<prompt> Human: I forget who exactly thought of it, but the concept is splitting your income 503020. 50 for needs, 30 for wants, 20 for debts then savings. I was thinking about putting 7 of my income into retirementsavings and then starting my 503020. What does rpersonalfinance think?  <response>: Its a good rule of thumb. The conversation breaks into debate around what gets classified as a need and what is a want. Modifications to the rule come based on your personal situation and goals. How old are you? How much debt do you have? Do you want to retire early? Do you want to go on an extended vacation? Do you want to have fourteen kids? Do you want to support a stay-at-home spouse and child critters? These have an effect. 