Personal finance expert George Kamel is a rising star in the space. The bestselling author and a lead voice for Ramsey Solutions, Dave Ramsey’s financial company, has more than 355k subscribers on YouTube, and upwards of 260k followers on Instagram.
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Like many of his financial influencer peers, Kamel is a self-made millionaire, and open about the fact that he started out “broke.” In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Kamel shared his wealth-building strategy with viewers, getting into the eight ways he manages his money. Spoiler alert: Kamel didn’t get rich — and certainly doesn’t stay rich — by playing the lottery. He does it by practicing “the Ramsey plan.”
Here’s what that looks like for Kamel and his wife in terms of monthly budgeting.
Budget Monthly With the Help of a Zero-Based Budgeting App
Kamel and his wife stick to a monthly budget they create and manage with the EveryDollar app, which was founded by Ramsey. “We’re both logged in and we have accountability and transparency every single month, all the time,” Kamel said.
Though there can be slight variability with things like utility bills or seasonal expenses, Kamel said that 90% of their monthly budget stays the same every month. “One of the great things about EveryDollar is that you can just duplicate last month’s budget and then go in and make your adjustments,” Kamel said.
EveryDollar aligns with the zero-based budgeting method that was brought to public attention by Peter Pyhrr in the 1970s. With this method, you subtract your expenses from your income and end up at zero. Many financial experts like this method because it puts every take-home dollar to work — even, if not particularly, the dollars you save or invest.
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Charity Is Priority
Acts of charitable giving are important to the Kamels, and they put their money where their mouth is by making giving a top line item in their monthly budget.
“As a person of faith, I give 10% to my local church, $100 every month to our missionary friends and then we have a line item called ‘Bless Up’ — and this is just a fun money giving line item where if we see the opportunity to give […] we have the money ready to go,” Kamel elaborated.
Covering ‘The Four Walls’
Kamel and his wife prioritize “the four walls” of their monthly budget, which are the non-negotiable essentials including groceries, utilities, housing and transportation. Kamel also puts some money aside for dining out and lunches at work.
In the transportation category, the Kamel’s have some money for both (premium) gas and EV charging fees (which are far cheaper than gas).
It’s important to highlight a luxury that Kamel and his wife have which few Americans can afford: a paid off mortgage. The Kamels no longer have to deal with this monthly expense. But they do have other home-related expenses including homeowners insurance, property taxes and HOA fees, which they put money aside for on a monthly basis.
Budgeting for Specific Stores They Frequent — and Miscellaneous Purchases
The Kamels tend to frequent the same stores on a regular basis: Costco, Amazon and Target. They have line items and spending limits for each of these retailers in their budget, in addition to a “miscellaneous” shopping category. The miscellaneous line item could be the “best one in your budget,” Kamel said. “It becomes a little bit of a catch-all for all the little ankle biters so that your budget doesn’t get completely thrown off when an extra $5 transaction comes in.”
That said, if you notice you’re starting to spend regularly at one particular store on one particular thing that you’ve been placing under “miscellaneous,” you should add a line item for it.
Budgeting for Subscriptions
The Kamels have lines in their budget accounting for their subscription costs. This includes everything from streaming services to grocery delivery, car washes and pest control.
Making Room for ‘Lifestyle’ Spending
As a millionaire, Kamel has room for “lifestyle” spending. You may not be able to spend on housekeeping or dogsitting like Kamel can (he has a line item in his budget for these services), but you probably pay for a phone plan, and, if applicable, pet costs. The Kamels have line items for both of these regular expenses, as they spend an absolute fortune on their two dogs — $500 a month (hopefully you can spoil your pets just as much).
Factoring In ‘Fun’ Money
A lot of people think that budgeting leaves no room for purchases that serve mainly to bring you or your family joy. But, provided you’re not in a financially perilous place — as you may be when loaded down with debt or living without an emergency fund — you can and should have a bit of money on hand for fun. Just be sure to track your spending carefully.
The Kamels have line items in their monthly budget for entertainment/date nights, as well as separate small funds for either of them to use for themselves. Kamel feels that these two separate spouse funds don’t have to be equal in amount. So, if you require a little more financial fun than your partner and you can afford the extra lovin’, go for it.
Space for ‘Sinking’ Funds
The Kamels have a section in their monthly budget built out for “sinking” funds.
“That’s where you save a little bit of money each month to pay for something later on,” Kamel said, adding that this money should be put into a high-yield savings account (HYSA), where it can generate interest. He recommended Laurel Road, which is FDIC-insured and has a HYSA currently providing 4.50% APY.
These are the line items the Kamels have for monthly “sinking” expenses: HSA (health savings account), their child’s 529 plan (for her education), dental care, taxes/tax prep, vet bills, auto insurance, umbrella insurance, life insurance for both spouses, car maintenance, lawn care maintenance and vacation/travel.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: George Kamel Is a Millionaire: 8 Ways He Manages His Money
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