Saving money

[F16]

How much are you saving monthly?
And where do you put them?
Share your ideas on how to save more, except "pay yourself first, collect coins in a jar, slash food costs and so on"

[sweeps]

Originally Posted by F16

short-term CDs with 10% annually compounded monthly

Who is offering this?

[F16]

Originally Posted by sweeps

Who is offering this?

You know, that doesn't matter much.
What would you advise on saving?
How to free up more cash for investing?
What are your ideas?

Thanks in advance.

[banned]

It's hard to figure a total percentage of what you can save, but if you contribute the most in each area of you life that can be a start - like maxing out your 401(k) or IRA contributions....

By figuring out what you spend each month, you might find areas that you can cut back to find money to invest - like taking your lunch to work instead of buying it, bringing your coffee from home etc, clipping coupons and putting that money away...You can put this money into an online savings account like ING Direct or HSBC Direct which have much higher interest rates than regular banks. I contribute $15 dollars each to HSBC and ING every payday (once a week) that gets automatically taken out of my regular checking. It's a small enough amount that it doesn't hurt to part with it, but it adds up.

[F16]

Originally Posted by banned

I contribute $15 dollars each to HSBC and ING every payday (once a week) that gets automatically taken out of my regular checking. It's a small enough amount that it doesn't hurt to part with it, but it adds up.

So, you are saving and investing about $60 monthly, is it enough to reach your goals sometime in the future?

[disneysteve]

I invest 18% of my gross pay. That is divided between our Roth accounts, a couple of taxable mutual funds, our daughter's 529 plan and some other things. My wife has 50% of her gross going to her employer's 401K. That is all going into stock mutual funds.

[banned]

I would save $120 a month between the two online savings accounts in addition to maxing out my Roth IRA, putting another $25 a week into an another savings account and $50 in TD Ameritrade account every month - plus any month I save from coupons I put in the online accounts. I usually save over $600 a month.

Anything you save is better than nothing - especially the earlier you start

[jIM_Ohio]

It appears the OP edited his first post after others quoted his first post. Troll?

[bjl584]

Something seems a little off about this post. I think that you are onto something Jim. Is there a Moderator in the house?

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by jIM_Ohio

It appears the OP edited his first post after others quoted his first post. Troll?

I think so, too. But other than touting that 10% CD, which he removed from his post, it was a reasonable question otherwise. I only answered because I thought it might spark a worthwhile discussion amongst the rest of us.

[lgslgs]

We used to save and invest about 55% of my gross. Hubby did not have a paying job (he took care of the homestead) so our savings was all based on one income.

Our ideas to save were just to be very frugal about spending on anything, and to keep an eye on how our savings grew and our estimated date for when I could retire early if we stuck with the plan. Knowing that every x$ spent meant y more hours of having to leave home and go to work was plenty of motivation for both of us.

Lynda

[bjl584]

I agree with Steve, other than the 10% CD, it is a reasonable question, so.....

I currently am saving around 24% of my gross income. That is divided amonst my 401K, my Roth IRA, my personal brokerage account, and my savings account.

[Broken Arrow]

Maybe he's not troll, but is perhaps someone who is young, inexperienced, and a little embarrassed to admit that he doesn't know much CDs are paying right now? It's an uncommon phenomenon here, but rather rampant in other forums.

Anyway, I am currently at 58.8% savings of my gross.... Most of it is in my 401k, which is currently maxed out. The remainder is rebuilding my emergency fund right now, but later, will go towards a Roth IRA to continue my investment plans.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Broken Arrow

I am currently at 58.8% savings of my gross

That's incredible!! I wish I could get up to 25%, but even though we are mostly on the same page with stuff, DW would never go for some of the spending cuts that saving 25% would require.

If I were single and childless, 25% would be a breeze.

[DebbieL]

Well DisneySteve, I too wish that I could save 25% of YOUR income, lol. 25% of your income is probably more like 100% of my income - but hey, I'm back in college hoping to catch up to you I think you are doing great. You've got to live a little too - and you've got a nice balance in your lifestyle.

As for my income, I currently save a minimum of 33% monthly. It is sometimes higher, but 33% is my starting point. It was more than that, but I'm in college again and I budget about $360/month to cover all those costs (books, tuition, etc.). I consider this an investment in my future as my degree will be in a high demand, very highly paid profession.

[Broken Arrow]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

That's incredible!! I wish I could get up to 25%, but even though we are mostly on the same page with stuff, DW would never go for some of the spending cuts that saving 25% would require.

Thank you for thinking so! But unlike the rest of you guys, I currently live rent-free. So, yeah, I'm cheating. Eventually, I'll have to pay rent (or mortgage) like everybody else, and then my savings rate will fall dramatically.

I guess that's why I feel the need to push so hard right now. Because I know that it won't last.

Oh yeah, and I'm with Debbie there too.

[tripods68]

Originally Posted by Broken Arrow

I am currently at 58.8% savings of my gross.....

That's awesome Broken Arrow Keep saving while nothing stays forever


I'm able to save 33% of our gross income while my wife about 25%. When we payoff our $700 a month car payment (2 1/2yrs) we hope to increase that savings rate. But then we may have to replace our older commuter car by then and our oldest will be going to first grade school

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by DebbieL

Well DisneySteve, I too wish that I could save 25% of YOUR income, lol.

I think you are doing great. You've got to live a little too - and you've got a nice balance in your lifestyle.

LOL! Very funny, Debbie.

You're right, though. We do have a nice balance. We save a good amount but still enjoy our lifestyle - dine out at nice restaurants, travel regularly, and do other things that make us happy.

And I thought about it and realized that when DW was working full time, from 2005-2007, we WERE saving about 26% of our total gross income because 80% of her income went to savings. It is only since she switched to a part-time position that our rate dropped down, and it isn't actually 18%. It is a little higher because currently 50% of her income goes to her 401K and I'm not counting that in the 18%. We're probably more like 20%.

[Snowgirl]

Wow, some of you sure save a lot! We're aiming for a good spending/saving balance, and that is what we do now:

We save 18% pre-tax money in our tax deferred retirement accounts. With our high tax brackets, this cost us only about 11% in after-tax money.

We also sock away 10% in a saving/spending account. This money is aimed to pad our emergency fund, plus this is used to finance home renos or big ticket item purchases (appliances, furniture, a bigger/extra vacation ...) when balance is high enough. Since most of this get spend, I'm not sure it really qualifies as "savings", but it is psychologically to me.

Finally, we put away money each month for vacations to make cash flow easier at the time we incur the expense, but this is definitely not savings.

So really, I can't calculate our saving rate, but I feel we balance everything all right. We spend where we value the most (vacations, fine restaurants, ...), lead a good life, and still put money away for retirement. Even if I'd like to have a BIG saving account, I prefer right now to live comfortably and enjoy myself. Sure, we have a good income that makes it easy to do this, but from what I've seen on these board, the biggest savers are often not big earners!

[loulou]

We're currently saving 29% of our gross income. This is how it breaks down: 21% to retirement (pre and post tax accounts); 4% to HSA; 4% to ST savings.