What do you do with discretionary income?

Category: personal finance home financing
4.9/5 (72 Views . 9 Votes)
Discretionary income is the amount of an individual's income that is left for spending, investing, or saving after paying taxes and paying for personal necessities, such as food, shelter, and clothing. Discretionary income includes money spent on luxury items, vacations, and nonessential goods and services.



Beside this, how do you spend discretionary income?

Discretionary Income: 5 Smart Ways to Spend It

  1. Pay Off Debt. This is probably the least fun way to spend discretionary income because you won't have anything tangible to show for it.
  2. Meet With a Fee-Only Financial Planner.
  3. Open a 529 Plan for Your Child.
  4. Invest in Your Home.
  5. Take a Vacation.

Secondly, what kinds of products are purchased with discretionary income? Entertainment products and experiences are commonly included in discretionary spending plans. Theme parks, dining out, arcades and video games are common family-related discretionary purchases. In other instances, family members spend money on personal recreation and leisure activities.

Also Know, what is discretionary income answers?

Discretionary Income. On the other hand, discretionary income is the amount of income a household or individual has to invest, save, or spend after taxes and necessities are paid. The individual has transportation, rent, insurance, food, and clothing expenses totaling $35,000 a year. His discretionary income is $30,000

What is an example of disposable income?

disposable income. noun. Disposable income is defined as money that a person has left over to spend as he wishes after all of his required expenses have been paid. An example of disposable income is the $100 left in your checking account once all of your bills have been paid.

36 Related Question Answers Found

What is a good amount of discretionary income?

Many experts say your necessities—rent or mortgage payment, food, taxes—should account for only 50 percent of your budget, while discretionary spending should account for 30 percent or less. The remaining 20 percent should be used for other financial goals, such as paying off debt, saving, or investing.

What is your discretionary income?

Discretionary income is the amount of an individual's income that is left for spending, investing, or saving after paying taxes and paying for personal necessities, such as food, shelter, and clothing. Discretionary income includes money spent on luxury items, vacations, and nonessential goods and services.

How much money should you have left over each month?

How much should you save every month? Many sources recommend saving 20 percent of your income every month. According to the popular 50/30/20 rule, you should reserve 50 percent of your budget for essentials like rent and food, 30 percent for discretionary spending, and at least 20 percent for savings.

What are discretionary items in a budget?

Create a Budget for Non-Essential Spending
While rent, mortgage payments, and groceries are necessary, discretionary expenses are those you incur voluntarily such as dining out or cable television. Your discretionary spending budget is only as big as the income you have available to fund it.

What is non discretionary income?


Not subject to or influenced by someone's discretion, judgment, or preference. Non-discretionary spending is spending that is required by a budget, contract, or other commitment. A non-discretionary law is one that is enforced absolutely, and not at the discretion of authorities.

How much is discretionary spending?

Well, there is an answer. Spend 30 percent of your after-tax income on discretionary items. But there's a huge catch: your necessities can consume only 50 percent of your after-tax pay before you can spend 30 percent on wants. The other 20 percent should go to debt or savings.

How is income different from wealth?

1. Wealth is the net worth of a person, the total value of his assets minus his liabilities while income is the amount of money that a person received in return for his services, sale of goods, or profit from investments. 2. Wealth takes a huge amount of time to acquire while income is earned immediately.

What is the average disposable income?

Across the OECD, the average household net adjusted disposable income per capita is USD 30 563 a year.

What does 10 of your discretionary income mean?

For a simple example, let's say your annual discretionary income is $12,000 and you're on PAYE. That means 10% of your discretionary income would be your student loan repayment amount. $12,000 * 10% = $1,200 per year. So, your monthly payment would be $100.

What is the 15% formula?


15% is 10% + 5% (or 0.15 = 0.1 + 0.05, dividing each percent by 100). Thinking about it this way is useful for two reasons. First, it's easy to multiply any number by 0.1; just move the decimal point left one digit. For example, 75.00 x 0.1 = 7.50, or 346.43 x 0.1 = 34.64 (close enough).

What is seller's discretionary income?

A seller's discretionary earnings are the pretax and pre-interest profits before non-cash expenses, one owner's benefits, one time investments, and any non-related income or expenses. In addition, SDI may require that expenses be adjusted if a new owner will necessarily need to take on a new expense.

What is net pay?

Net pay is the amount of pay remaining for issuance to an employee after deductions have been taken from the individual's gross pay. This is the amount paid to each employee on payday.

How is IDR calculated?

Generally, your monthly payments under Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), and Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) are calculated as 10% or 15% of your "discretionary income", which is your income minus 150% of the poverty level for your family size and state.

How is discretionary income calculated for income based repayment?

Discretionary Income Calculation Depends on Your Family Size
  1. Step 1: Look up the Federal Poverty Line (FPL) for your family size.
  2. Step 2: Multiply the Federal Poverty Line for Your Family Size by 150%
  3. Step 3: Take Your Adjusted Gross Income from the Previous Tax Year and Subtract the Deduction.

How does the income based repayment plan work?


An income based repayment plan adjusts your monthly student loan payments based on your discretionary income and family size. Essentially, if too much of your income is going toward student loan payments, qualifying for an income based repayment plan might make your monthly payments more manageable.

What affects disposable income?

Disposable income is defined as the total amount of household income that's available for spending and saving after paying income taxes. If disposable income decreases, households have less money to spend and save, which then forces consumers to consume less and become more frugal.

How do you define income?

Income is money (or some equivalent value) that an individual or business receives in exchange for providing a good or service or through investing capital. Income is used to fund day-to-day expenditures. Investments, pensions, and Social Security are primary sources of income for retirees.