<prompt> Human: For the past year or so Ive been feeling like Im living paycheck to paycheck, a feeling I want to ditch. So, Ive begun tracking my spending and have been for the past 3-4 months. At first I was just seeing where my money was going, then somewhere I learned of the 502030 rule of thumb: No more than 50 of monthly income should go to monthly recurring bills rent, phone, Internet, etc, 20 of income to savings, and 30 of income to other expenses entertainment, etc.Ive been tracking with respect to this and my monthly bills are right at 50, but what about food and gas? They arent explicitly monthly bills, but I gotta eat and I gotta use my car. If I include it in the 50 category, then I jump from 50 to 70. If I include it with other expenses, that bumps up to 35So my questions are: Where should I apply food and gas? Is the 502030 plan a sound plan to follow? What else should I be doing?Thanks for any advice you can share.  <response>: The 502030 guideline is just that - a guideline. Monthly food and gas expenses are certainly recurring - budget for them on a monthly basis.Is the 502030 plan a sound plan to follow?Frankly Ive never heard of it, but 80 of your income in the spending category seems reasonable for low- and middle-income earners, but is less ideal as you make more. At some point theres no way a reasonable person can spend 80 of their paycheck unless they are really, really trying.Honestly I wouldnt put too much stake in it. Find out what works for you. Cut back as much as you can and save as much as you can. 