Allocation of funds

From the Tuscaloosa News:

“The rule of thumb is 35 percent for housing, 15 percent
for transportation, 15 percent for debt reduction, 25 percent for
miscellaneous and 10 percent for savings,” said Andrew Housser, co-CEO
of Bills.com, a personal finance site geared toward consumer
education.The greatest variable in this mix is housing costs, according
to Sandra Shore, a senior counselor at Novadebt, a non-profit
credit-counseling firm.

Budget Category	Bills.com category
Tithing	Tithing	13.2%
Mortgage 1	Housing	28.9%
Mortgage 2	Housing	5.6%
Line of Credit 1	Debt reduction	1.3%
VISA platinum	Debt reduction	6.4%
Loan #2 (Scooter)	Debt reduction	1.8%
Loan #3 (Car)	Transportation	5.9%
Home Depot	Debt reduction	0.7%
Student Loan	Debt reduction	1.8%
Phone & Internet	Misc	5.4%
Gas (Questar)	Misc	4.7%
Grocery	Misc	7.8%
Power (Rocky Mountain)	Misc	1.9%
Water	Misc	1.1%
Car Insurance	Transportation	1.5%
Sewer	Misc	0.3%
Life Insurance	Misc	1.3%
Allowance	Misc	5.7%
Kid’s Lunch	Misc	0.4%
Miscellaneous	Misc	1.0%
Eyecare	Misc	0.2%
Drugs	Misc	0.2%
Hair Care	Misc	0.4%
Car repair	Misc	0.6%
Gasoline	Transportation	1.2%
Kid’s Clothes	Misc	0.6%

Here’s how it translates:

	My %	Bills.com %	Diff
Housing	35%	35%	0%
Tithing	13%		13%
Debt reduction	12%	15%	-3%
Transportation	9%	15%	-6%
Misc	32%	25%	7%
Savings	0%	10%	-10%

I’m assuming that this is talking about the paycheck net of taxes.
That’s some pretty vague guidance…I plugged the numbers in my own
personal situation. So I know that i’m not doing so well with the
savings, but that’s a conscious decision on my part to reduce debt. But
what’s crazy is that I’m at 9% on my “transportation.” This includes
gas, insurance, and car payment. We only have one car, so I guess that
kind of explains it. Do they expect you to have 2 car payments? Eh. I
guess I wasn’t so impressed with the allocation suggesting.

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