No matter what I do, I'm stressed about money
<div class="user-question">No matter what I try, money is the one thing that brings me so much stress and anxiety in my life. How do I create a plan and actually stick to it?</div>
No matter what you try, money can sometimes feel like the one thing that brings constant stress and anxiety into your life - and if that's you, you're not alone. This was me up until my late 20’s even though I work in finance!
Most of the time it's not actually about the numbers. At least for me, it was about not having a system I could follow.
So every purchase felt like a gamble and every bill felt like a surprise, even when it wasn’t. The anxiety doesn't come from having money or not having enough of it. It comes from uncertainty. And the fix for uncertainty isn't willpower, it's structure.
One of the simplest, most sustainable budgeting systems out there is the 50/30/20 rule.
You've probably heard of the 50/30/20 rule before - 50% to needs, 30% to wants, 20% to savings. It's one of those budgeting frameworks that gets thrown around so much it starts to feel like background noise but I promise you IT WORKS. So if you are looking for an easy way to get started with budgeting, here’s my breakdown with real numbers to make it super easy to follow:
Say you bring home $4,000 a month after taxes. Here's exactly where that money should go:
- 50% goes to Needs = $2,000
This is your survival category. Rent / mortgage, insurance, groceries, utilities, minimum debt payments, gas, anything you genuinely cannot function without.
- 30% goes to Wants = $1,200
This is the category people feel guilty about, when they shouldn't. It's built into the plan on purpose so you can live a life that makes you an actually happy human being, not just an excel sheet. Eating out, subscriptions, shopping, concert tickets, whatever makes your life feel good and not just funded. This summer for me it was my trip to Greece and the new Cult Gia bag!
- 20% goes to Savings = $800
This is the other non-negotiable. Emergency fund, investing, retirement. This is the minimum.
If you follow this 80% of the time I promise you, you will be totally fine!
The value of this framework isn't precision, it's proportion. Roughly half to survive, about a third to enjoy your life, and a real chunk towards future you. Once you see it broken down like this, it stops being an abstract finance concept and starts being a plan you can actually follow.
Plug in your own take-home pay and run the same math. If your needs are eating up more than 50%, that's useful information and you are probably living above your means. Now you have tangible information to work with and you can make intentional changes.
The goal of this isn't to hit the percentages perfectly every single month. It's to give every dollar a job, so money stops feeling like something that just happens to you. The result will be you feeling more and more in control of your finances.
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And - one last note from me - remember to give yourself grace. One “bad” month doesn’t make you “bad” with money. Money is a huge part of adulting but with the right tools and resources, you will start feeling more confident in yourself and in your finances.
Love, Kristina
