The 50-30-20 Budget

**nuisance26** · 12-30-2011, 11:21 AM

~Just ran across this on MSN Money: 50-30-20 budget: A simple spending breakdown - MSN Money
I'm always interested in "new" budgeting ideas. What do you all think of this one?
Considering the median wage is around $50K, allotting just $25K for all needs seems a bit unrealistic to me unless you are single or a blackbelt frugalite. Especially since they include car payments and other debts in the needs section. I just don't see how the average family could manage that.
According to this budget we are paying 57% needs, 15% wants and 28% savings. We make less than median wage and we have no debt but our modest house. Since our income is on the low side, it isn't surprising that our needs percentage is higher than 50%. Our percentage would be very depressing if we had a car payment or student loan or child support to pay out.
It'd certainly be interesting if everyone went radical with their lives to meet this budget idea. We're mostly meeting it. I think it's something to work toward. But I think that for families at or below the median wage, it will call for radical thinking and big life changes to meet the 50-30-20 idea. And that's a lot of people.~

**greekislandgirl** · 12-30-2011, 12:36 PM

Wow. That is not realistic for us at all. I did their little worksheet and came out spending 3% on Wants. They want me to increase that by ten times. Not possible. I'm sure that many people can afford it though, and that's awesome for them. But for me, 30% on Wants is crazy.

**monkeywrangler71** · 12-30-2011, 12:43 PM

I can not understand budgets that put wants before savings. Needs come before wants, and savings are there to pay for tomorrow's needs. Therefore, savings come before wants.

I would never follow a plan that had us spending 80% of our income.

**chris w** · 12-30-2011, 01:16 PM

That craziness. However every new year needs a "new" way to budget. Recycling the "tried and true" method doesn't sell articles.

**Telephus44** · 12-30-2011, 01:18 PM

I had a hard time figuring out what the paycheck stuff was supposed to be (net or gross? Do I include health insurance or not?) so I think I plugged in something wrong, especially since it said we have 23% leftover. I got 33% needs, 19% wants, and 25% savings.

I have no problem with the percentages. I think it's an overall good guideline. Especially if you've never budgeted before and you're just beginning. Of course it's not going to work for everyone, but it's a good starting point.

**BeachBaby** · 12-30-2011, 01:32 PM

That's interesting. We got 57-24-18 so we're not to far off. Groceries actually put us over, but we're feeding 6 so I think we're doing pretty well.

**MomToTwoBoys** · 12-30-2011, 03:24 PM

Ours is totally off. 30% on wants? Does that include cell phone, clothing, etc?

We spend way more than half on needs. Our mortgage alone takes up 66% of what they say is half for needs.

This spreadsheet's completely off.

**ncarr** · 12-30-2011, 06:14 PM

Originally Posted by monkeywrangler71

I can not understand budgets that put wants before savings. Needs come before wants, and savings are there to pay for tomorrow's needs. Therefore, savings come before wants.

I would never follow a plan that had us spending 80% of our income.

I totally agree. I can't imagine putting wants before savings!

**khaski** · 12-30-2011, 06:58 PM

I didn't read the link but have studied this method a bit- the 'wants' kind of overlap 'needs'. For instance, you may really truly need a cell phone, but you choose to spend $80 a month for an android instead of $15 for a pre-paid. So I guess $15 of the android bill counts towards 'needs', but the extra $65 you CHOOSE to spend over what you 'need' goes to wants? I dismissed the method- we've made incredible progress the last 1.5 years working Dave Ramsey's program with slight modifications to suit our goals.

**oheoh's momma** · 12-30-2011, 07:57 PM

I really need to figure out a monthly budget... My problem is we always have grandma who wants or needs something.. ( she usually don't need) and this screws the budget....That I figured out...

**hmcart** · 12-30-2011, 09:55 PM

I guess this year we are working hard to cut spending on wants. We will still keep our cable and cell phones but no more eating out or buying things we dont need. Our budget for this year will include savings but will focus on debt reduction because it works for us. I think a good budget is one you use!

**Cricketlegs** · 12-31-2011, 11:25 AM

Well, My numbers came out NOTHING like what they should if going by this system.

**MaryinFL** · 12-31-2011, 12:37 PM

I went and looked at this system, and although my numbers fit into their plan, when I went to register they want to "get into" my financial institutions to keep track of what I spend for me.

I think NOT !!! Imagine the financial disaster if their website ever gets hacked