You need to know the 50/30/20 rule.

Añadido: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]As a black woman, you're too smart not to have heard of the 50/30/20 rule. So, I'm going to explain it for you so you can budget better in the future. Sit down, listen, and write this down. I'm a six-figure financial advisor, not your financial advisor.

[00:00:11]Yet. And the 50/30/20 rule is one of the simplest tools I give clients to take control of their money. Most of you know I don't teach budgeting from a place of restriction, but more so from a place of intention. When your spending aligns with your values and your goals, the guilt kind of disappears and the progress speeds up. The 50/30/20 rule is a budgeting framework that helps you organize your spending into three buckets: needs, wants, and savings. This framework works best when you're honest with yourself about what truly is a need versus what you've upgraded into a lifestyle habit. 50% of your take-home pay is supposed to go towards needs.

[00:00:42]Rent, mortgage, utilities, groceries, transportation, insurance, and other essentials. 30% of your take-home pay should go towards wants, whether it be clothes, concerts, trips, dining out, subscriptions, and any other non-essentials. 20% of your take-home pay should go towards savings and investing. Emergency funds, down payments on a home, retirement, and any other future goals. If you're carrying high-interest debt, a portion of this 20% may need to focus on paying that down first so it stops stealing from your future. These percentages are guidelines. They're not handcuffs.

[00:01:11]Please don't stress yourself out about being 51% paying towards needs. That's normal. But if you're consistently spending 65, 70% on living expenses, that's a sign to pause and make adjustments because it leaves very little room for wealth building. At that point, a solution usually isn't budgeting harder. It's more like increasing your income or reducing your fixed costs, or both. I know incomes vary wildly, so this rule won't fit everyone perfectly. But if you're in a position to apply it, even loosely, it can create structure, clarity, and momentum towards your financial goals.

[00:01:39]The goal isn't perfection. The goal is more so consistency and awareness.

[00:01:44]I hope this helps.