Budgeting With The 10-10-80 Plan

(ZIZ News) — For this year’s Financial Information Month, members of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) are thinking about implementing what they are calling a 10-10-80 Budget.

The 10-10-80 Budget is built on the premise that an individual requires no more than 80 percent of his/her earnings, to live comfortably.

According to officials, 80 percent of a person’s paycheck is set aside for food, utilities, rent, clothing and other necessities while 10 percent goes to a charitable cause and the other 10 percent goes into a savings or investment account for the future.

Dawn French, Permanent Secretary in St. Lucia’s Office of the Prime Minister, said regardless of how much money a person makes, he/she will still say they are financially strained.

“Because the tendency is the more money you have is the more stuff you find to do with it. And so, we’re always in the cycle of we’re always broke. Whether we’re making $5 a month, or $50,000 or $50 million, we’re always broke. So with the 10-10-80 it’s just a framework to get people to understand that we need to save money and regard money as a tool,” she said.

Last week at the ECCB Headquarters here in St. Kitts, the ECCU launched the Financial Information Month’s official song dubbed “Time To Lead”, the theme: L.E.A.D. (Learn, Empower, Achieve Develop), and a music video done by Vincentian, Oronde ‘Bomani’ Charles.