Grant Cardone Swears by the 40/40/20 Rule: ‘I Guarantee You’ll Create Wealth for Yourself’ (2025)

Gabrielle Olya

·3 min read

You may be familiar with the 50/30/20 rule, the classic budgeting rule that mandates that you should spend 50% of your income on needs, 30% on wants and put 20% into savings. But Grant Cardone, author of the upcoming book “The Wealth Creation Formula,” suggests an alternative ratio that’s better suited to building wealth.

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Here’s why Cardone swears by the 40/40/20 rule.

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What Is Grant Cardone’s 40/40/20 Rule?

Cardone’s 40/40/20 rule is part of his overall wealth creation formula, which says that you should earn as much income as possible and save as much of that income as possible until you can afford to invest in income-producing assets. Then, use profits from those assets to invest in more income-producing assets to scale your wealth.

The 40/40/20 rule comes in during the saving phase of his wealth creation formula. Cardone says that from your gross income, 40% should be set aside for taxes, 40% should be saved, and you should live off of the remaining 20%.

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Why the 40/40/20 Rule Works

Cardone said that the 40/40/20 rule has a proven track record of success.

“If you would save 40% of your gross revenue and use that to invest — not to live — I guarantee you’ll create wealth for yourself,” Cardone told GOBankingRates. “You can go back to 1929 and study wealthy families who were investing 40% of their gross income.”

Living off just 20% of your gross income will prevent you from frivolous spending, particularly when you start earning a larger salary and are prone to “lifestyle creep.”

“It ensures that you’re not spending money prematurely, that you’re not spending money on things before you should be,” Cardone said. “You’re not going to go buy the Gucci loafers because you don’t have any money. But you will have investments.”

This rule may seem hard to stick to, especially if you are not earning a high salary.

“A lot of people are going to say, ‘That’s going to be impossible. I make $4,000 a month. You’re telling me to take $1,600 a month off the top and use that for investments?’ Yes, that’s what I’m telling you,” Cardone said. “You’ve got to live off the remainder. You’ve got to live off 20%.”

Because this will be difficult, it will incentivize you to earn more, Cardone said.

“What are you forced to do when you don’t have enough money? You’ve got to earn more money,” he said. “This is what forces somebody’s income to go up. It will force you to find creative ways to get more income.”

Even if you do only set aside $1,600 per month, this will still add up over time.

“By the end of the first year, you would have over $19,000 in an investment account. In 10 years, they would have $190,000 if their income didn’t go up — but their income would have to go up, because you can’t live on $2,400 a month,” Cardone said. “Everybody can do this.”

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Grant Cardone Swears by the 40/40/20 Rule: ‘I Guarantee You’ll Create Wealth for Yourself’

Grant Cardone Swears by the 40/40/20 Rule: ‘I Guarantee You’ll Create Wealth for Yourself’ (2025)

FAQs

Grant Cardone Swears by the 40/40/20 Rule: ‘I Guarantee You’ll Create Wealth for Yourself’? ›

The 40/40/20 rule comes in during the saving phase of his wealth creation formula. Cardone says that from your gross income, 40% should be set aside for taxes, 40% should be saved, and you should live off of the remaining 20%.

What is the 20 20 40 rule? ›

The three elements are audience, offer, and “other elements.” In order of importance, you should focus 40% on your audience, 20% on your offer, and 20% on other elements.

What is the 10 20 30 rule in finance? ›

30% should go towards discretionary spending (such as dining out, entertainment, and shopping) - Hubble Money App is just for this. 20% should go towards savings or paying off debt. 10% should go towards charitable giving or other financial goals.

What is the rule of wealth creation? ›

While get-rich-quick schemes sometimes may be enticing, the tried-and-true way to build wealth is through regular saving and investing—and patiently allowing that money to grow over time. It's fine to start small. The important thing is to start and to start early. Earn money and then save and invest it smartly.

What did Grant Cardone do to make money? ›

After years of working in sales and gaining valuable experience, he decided to leap into real estate investing. In the late 1990s, Cardone purchased his first property, a single-family home in Houston, Texas. This initial investment ignited his passion for real estate and opened doors to more significant opportunities.

What is the 40 40 20 rule money? ›

The 40/40/20 rule comes in during the saving phase of his wealth creation formula. Cardone says that from your gross income, 40% should be set aside for taxes, 40% should be saved, and you should live off of the remaining 20%.

What is the 40 40 20 rule explanation? ›

The rule purports that 40% of direct mail success is attributed to the mailing list, 40% from the offer and the remaining 20% from the format, design and copy of the mail piece. Historically, marketers could only build target audiences using a few data attributes and create a single offer to all of them.

What is the 70 20 10 rule for personal finance? ›

The 70-20-10 budget formula divides your after-tax income into three buckets: 70% for living expenses, 20% for savings and debt, and 10% for additional savings and donations. By allocating your available income into these three distinct categories, you can better manage your money on a daily basis.

What is the 50 30 20 rule for saving money? ›

The 50-30-20 rule recommends putting 50% of your money toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings.

What is the 50 30 20 rule for debt? ›

Key Takeaways. The 50/30/20 budget rule states that you should spend up to 50% of your after-tax income on needs and obligations that you must have or must do. The remaining half should be split between savings and debt repayment (20%) and everything else that you might want (30%).

How can I build my wealth fast? ›

8 Steps to Help You Build Wealth
  1. Start by making a plan.
  2. Make a budget and stick to it.
  3. Build your emergency fund.
  4. Automate your financial life.
  5. Manage your debt.
  6. Max out your retirement savings.
  7. Stay diversified.
  8. Up your earnings.
Jul 18, 2023

What is the golden rule to create more wealth? ›

Saving is the foundation of wealth creation. To build wealth, you need to save aggressively. Aim to save at least 10% of your income, and more if you can. Cut unnecessary expenses, and redirect that money towards your savings.

What is the controversy with Cardone Capital? ›

His brother, Gary Cardone – who gave Grant money to launch his real estate empire – recently reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and the state of Florida over claims he and his wife misled investors and helped credit card scammers escape fraud alerts.

Did Grant Cardone really build a 5 million dollar business in 90 days? ›

While quotes may live forever online, that was merely one moment of weakness in his insane 90-day sprint. In the end, Cardone built a business worth over $5 million dollars in 90 days and he never even spent the $100 dollars he had in his pocket.

At what age did Grant Cardone become a millionaire? ›

He began using his earnings to invest in real estate and by the 30 he was a millionaire.

What is the 50 30 20 rule in your financial plan? ›

Here, 50 per cent of your income should go towards living expenses (needs), like household expenses, groceries; 20 per cent (savings) towards savings for your short, medium, long-term goals; and 30 per cent towards spending (wants), including outings, food and travel.

How does the 50 30 20 rule allocates for income? ›

Those will become part of your budget. The 50-30-20 rule recommends putting 50% of your money toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings. The savings category also includes money you will need to realize your future goals. Let's take a closer look at each category.

How effective is the 20-20-20 rule? ›

In other words, the 20-20-20 rule works. While many doctors suggest the 20-20-20 rule is a best line of defense, researchers explain that any break from repetitive computer work or screens is beneficial. They also explain that children don't typically notice eye strain as much as adults.

What does the 20-20-20 rule suggest? ›

The 20-20-20 rule

The concept is simple: Every 20 minutes, look up from your screen and focus on an item approximately 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. Focusing on an item in the distance allows our eye muscles to relax after being subjected to prolonged screen time.

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