Creating a budget
Only 35% of people follow a strict budget and live within their means on a regular basis, a recent Willis Tower Watson survey revealed. While budgeters reported far fewer money worries than those who lacked a budget, most Americans just aren’t that excited about sitting down and creating a spending plan.
The good news is, the budgeting process can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be – and you don’t have to live by a detailed budget that allocates every dollar if you don’t want to. One great option for budgeting is a 50-30-20 budget. This simple budget involves making sure fixed spending on housing and other essentials stays below 50% of your income. Meanwhile, 20% of income gets saved;and 30% of income goes to discretionary spending.
By automating your 20% savings and ensuring essential spending doesn’t exceed 50% of income, you can use your money wisely without effort and spend the remaining 30% on anything you want without worries.