I agree with the rule for take-home pay. I just put all needs in the 50%, including monthly money set aside for medical expenses, car maintenance, etc., not the 50% for fixed expenses or however they describe it. I actually make a personal goal of flipping the 20% and 30% since we're DINKs, though with median, not high, incomes. So we save 30% of take-home and spend 20% on all wants. My rationale is that we will have kids in a few years, and at that point will aim for the 50/20/30 rule, and until then should save 30%. Of course our situation will change over time, and maybe we'll be saving 40% of take-home with kids, we will not needlessly increase spending just to meet an arbitrary guideline. But 50% for needs is a really good rule of thumb for us; we're hovering around 48% right now on a monthly basis, which is a bit lower than that on an annual basis. I think this functions as a good way to check in on if our finances are "balanced" at the most basic saving/spending level.