Work hard, play hard! Use your salary wisely. But, how? (Image via: RinggitPlus)

How to Manage Your Salary? 50/30/20!

Tired of overspending your salary? Worry not, it is a problem shared by most of the employees. We got our salary and without we realize, our salary vanishes into thin air. In exchange, pointless things pile up.

However, rest assured! We are here to instruct you how to manage your salary from 100% accordingly, following the tips shared by Elizabeth Warren, the U.S Senator from Massachusetts and one of Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the World. Mrs. Warren calls it a “50/30/20” strategy. Here’s how it works. Before starting, employees need to calculate their salary after tax (state, local, medical, social security, and so on).

After you have calculated the tax, here is the 50% part. 50% of your salary should be reserved for your daily needs such as groceries, several payments or installments, housing, and more. Be careful, the total value of your needs must not exceed 50% of your salary. Therefore, this is also an additional lesson for all the employees out there to differ between “needs” and “wants”.

Since we were talking about “needs” and “wants”, surely everyone has their to-buy list, right? We understand. Therefore, limit your “wants” to 30%. Do you want to buy accessories? Go to the salon? Go on vacation? Buy miscellaneous? Or, fulfill your hobby? Of course, you can. But, make sure that it does not cross the 30% percentage.

This is the tricky part. Most of the time, they lose count on which is “want” and “need”. For instance, the internet can be considered “want”, but as time passes by, it has become “need”.

The last percentage is 20%. We reserve 20% of our salary into our savings or to repay debts. Always reserve your salary for emergencies and make a retirement account for your future selves. Or, you can save the money for your future such as going abroad for study or making your own business. Make this 20% count.

In brief, the first 2 points emphasize on 1 thing: the difference between “wants” and “needs”. It is not easy to differentiate between these 2. However, many people seem to lose control of themselves once they see “Sales!” or “Discounts!”. In the end, it all comes back to one simple phrase, “Self-Control”.

As a piece of advice, always pay careful attention to the amount of your salary and its percentage, and you will never find yourselves lacking.

Source: https://www.thebalance.com/the-50-30-20-rule-of-thumb-453922