The Money Coach
  • About
    • Meet Lynnette
    • Media Kit
  • Get Help
    • Money Coach University™
    • Books
    • Financial Coaching
    • Speaking
    • The Money Coach Recommends™
  • Contact
  • Building Wealth
  • Investing
  • Credit Scores
  • Student Loans
  • Paying for College
  • Saving Money
  • Real Estate
  • Credit Card Debt
No Result
View All Result
The Money Coach
  • About
    • Meet Lynnette
    • Media Kit
  • Get Help
    • Money Coach University™
    • Books
    • Financial Coaching
    • Speaking
    • The Money Coach Recommends™
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
The Money Coach
No Result
View All Result

Quick Budgeting Tip: Use The 20% Rule to Stick to a Budget

Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, The Money Coach by Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, The Money Coach
in Budgeting
Reading Time: 2 mins read
budgeting- lynnette khalfani-cox
9
SHARES
146
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

In tough economic times, many people want to start budgeting – or better stick to a budget – but they find it hard to do so.

Here’s an easy way to stay on track and maintain a realistic budget: use something I call “The 20% rule.”

In a nutshell, the 20% rule says that whatever the bottom-line number you come up with in terms of your monthly expenses is, add 20% to it in order to get your “true” monthly bills.

So if you add up all your financial obligations – like rent/mortgage, food, utilities, and so on – and then you tell me that your bills are $2,500 a month, I’m automatically thinking they’re really 20% more, or $3,000 monthly.

The reason for this strategy is that many people underestimate their bills.

For example, when most individuals show me their budgets they’ve routinely omitted numerous categories, such as memberships, subscriptions, donations, money spent on gifts, year-round holiday spending, one-time expenses like car registration fees and more.

I’ve never had a single person show me a budget that was 100% complete and that did not leave out a certain category of spending or various expenses that the person accidentally forgot about.

Even if you consider yourself a master budgeter and you’re a whiz at tracking every single expense, another reason the 20% rule is helpful is because the extra 20% allows you to build a cushion in your budget.

I don’t want your budget to be so tight that every penny must be accounted for or your whole budget is thrown out of whack. That’s too restrictive.

If you find that you really didn’t spend that 20% extra, but you did budget for it, simply put the money into your savings or use it to pay down debts.

But do yourself a favor and start using the 20% rule immediately. It really can make a positive difference in your cash flow and in your budgeting efforts.

Tags: 20% rule
Previous Post

FTC Cracks Down on Payday Lenders Big Sky Cash and Western Sky for Illegal Wage Garnishments

Next Post

Here’s How to Fix Your Defaulted Student Loans

Related Articles

Financial Truths
Budgeting

7 Painful Financial Truths You Need to Accept in the Age of Coronavirus

by Guest Blogger
talk to your teens about money
Budgeting

How to Talk to Your Teens About Money During the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Guest Blogger
new budget COVID-19
Budgeting

10 New Budget Items to Add Due to COVID-19

by Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, The Money Coach
prioritize your bills
Budgeting

How to Prioritize Your Bills During COVID-19

by Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, The Money Coach
Saving - Lynnette Khalfani-Cox
Budgeting

COVID-19: Why Saving Should Be Your Top Priority

by Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, The Money Coach
budget mistakes
Budgeting

The Truth About Why Your Budget Keeps Failing

by Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, The Money Coach
Financial goals - AskTheMoneyCoach.com
Budgeting

How to Plan for Future Financial Goals and Juggle Today’s Bills

by Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, The Money Coach
Lynnette Khalfani-Cox
Budgeting

Manage Your Budget and Debt With These Free Tools

by Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, The Money Coach
financial fixes lynnette khalfani-cox
Budgeting

Financial Fixes for 3 Sneaky Summer Expenses

by Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, The Money Coach
Next Post
defaulted student loans

Here’s How to Fix Your Defaulted Student Loans

About

Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, The Money Coach®, is a personal finance expert, speaker, and author of 15 money-management books, including the New York Times bestseller Zero Debt: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Freedom.

Lynnette has been seen on more than 1,000 TV segments nationwide, including television appearances on Oprah, Dr. Phil, The Dr. Oz Show, The Steve Harvey Show, Good Morning America, The TODAY Show and many more.

Quick Links

  • Money Coach University
  • Lynnette's Personal Site
  • The Money Coach Corporate Site
  • Video Portfolio
  • Privacy Policy

All information on this blog is for educational purposes only. Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, The Money Coach, is not a certified financial planner, registered investment adviser, or attorney. If you need specialty financial, investment or legal advice, please consult the appropriate professional. Advertising Disclosure: This site may accept advertising, affiliate payments or other forms of compensation from companies mentioned in articles. This compensation may impact how and where products and companies appear on this site. AskTheMoneyCoach™ and Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, The Money Coach® are trademarks of TheMoneyCoach.net, LLC.

©2009-2022 TheMoneyCoach.net, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Meet Lynnette
  • Money Coach University™
  • Books
  • Financial Coaching
  • Speaking
  • The Money Coach Recommends™
  • Media Kit
  • Contact

©2009-2021 TheMoneyCoach.net, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist