starting over, and have a much shorter growth timeline. I'm 63, debt-free with no assets and follow a 30/10/60 model. From my monthly net income derived from Social Security, pension and small business revenue, I bring in $6000/month...$1800 goes towards needs, $600 towards wants and $3600 into high yield savings.

[sinnamonstory]

Leila this video has solidified you as my favorite finance creator! Thank you for being thoughtful about these common financial rules that everyone just spreads around that might not really make sense in certain situations.

I was just thinking about making a video about how 50/30/20 does not work esp for people who are high earners or low earners. For high earners, you can spend in many cases less than 50% on your needs and shouldn't scale up your fixed costs like housing and groceries just because you can. For low earners, you may not be able to spend less than 50% on your needs because there's a floor to the cheapest housing and food options around you. It makes me so sad that some people end up beating themselves up trying to achieve something that may be impossible for their circumstances.

[TheHallowsWitch]

50/30/20 would never work for me because I work a part time low income job. I also currently have no option of changing jobs due to the rapidly changing visual dissability my partner has and the support my employer offers me around that. But I would love to maybe one day get it all down to 70/20/10 (10 being wants), we are currently working on saving goals to get us further in life and for instance growing our own herb garden with plants we got from family. Even small steps are progress! 😄

[juliequick]

A good topic to think about. I am following a budget for expenses and savings and then the remainder is used as we want. I am a lot older though and have had to track each penny in the past. The only must for me is to have a budget whatever it looks like! Excellent content, as always x

[therealtaydev]

Thank you, Leila! 50/30/20 doesn’t work if you have a lot of debt or low income. When you are on low income everything is by the dollar, not percentage. Many of these gurus only speak to high income earners anyway.

[katresealexander]

Great content as usual. I love your channel. I have my daughters learning and watching as well. Thanks for all that you do.

[slwdro]

When Leila says "Personal Finance is Personal Finance" she means it. The 50/30/20 would not have worked for me when I started this process. That's the main reason why I started following and implementing her style. I made excellent progress from Sep_23 to end of 2023. I still needed assistance which lead me to having 1:1 coaching sessions from Jan 2024 which I highly recommend. I have tackled some much debt with her recommends and on path of being debt free with 14-20 months from now.

If you on the fence on investing in 1:1 coaching, Please do it for the following reasons: It's holds you accountable, it's motivating seeing the results and Leila with easy to work with.

[JaniVMD]

Not sure if you have listened to Ramit Sethi but I love his philosophy for personal finance and I have started to make some changes and I am considering getting his book.

[rolandosouffrain]

Most people love to spend and not save. I love to save and spend. Lol😂😂❤❤ lucky me I live below my means and can save a lot. I have a goal of maxing out my Roth 401k and Roth IRA. I am on track so far.🎉

[MidlifeMoneyMoves]

This is what makes you stand out in this personal finance YouTube world! Everyone’s situation is different and it’s so easy to look at these “rules, ” realize they won’t work for your situation, and then just not even bother to try. It takes time and flexibility to get our finances in check!

[lavayuki]

My necessities are more than 50%… my rent and car park charges are already 50%, and then bills on top.

[michaelbourke]

As to that @SOLTANA17 point I think people in that bracket would be much better examples of which there are probably enough to prove your point.

I agree with your perspective and think "The BMI of Finance" analogy is spot on. However, your examples aren't the best imo. I'm sympathetic to those who, due to location or commitments, spend over 35%+ of their income on housing, making the 50/30/20 rule unrealistic. So, you're right that this guideline has more exceptions than it works for hence you bmi remark is spot on.

I’m genuinely curious about the second example. They mention spending $500 a month on pets—do they own a zoo, a horse that needs stabling, or a pet that insists on gourmet meals? Surely this is just a one-time thing due to an unexpected vet bill and not a regular monthly expense. If it is every month, it might be time to reconsider having that pet, and I say this as someone who loves animals. They’re spending as much on their pets as they do on their own food, including eating out. That’s hard to justify imo.

[robryan]

What are your credentials?? Field of study, certifications, degrees???