Needs are housing, basic food, utilities, insurance, minimum debt payments, and getting to work. Wants are restaurants, hobbies, nicer grocery brands, and most streaming. Savings is cash buffer, investing, and extra debt principal. Arguments happen when a want disguises itself as a need (the new phone "for work"). Write the list once, then stop negotiating every receipt.
How to break the rule on purpose
- High rent city: try 60/20/20 for six months, then review.
- Debt payoff season: 50/20/30 with the extra 10 going to principal.
- Irregular income: apply the split to the fake salary, not to each invoice.
- Never fund wants by emptying the savings bucket "just this month" three months in a row.
Use the interactive template to test a different income. If needs refuse to fit, the problem is the housing line or the city, not your willpower. Combine with the France salary guide or the freelance guide depending on how money arrives.
Build this budget in Saveet
Use these categories as a starting point, then create your own budget in the app and track spending from your phone.
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