Budgeting is the act of putting together a budget, which is an estimate of your revenue and expected expenses for a given time period. Savings refers to the money left over after your expenses are subtracted from your revenue, also within a specific time period. By creating a budget, you may be able to locate and cut any unnecessary expenditures, thereby increasing your savings.

By keeping tabs on your expenses and giving yourself a plan to follow, budgeting makes it easier to meet your financial goals. Savings, meanwhile, are important because living paycheck to paycheck isn’t viable in the long-term. If you are unable to accumulate savings, you could be in serious financial trouble in the event of an unexpected expense, such as a large medical bill.

The first step to budgeting is determining your net income (i.e., your total salary minus taxes and employer-provided programs) for a given time period. The next step is to figure out your fixed and variable expenses for the same period of time. You can then either decide how to utilize any surplus funds or find ways to reduce your expenses if they exceed your income. There are several budgeting plans available that can help you allocate an appropriate amount of money to each type of expense.

The 50/30/20 rule is a budgeting technique that was created by Senator Elizabeth Warren. The idea is that people will be able to more easily achieve greater financial stability by dividing specific shares of their spending between distinct categories. The three categories of the 50/30/20 rule are: 50% allocated to needs (i.e., rent, healthcare, etc.), 30% to wants (i.e., travel, entertainment, etc.), and 20% toward savings/debt (i.e., retirement, student loan payments, etc.).