7/4/2023 0 Comments You need a budget referral![]() ![]() Save whatever you can - $10, $20 a month. Maybe $100 a month or 20% of your income sounds a little steep right now. And, if you keep money in there and really try hard not to tap into it, you will be surprised at how it grows, thanks to something called compound interest. Generally, that means you start by putting the 20% away in a savings account like a high-yield savings account (right now, the top accounts are earning 4% to 5% interest, according to Bankrate) with the aim of not touching it unless you absolutely need it for an emergency expense. That means 50% of your income goes to your basic living expenses, 30% goes to discretionary/fun stuff and the other 20% goes into savings or investments. One popular formula for budgeting that Francis recommends is the 50-30-20 rule. Satisfying or stressful? Seems like a no-brainer. We also spend a lot of time stressing about money and how we don't have any (I see you, broke college student) but if you take a few minutes - say, the time it takes to watch a few TikTok videos - to set up your budget and learn a little bit about money, you can alleviate all that stress and instead, watch your money grow, which is very satisfying. I'm going to guess that most of us spend more time complaining about money than it would actually take to set up a budget to get more money. ![]() It's pretty easy - and it doesn't have to take a long time. Setting up a budget isn't as hard or cumbersome as you think. You don't think about these things because generally it was your parents' responsibility to handle the budget and cover emergency expenses but now - that's on you. Whether you have a part-time job in college and are getting a regular paycheck, or you're living off of a lump sum from financial aid, loans, gifts from birthdays or money you saved up from that summer job - you have money and you have to make sure it covers your living expenses, plus leaving a little padding for unexpected expenses like a flat tire, a busted laptop or an unexpected trip home for a family emergency. That's actually when you need a budget the most - so you can start building solid financial habits that will set you up for the rest of your life.
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