How much should you spend on rent? One popular guideline is the 30% rent rule, which says to spend around 30% of your gross income on rent. So if you earn $4,000 per month before taxes, you could spend up to about $1,200 per month on rent. This is a solid guideline, but it's not one-size-fits-all advice.
One rule of thumb involves dividing your pretax earnings by 40. This means that if you make $100,000 a year, you should be able to afford $2,500 per month in rent. Another rule of thumb is the 30% rule. If you take 30% of $100,000, you will get $30,000.
The 30% rule advises consumers spend no more than 30% of their monthly income on their mortgage or rent payments, leaving wiggle room in case of unexpected expenses, job loss, family planning, and other goals.
Is 30% of your income too much to spend on rent? Yes. You should spend no more than 25% of your monthly take-home pay on rent. Spending 30% or more will mean not having enough room left over in your budget to put toward other important financial goals like saving for a down payment on a home.
If you make $50,000 a year, you can afford to spend $1,250 a month on rent. If you make $75,000 a year, you can afford to spend $1,875 a month on rent. If you make $100,000 a year, you can afford to spend $2,500 a month on rent.
They believe you should spend no more than 30% of your gross monthly income on your mortgage payment, have at least 30% of the value of your home saved up in liquid or semi-liquid accounts, and look for houses no more than 3x your annual household income.
For example, if you're making $20 an hour, assuming you work a standard 40-hour workweek, your monthly income is $3,200. Based on the 50% needs category, you should aim to spend no more than 30% of yours income on rent, which comes out to $960 per month.
The 50-30-20 rule involves splitting your after-tax income into three categories of spending: 50% goes to needs, 30% goes to wants, and 20% goes to savings.
The chart below shows what monthly housing expenses would be for a homebuyer, based on the 30% rule. Keep in mind that in addition to mortgage payments, monthly housing expenses also include property taxes, homeowners insurance, private mortgage insurance, and any homeowners association fees.
Need a quick and easy look into how much rent you can afford? Here's an idea of the ideal rent for various salaries, based on the 30% rule. On a $30,000 a year salary, your ideal rent price is $750. On a $40,000 a year salary, your ideal rent price is $1,000.
Generally speaking, $100,000 is a good six-figure salary for a single person. Before taxes, $100,00 works out to roughly $8,333 per month. Whether that's enough for you depends largely on where you live. Savings, property ownership, and discretionary funds may be achievable in an area with a low cost of living.
The 30% Rule
If you're a renter, this includes your rent plus any utility costs, such as heat, water, and electricity. If you're a homeowner, your housing expenses include your mortgage principal and interest, property taxes, homeowners' insurance, any HOA fees, and utilities.
The standard advice is that you should set aside about 30% of your gross income for rent. So if you make $60,000 a year, your rent should not exceed $1,500. While this might be plenty for an individual living in a low-cost area, it doesn't work for a family in a pricey neighborhood.
Say you're making $30,000 per year and have no household debt. According to the 30% Rule, you would be able to spend $750 per month on rent, which would leave roughly $1,300 a month for savings and expenses (or $325 per week, or $46 per day) after taxes.
The seven percent savings rule provides a simple yet powerful guideline—save seven percent of your gross income before any taxes or other deductions come out of your paycheck. Saving at this level can help you make continuous progress towards your financial goals through the inevitable ups and downs of life.
One simple rule of thumb I tend to adopt is going by the 4-3-2-1 ratios to budgeting. This ratio allocates 40% of your income towards expenses, 30% towards housing, 20% towards savings and investments and 10% towards insurance.
As a general rule of thumb, financial experts recommend having 10x your salary saved to live comfortably in retirement.
If you make $23 an hour, your yearly salary would be $47,840.
40x Rent Rule
To find maximum rent using this rule, divide the household's annual gross income by 40. For example, a household that earns $80,000 per year can afford a maximum monthly rent of $2,000 (80,000 ÷ 40 = 2,000).
The house you can afford on a $70,000 income will likely be between $290,000 to $360,000. However, your home-buying budget depends on quite a few financial factors — not just your salary.
Real estate's 80/20 Rule refers to the LTV ratio, a primary element of all lenders' Risk Management. A mortgage loan's initial Loan-To-Value (LTV) ratio represents the relationship between the buyer's down payment and the property's value (20% down = 80% LTV).
That plan is called the 30-30-30 rule. It's a simple but catchy idea that encourages you to eat 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up and then get 30 minutes of low-intensity exercise. The 30-30-30 rule now has millions of followers on TikTok.