The 10-70-20 Rule – The David Adesina

There was a time when my monthly allowance was a constant: Between the 29^th day of the previous month and the 5^th day of the new month, my allowance was in my bank account. Daddy would send his bulk, mummy would send her chunk. I was constantly balling in my room with loads of stuffs and the thought of saving up never crossed my mind, not even once. I didn’t even mention the numerous Uncles and Aunts I could call that always had my back when I was broke, coming to the rescue before Mum & Dad came through at the next pay day. My list was so full, my sister used to beg me to share her names when she was broke and in need of some money assistance.

But anyways, shit happened along the way and money stopped coming in frequently. As a matter of fact, recession got the better of many of my benefactors and phone calls that used to end with “send me your account number” now ends with “I’ll talk with you later” or “Greet mummy and your siblings for me o!” more often than not. I guess I learnt the hard way that not all roads are smooth and tarred, and not all days will be sunny and dry.

Sometimes last month in church, my Pastor, Rev. (Prof.) Greg Erhabor spoke about how we spend all we have and leave ourselves blank and out in the cold. It was where I first caught the drill about the 10-70-20 rule:

• 10% of your income goes to God as Tithes- Let’s not get it twisted with the whole bullshit about using our tithes to drink wine. Even though it’s in my bible somewhere, I believe that my tithe is meant to be used in the house of God and that’s where I’m gonna send them to.
• 70% of your income is for you to spend on yourself. There’s not much to say about this one as we all have different things we spend our personal monies on that makes our lives as comfortable as we desire and keeps us in shape and going for the next pay.
• The last 20% of your income (which is the main reason for this post) should be earmarked for savings. I never really saw the point of making savings until I came face to face with my first financial turbulence middle of this year. I never had a saving of any sort, but if I had, it’ll have come in handy to liberate me at that moment. Anyways, the essence and importance of savings cannot be overestimated or underplayed. Having a saving habit keeps you from blowing all your income and giving you a lifeline in times of dire need.

In October, a new Nigerian brand, COWRYWISE, was in Ife to display at an event in my department, Economics. In my usual fashion, I connected with the brand, the staff and made sure to learn something about them. What did I come up with: CowryWise is a savings platform that helps you automate your savings in the fashion and manner you like it. They give you several benefits for saving and help you store useful cash away for important occasions and events. The list of the benefits are endless, but I believe it is something worth trying out.

In any case, whether you are a secondary school student, a university undergraduate, a corper, a worker, a business person, a civil servant, a hustler, anything! The 10-70-20 Rule is not exclusive to you at all; and CowryWise will always be ready to help you make that 20% worth it’s’ while.