What Percentage of Your Take Home do You Save?

[doodles44]

I'm new to this site, and it seems that everyone is being aggressive in saving money and paying off cc debt. I'm just wondering if everyone could share what percentage of their take home pay they save? Since I'm new to the frugal/savings scene and 24 years old, I don't have a lot saved, so I would appreciate any input/advice from experts here!

I am saving approximately 15% of my take home, which has built up a $4k emergency fund (in about 12 months), but I would like to start saving for other long-term things (wedding, yikes! and down payment on a car). This does not include the 2% pre-tax that goes to my 401K, which I know I should increase soon b/c my company matches up to 5%.

I am close to paying off my $1K in student loans (less than $300 to go) and making steady progress on a $3k personal loan - no interest, just parental guilt.

Thanks, all!

[Ima saver]

I started off saving 10% of my income. I think 15% is excellent. However you should first increase your 401K to 5% even if it means saving a smaller percentage. You are throwing away free money! Maybe then try setting up small sub accounts for a wedding, car and a house down payment.

[safari]

My take home pay is $6,000 a month (after tax), out of which i save $2,000-$2,500. In addition, $1050 goes to my 401(k) each month (that amount includes employer contribution).

[Fillanzea]

Because I have been working part-time and living at home, I have been saving approximately 50% of my take-home pay: 15% in a 401K and 35% in a savings account. I hope to accumulate a pretty good cushion for when I need to rent and furnish an apartment!

[Bookie]

I will bank about 25% of my net income on average.

[PRICEPLUS]

Save as much as you reasonably can. Live below your means and every item you cut means more in savings. You'd be surprised just how much extra money you can squeeze out of your budget. Search this site and the other links provided and you'll be amazed how much you can save.

[pearlieq]

I wouldn't worry too much about hitting a certain percentage. Just save as much as you can! Take a good look at all of your bills and see which things you could do without and which you might be able to get cheaper.

Since you've got a nice emergency fund, focus on paying off the car. Whether or not you pay off your parents right away is up to you. If the loan isn't causing friction between you and your parents are comfortable and don't really need the money back, consider just paying on it as agreed until it's paid off. Since there's no interest you might not want to pay extra for it when you could be using the money elsewhere. Of course, if the loan is a point of contention or if you folks need the money, pay it off as soon as you can.

Once you've got the car note paid off, up your 401k contribution to at least 5% to take all of the company match and then open a ROTH IRA. If you can swing it, make the maximum contribution, which is $333.33 per month for 2006 and 2007. If you can't quite swing that, just get as close as you can.

Good luck!

[disneysteve]

We save 28% of our gross income. I haven't calculated it as a % of net.

[creditcardfree]

15% of gross income!

[Broken Arrow]

I'm shooting for around 25%, though until recently, I have been focused mostly on paying down my debts.

[Tree0164]

We our saving about 15% in our retirement accounts pretax.

I also put 10% of income into savings account each year as well.

I would up your retirement account at this time. Just do it. You will probably see only a few buck less in your paycheck. Starting so young means you don't have to stress worry about it so much in the future plus it lowers your tax liability.

[BTC]

I'm putting away about 30-40% of my take home.

[Diolla]

I put away approx. 20% for my emergency fund out of my paychecks.

100% of my child support checks go towards his college fund.

5% towards retirement (I plan to up this after the EF is funded but I also have a traditional pension that my employer takes out 4% for)

and then there is short term savings for things like taxes & insurance.

Any extra I make from overtime or side jobs goes into savings also.

I never looked at the percentages before, alway just did the best I can or figured how much I needed to reach my goals.

[shelbylovesmelby]

Dh has his 6% to 401k beyond that we can't really afford to save alot. Though since things are getting busy @ work I want him to move his 401k % up for the timebeing.

[Reldon]

I put 15% towards my 401k and about another 15% of my take home pay is invested into other accounts.

[scfr]

Well, we currently save about 1/2 of our net income, but when we started our serious savings plan 14 years ago it was 5% and was gradually increased over time.

Doodles44, it sounds like you are off to a great start at a young age. Keep up the good work! Focus on getting your 401K contribution up to the 5% that the company will match, because that is "free money" from your employer!

[Ima saver]

wow, some of you guys are really doing well. Besides my regular savings each paycheck, I save $100 a week to pay my car and house insurances. I save $30 a week for christmas and $100 a week for health related items like doctor's visits. I also put away $105 a week for my new car (or car payoff) fund! When my dh gets a bonus, I save 100% of that!

[frugalmomof1]

DH and I are saving 25% of our take home pay including 401k contributions (which are matched by our employer 5% or $30/week). We have been doing this for several years. I plan to increase our 401k savings later this month when annual pay increases are awarded.
I will be putting less into other savings for a while, though...I want to focus on paying off a car and Home Equity Loan.

[Fizgig]

Right now 20% of my net goes into the emergency fund because I'm determined to have it full up by the end of the year. After I have the 6 month cushion, I'll throttle it back to 10% and use some of the extra money for fun. I'm all for aggressive savings, but I'm not as die hard thrifty as some people here and I'd like to strike a balance between planning for my future and enjoying my today.

Another 13% goes into my house fund, and most of that is used to pay taxes and insurance at the end of the year. (My insurance is insanely high because I'm in a hurricane zone.) About $1000/year is leftover after paying those expenses, and I consider it the house's emergency fund. (Appliance replacement, major repairs, etc.)

[PrincessPerky]

no where near enough

but more than zero...