Popular Budgeting Strategies (2024)

You might be wondering how much you should spend within each of your budget categories. Unfortunately, there is norightamount to spend in any category for every individual. It's up to you to decide what works for you. There are a variety of philosophies about the best way to budget.

Below are only a few possible strategies. These are some popular ones, but that does not mean they will work best for you. We encourage you to try them out if you like them, but remember that budgeting is an individualized process, so you should be prepared to identify when a change needs to be made.

The 50/20/30 Budget

In the 50/20/30 budget, 50% of your net income should go to your needs, 20% should go to savings, and 30% should go to your wants.

If you've read the Essentials of Budgeting, you're already familiar with the idea of wants and needs. This budget recommends a specific balance for your spending on wants and needs. It alsoemphasizes the importance of setting money aside for later.

Pay Yourself First

In the “Pay Yourself First” method, the first “bill” you pay every month is to your savings account. Transfer a pre-determined amount into savings at the beginning of the month. After you pay yourself, you should pay your bills, then use the rest however you please.

This method could easily be used in combination with some others listed on this page. However, this method can also be used to keep track of a very simple budget, where you pay forthe things you have to, and don't worry about the rest.

Zero-Based Budget

In a zero-based budget, every single dollar of your income is assigned to a specific expense, leaving you with a balance of $0. This method requires you to anticipate all of your upcoming expenses so that you can allot your income to the appropriate expenses.

Be sure to include saving into your plan as well; if you don't plan to "spend" all of your income, you can assign what's left to a "savings expense." This method ensures that you have a plan for each dollarand won't make impulse purchases.

Envelope Budget

In the envelope budget, you put specific amounts of your money into envelopes (physically with cash, or electronically with an app or spreadsheet) representing different budget categories. Once you have exhausted the funds in an envelope, you can no longer spend within that budget category until the next month. If you have remaining funds at the end of the month, you have a few options:

  • Roll over the remaining funds into the same envelopethe next month

  • Transfer the remaining funds for a different envelope

  • Put the remaining funds into savings for a later date

Popular Budgeting Strategies (2024)

FAQs

What is the most popular budget method? ›

In the 50/20/30 budget, 50% of your net income should go to your needs, 20% should go to savings, and 30% should go to your wants. If you've read the Essentials of Budgeting, you're already familiar with the idea of wants and needs. This budget recommends a specific balance for your spending on wants and needs.

What are the 7 types of budgeting? ›

The 7 different types of budgeting used by companies are strategic plan budget, cash budget, master budget, labor budget, capital budget, financial budget, operating budget. You can read about the Union Budget 2021-22 Summary in the given link.

What is the 50 20 30 method? ›

One of the most common types of percentage-based budgets is the 50/30/20 rule. The idea is to divide your income into three categories, spending 50% on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings.

What is the #1 rule of budgeting? ›

Those will become part of your budget. The 50-30-20 rule recommends putting 50% of your money toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings. The savings category also includes money you will need to realize your future goals. Let's take a closer look at each category.

What is the most common budget format? ›

The line-item budget, which is the most widely used of all budgeting systems, offers many advantages. It is comparatively easy to prepare and doesn't require sophisticated financial skills.

What is the simplest budgeting method? ›

Basic Budgeting Method #1: The Classic Budget

Listing out your expenses, line by line, is a tried-and-true budgeting strategy. Get started by listing all of your monthly expenses in rows. This includes the needs (your rent or mortgage payments, car payments and insurance, cell phone bill, groceries, etc.)

What are the three styles of budgeting? ›

There are three types of government budgets: balanced, surplus, and deficit. A balanced budget ensures economic stability and prevents imprudent expenditures, but it is not suitable for times of economic depression or deflation.

What is the modern budgeting process? ›

It involves reviewing past budgets, identifying and forecasting revenue for the coming period, and assigning amounts to spend on a company's various costs. When done well, the process involves input from senior management, your finance team, and budget managers across the organization.

How to budget $5000 a month? ›

Consider an individual who takes home $5,000 a month. Applying the 50/30/20 rule would give them a monthly budget of: 50% for mandatory expenses = $2,500. 20% to savings and debt repayment = $1,000.

How does envelope budgeting work? ›

The concept is simple: Take a few envelopes, write a specific expense category on each one — like groceries, rent or student loans — and then put the money you plan to spend on those things into the envelopes. Traditionally, people have used the envelope system on a monthly basis, using actual cash and envelopes.

What is the 20 savings rule? ›

Key Takeaways. The 50/30/20 budget rule states that you should spend up to 50% of your after-tax income on needs and obligations that you must have or must do. The remaining half should be split between savings and debt repayment (20%) and everything else that you might want (30%).

What is a good budgeting strategy? ›

We recommend the popular 50/30/20 budget to maximize your money. In it, you spend roughly 50% of your after-tax dollars on necessities, including debt minimum payments. No more than 30% goes to wants, and at least 20% goes to savings and additional debt payments beyond minimums.

What are the 4 walls of budgeting? ›

Simply put, the Four Walls are the most basic expenses you need to cover to keep your family going: That's food, utilities, shelter and transportation.

What are the 5 basics to any budget? ›

What Are the 5 Basic Elements of a Budget?
  • Income. The first place that you should start when thinking about your budget is your income. ...
  • Fixed Expenses. ...
  • Debt. ...
  • Flexible and Unplanned Expenses. ...
  • Savings.

What is the most popular budget? ›

We recommend the popular 50/30/20 budget to maximize your money. In it, you spend roughly 50% of your after-tax dollars on necessities, including debt minimum payments. No more than 30% goes to wants, and at least 20% goes to savings and additional debt payments beyond minimums. We like the simplicity of this plan.

Which budget approach is most favorable? ›

Participatory Budgeting approach is most favorable to obtain employee support. Favorable Budgeting Approach to obtain employee support: Participatory Budgeting Approach is also known as Bottom-Up Budgeting Approach.

What is the most realistic budget? ›

That rule suggests you should spend 50% of your after-tax pay on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings and paying off debt. While this may work for some, it's often better to start with a more detailed categorizing of expenses to get a better handle on your spending.

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