Who’s eating your pie?
Everyone gets a slice of your paycheck. Your landlord, your car, the bill pile. Slice up a normal month and see how big your piece is.
Your pie, sliced
The white line is the classic recipe: 50% to bills, 30% for you now, 20% for you later.
Why your slice comes first
Every bill shows up with a due date. Your future self never sends a bill, so that slice gets whatever is left. Usually crumbs.
Crumbs are real money. A few hundred dollars a month you can’t account for is a few thousand a year that could have been yours.
The recipe isn’t a law. If rent eats more than half, you can still protect a slice for you. Start small and grow it every raise.
Three moves before the next paycheck
Set an automatic transfer to savings for payday. Bills come out of what’s left, not the other way around. Need a home for it? Find a credit union that gives a crap.
Scroll last month’s bank statement. Name every charge. The crumbs usually turn into two or three subscriptions.
A cheaper phone plan or car insurance quote moves more money than skipping coffee. Call one company this week.
How this is calculated
Bills are housing, food, car and gas, and the bill pile (utilities, phone, insurance, subscriptions). You, now is fun money plus the crumbs you can’t account for. You, later is savings, investing and debt payoff.
The 50/30/20 recipe comes from Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi’s book All Your Worth. It’s a starting point, not a rule.
Nothing you type leaves your browser.