That's way less of a problem. It's not great when half a raise goes to rent and half goes into your pocket, but it doesn't hold a candle to policies where the entire raise disappears or you actually end up with less money.

And a situation like that definitely won't stop you from saving money. It doesn't trap you. If a wage increase takes your payment from significantly below market rent up to market rent, you'll be able to save up a security deposit and moving expenses pretty quickly.

Lower the percentage some or make it a third of net income and it sounds like a pretty great system.