Our 50/30/20 Budget Rule Calculator at Money Fit provides you with an uncomplicated way to organize your personal and household budget each month. The recommended percentage allocations can be adjusted to best suit your unique financial circumstances and objectives.
The 50/30/20 budget rule, a practical and efficient method of financial planning, has been a reliable guide since its popularization by Elizabeth Warren in her book, “All Your Worth”. This approach divides 100% of your after-tax income into three distinct categories:
Living on just half of your income might seem like a daunting task. However, when we consider how much we often overspend, it starts to seem more achievable. The 50% for Essential Expenses covers items like housing, food, transport, insurance, healthcare, and clothing. The 30% for Personal Desires allows for dining out, entertainment, discretionary shopping, and cable/satellite TV. The final 20% is allocated to Savings, split into short-term savings (vacations, holidays, car repair and replacement, furniture, appliances, etc.) and long-term investments (retirement, education).
Video Guide: Gain Control of Your Finances with the 50/30/20 Rule
Now that you're familiar with the 50/30/20 budget rule and how it can simplify your financial planning, we encourage you to watch the following informative video. Presented by our Education Manager and personal finance expert, Todd Christensen, the video provides a comprehensive understanding of the 50/30/20 Rule and highlights how effectively implementing it could help you gain better control of your finances. Whether you're starting your journey toward financial independence or looking to streamline your existing budget, this video serves as a practical guide for everyone.
Find important answers, advice, and analysis to a wide range of personal finance topics in our Money Motivations blog.
Find important answers, advice, and analysis to a wide range of personal finance topics in our Money Motivations blog.
NOTE: This sheet is to inform new or returning clients about our services, records, fees, and limitations that may affect you as a consumer of our services. This form also discloses how we might release your information to other agencies and/or regulators. If you do not understand a statement, please ask a Debt Reduction Services (DRS) counselor for assistance.
Debt Reduction Services, Inc. (DRS) has put into place policies and procedures to protect the security and confidentiality of your nonpublic personal information. This notice explains our online information practices and how we use and maintain your information to conduct our financial education and credit counseling sessions and to fulfill information and question requests. This privacy policy complies with federal laws and regulations.
To provide our financial education and credit counseling services, we collect nonpublic personal information about you as follows: 1) Information we receive from you, 2) Information about your transactions with us or others, and 3) Information we receive from your creditors or a consumer reporting agency. We do not share this information with outside parties.
We use non-identifying and aggregate information to better design our website and services, but we do not disclose anything that could be used to identify you as an individual.
You hereby authorize DRS, when necessary, to share your nonpublic personal, financial, credit, and any information that you provided (including any computations and assessments produced) with the following entities in order to help DRS provide you with appropriate counseling or guide you to appropriate services: third parties such as government agencies, your lender(s), your creditor(s), and nonprofit housing-related and other financial agencies as permitted by law, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online. We limit access to your nonpublic personal information to our employees, contractors and agents who need such access to provide products or services to you or for other legitimate business purposes.
Debt Reduction Services, Inc. complies with the privacy requirements set forth in the HUD housing counseling agency handbook 7610.1 (05/2010), including the sections 2-2 Mc, 3-1 H(2), 3-3, 5-3 F, and Attachment A.5. At all times, we will comply with all additional laws and regulations to which we are subject regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of individually identifiable information.
Please refer to DebtReductionServices.org for details of our services.
You acknowledge that this authorization will remain in effect for the duration of time that DRS serves as your housing counselor or financial education provider. You also acknowledge that should you wish to terminate this authorization, you will notify DRS in writing.
Homebuyer Education Course: $59 per participant
Rental, Fair Housing, Predatory Lending / HOEPA, Post-Purchase (Non-delinquency post-purchase workshop, including home maintenance and/or financial management for homeowners) Online Workshops: $49 per participant
Other Self-Guided Financial Literacy Webinars (e.g. credit, budgeting, homeless prevention, debt prevention): $0
Pre-purchase Homebuying Counseling, Rental Counseling, Post-purchase Ownership Maintenance and Financial Management: $75
Reverse Mortgage/HECM Counseling with Required Certificate:
Credit Report Fee: Paid Directly by Client
*Fees for all but our online education courses and workshops can be paid online by debit card, credit card, or PayPal or in person by cash, check or money order to: “Debt Reduction Services, Inc.” Registration fees are non-refundable 24 hours or less before the start of an in-person course or workshop. Certificates are non-transferable
*Fees may be waived for households with income of 150% or less of that identified on the US Department of Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines Page
†Home visit counseling is available in 30 southern Idaho counties for potential HECM borrowers at additional costs to cover our travel (IRS reimbursement rates apply) and staff time ($50 per hour or fraction there).
Homebuyer Education Course: $59 per participant
Rental, Fair Housing, Predatory Lending / HOEPA, Post-Purchase (Non-delinquency post-purchase workshop, including home maintenance and/or financial management for homeowners) Online Workshops: $49 per participant
Other Self-Guided Financial Literacy Webinars (e.g. credit, budgeting, homeless prevention, debt prevention): $0
Pre-purchase Homebuying Counseling, Rental Counseling, Post-purchase Ownership Maintenance and Financial Management: $75
Reverse Mortgage/HECM Counseling with Required Certificate:
Credit Report Fee: Paid Directly by Client
*Fees for all but our online education courses and workshops can be paid online by debit card, credit card, or PayPal or in person by cash, check or money order to: “Debt Reduction Services, Inc.” Registration fees are non-refundable 24 hours or less before the start of an in-person course or workshop. Certificates are non-transferable
*Fees may be waived for households with income of 150% or less of that identified on the US Department of Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines Page
†Home visit counseling is available in 30 southern Idaho counties for potential HECM borrowers at additional costs to cover our travel (IRS reimbursement rates apply) and staff time ($50 per hour or fraction there).
