The 50/30/20 Rule Is Broken (Here’s What Actually Works)
Everyone’s heard of the 50/30/20 budgeting rule: 50% needs, 30% wants, 20% savings.
It sounds reasonable. Balanced. Responsible.
And it’s completely inadequate for building real wealth.
Why 50/30/20 Fails High Earners
If you’re making $100,000 per year, the 50/30/20 rule tells you to save $20,000 annually.
Sounds good, right? That’s $1,667 per month invested.
But here’s the problem: At that rate, it takes you 50 years to accumulate $5 million at 10% returns.
You’ll be 85 years old before you’re truly wealthy.
Meanwhile, your “needs” are capped at $50,000—which might have made sense in 1985, but in 2025, with housing costs, healthcare, and childcare, that’s nearly impossible in most cities.
The rule was designed for average earners trying to avoid debt—not for ambitious people trying to build generational wealth.
What High Earners Should Do Instead
Here’s a better framework: The 70/15/15 Rule
70% – Live Well: Yes, you read that right. If you’re making $150,000, you can spend $105,000 on your lifestyle and still build massive wealth. This is sustainable. This is realistic.
15% – Automated Investing: This goes to your 401(k), Roth IRA, HSA, and taxable brokerage. It’s automated, so you never see it.
15% – Growth & Opportunities: This is your “build wealth faster” fund. It can go toward:
- Starting a side business
- Real estate down payments
- Professional development
- High-ROI opportunities
At $150,000 income, that’s $22,500 per year in automated investing plus $22,500 in opportunity capital.
Why This Works Better
The 50/30/20 rule assumes scarcity. The 70/15/15 rule assumes abundance.
When you’re not strangling yourself with artificially low spending limits, you actually stick to the plan. You don’t burn out. You don’t rebel and blow $5,000 on a “reward” vacation because you’ve been depriving yourself.
And critically, 15% automated investing is enough to build $3-5 million over 30 years if you’re earning six figures.
The Automation Key
The magic isn’t the percentages—it’s the automation.
That 15% investment allocation hits your retirement accounts before you ever see it. You build your lifestyle around the remaining 85%, not around 100%.
Within three months, you forget that 15% ever existed. But it’s there, compounding quietly in the background.
Scale It With Your Income
As your income grows, keep the ratios:
At $100K: $15,000/year invested
At $150K: $22,500/year invested
At $200K: $30,000/year invested
At $300K: $45,000/year invested
You’re not increasing your savings rate—you’re just letting it scale naturally with your earnings.
By the time you’re making $300K and investing $45,000 annually, you’re on track for $10+ million by retirement.
The Bottom Line
The 50/30/20 rule keeps you safe. The 70/15/15 rule makes you wealthy.
Stop following budgeting advice designed for people trying to avoid debt. Start following a framework designed for people trying to build real wealth.
Automate your 15%. Live well on the rest. Build millions without suffering.
Get the Full automation system at: AutomatedWealthBuilder.com
The First 100K Is The Hardest. Here’s Why.
Why Your 401K Isn’t Enough. And What to Do About It.
The $509,000 Mistake
The Robots Are Coming
If you walked the halls of CES in Las Vegas recently, you probably saw a robot holding a cardboard sign that read “Looking for work.” It was a jarring sight, but it also puts a spotlight on a reality many of us are already feeling: the job market is tightening, and the competition is about to get a lot more mechanical.
The Landscape in Plain English
2025 marked the weakest year of U.S. job growth since the pandemic began, with employment expanding at its slowest pace since 2020. The last time the labor market looked this grim was back in 2009, when the Great Recession set a harsh benchmark for economic downturns. Looking ahead, a 2030 forecast from McKinsey warns that AI‑driven disruption will peak, forcing about 11.8 million American workers to switch occupations. Adding to the unease, a 2025 poll revealed that 71 % of Americans are worried AI will permanently eliminate too many jobs.
Bottom line: Millions of AI‑powered robots are poised to join the workforce over the next decade, and the pressure on human jobs will only intensify.
Why This Isn’t All Bad News
The same AI wave that threatens jobs is also generating one of the biggest investment opportunities of our lifetime. Goldman Sachs estimates that AI could lift global GDP by 7 %—about US 7 trillion—over the next ten years (source: 
When you understand where the money is flowing, you can position yourself ahead of the disruption rather than behind it.
Real‑World Glimpses From CES
- Humanoid poker dealer – a robot shuffling cards with perfect precision.
- Robot boxing match – two machines sparring while a crowd cheered.
- Driver‑less taxi (Zoox) – cruising through Vegas traffic with real passengers.
- Warehouse bots – unloading pallets, stocking shelves, folding laundry, even pouring soft‑serve yogurt.
These scenes aren’t sci‑fi props; they’re the new normal.
How to Turn Displacement Into Advantage
- Identify AI‑Powered Sectors – Look for industries where automation is exploding (logistics, retail, finance).
- Invest Early – Allocate a portion of your portfolio to AI‑focused ETFs or emerging‑tech stocks before they become mainstream.
- Build Passive Income Streams – Leverage digital assets (e.g., crypto, decentralized finance) that operate 24/7 without human labor.
- Create a “wealth‑on‑autopilot” system that cushions you against any future job market shake‑ups.
Why Smart People Stay Broke (And How to Fix It)
You make six figures. You read all the personal finance books. You know you should be investing.
So why is your retirement account still embarrassingly empty?
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: It’s not because you’re lazy or financially illiterate. It’s because you’re fighting against 200,000 years of human evolution.
Your Brain Is Sabotaging You
Neuroscience shows that your brain is wired for immediate gratification, not delayed rewards. When you see money in your checking account, your brain releases dopamine. “Money! Now! Spend!”
The rational part of your brain says “invest for retirement.” But the emotional part says “you deserve that vacation” or “what if the market crashes?”
Guess which part wins? The emotional part. Every single time.
This is why research shows only 3% of people successfully build wealth through willpower alone.
The 97% Solution
But here’s the crazy part: 97% succeed when they use automation instead.
Automation removes you—and your willpower—from the equation entirely.
Here’s how it works: Your paycheck hits your account. Before you even see it, 15% automatically transfers to your investment account. That account automatically buys index funds. Those funds automatically rebalance.
You wake up ten years later and you have $200,000. Twenty years? $750,000. Thirty years? Over $2 million.
The difference isn’t discipline. It’s systems.
The Math
Let me show you concrete numbers: $1,000 per month, invested automatically at 10% average returns over 30 years becomes $2.17 million.
That same $1,000 saved in a checking account? $360,000.
The difference—$1.8 million—is compound interest doing the work while you’re living your life. But only if the system is running automatically.
Think About Your Bills
You don’t rely on willpower to pay your rent or your phone bill. Those are automated. You set them up once, and they happen whether you’re thinking about them or not.
Wealth-building works the same way.
The people building seven-figure portfolios aren’t more disciplined than you. They’re not smarter. They just set up a system once and let it run.
The 30-Day Challenge
What if you could set up your entire wealth-building system in 30 days—and never think about it again?
That’s exactly what automation makes possible. No daily decisions. No constant monitoring. Just steady, predictable wealth accumulation happening in the background.
Stop fighting your brain. Start automating your wealth.
Get the Complete 30-day roadmap HERE.
Wealth on Autopilot 