The 50/30/20 Rule

"We have tried a few different budget plans, and they all worked ok, but we felt like they were lacking something... I had my budget, but I had no clue how much we should spend on needs, wants, or savings. The only advice I had heard about how much to spend was the traditional "spend 25% of your income on your house/rent." That advice was incomplete." - RethinkingTheDream.com

------ Note: This template somehow leaves out "paying off debt," but you can tweak the ratios to better fit your own goals :) Perhaps it becomes the 50/20/20/10 rule for you? Or a 50/25/25 where one of the 25s is for debt and the other savings/wants? The takeaway is really deciding on an overall structure to start implementing. And this article points out a lot of good things to think about... [Photo cred: TheTruthAbout]