Marc Guberti

Tue, Jun 10, 2025, 6:45 AM4 min read

What do you do when a paycheck arrives in your bank account? Not having a plan for the money can result in impulsive purchases or unproductive assets that don't do much for your wealth. However, you can build wealth faster if you use each paycheck correctly, and financial guru Vincent Chan recently shared some strategies to maximize your cash.

"It all starts with creating your money map," Chan explained in a recent TikTok.

Chan proceeded to describe the key components of a money map and how you can create one.

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A money map lays out how you will spend your money, and Chan breaks it into four components. The first number is your capital. This number reflects your take-home pay after your job and side hustles.

After identifying your take-home pay, the next step is to identify your core expenses. These necessities include housing, groceries, utilities, healthcare, transportation, and other essentials. Chan believes you should set aside up to 60% of your income for this expense category.

Then, you put money into your choice buckets, otherwise known as discretionary spending. Chan suggests up to 20% of your take-home pay for this category. The compound bucket, the final component of the money map, should get at least 20% of your take-home pay.

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Chan's percentages only serve as a guide. Not everyone has to allocate 60% of their take-home pay toward living expenses and other essentials. If you can, it's optimal to invest well more than 20% of each paycheck and trim down on discretionary expenses.

However, other people may have tighter finances and only have the means to invest 10% of their paycheck each month. You can always adjust the percentages as your financial situation changes. The main benefit of this exercise is knowing where each dollar will go instead of winging your finances.

Itemizing your expenses can also help you decide on the right percentages. You may review your discretionary spending and realize that you can remove some expenses. This step will allow you to invest more money. You don't even have to do this forever. If you can temporarily boost the amount of each paycheck that you invest, the compounding returns will put you in a better position when you approach retirement.