How Much Do you Save in a Month?

[Slandgie]

We are one of the few that aren't saving anything right now....just too much debt to take care of right now....once the credit cards are paid off, I am planning on putting $100/month aside for savings....I know, setting up an EF is supposed to be the first step, but I don't think I can take two months off from paying my credit cards to set aside $1200 for an EF...I don't think the creditors would like that....

Because we live on such a tight budget, I only have 1% going to my 401(k), which my employer matches dollar for dollar. On my next raise, I am going to raise that to 3% (my employer matches up to 6%).

[Coronet]

I save 20% of my gross into savings and then 6% (plus 4% company match) currently into 401k.

I'm 23 and this is my first job. My 20% savings is going toward future house downpayment and emergency fund.

[TrunkMonkey]

Very simple to calculate.

Amount being saved each month divided by total amount earned each month times 100 equals percentage saved.

Example:

Amount saved each month: $800
Amount earned each month: $4,000

$800 ÷ $4,000 = 0.2 x 100 = 20%

Is the amount earned before or after taxes. Does the amount earned deduct the amount put into 401K?

[Tonyall]

I try to start with all my pay being savings. Everything I take out of it is money I take from savings in my mind. Maybe that helps me save more.

[disneysteve]

Is the amount earned before or after taxes. Does the amount earned deduct the amount put into 401K?

I base all of my savings on gross income before taxes and any deductions. When I say I save 22% of income, I mean 22% of my gross, so if I earn $100,000, I save $22,000.

[NJDebbie]

38% of net income, but will decrease starting next month because we decided to try to pay off our mortgage as soon as possible. Our emergency is where we wanted to be.

[TrunkMonkey]

I base all of my savings on gross income before taxes and any deductions. When I say I save 22% of income, I mean 22% of my gross, so if I earn $100,000, I save $22,000.

I guess 20% is a lot then. I make about 100K per year, after taxes, 6% 401K and health premiums I have only 60K left. I think I spend about 30K per year. So I save 30% or 50% depending on how you look at it.

[snshijuptr]

We save minimum 25% of gross. At the end of the month we put away any extra money and the total can be around 50% of gross. We save:

Short term (<1 year) - $200
Medium Term (1-6 years) - $1380 + extra money
Long Term (retirement) - $300 (on hold for a couple months)

[dahoov2]

Our savings is abysmal too. However, we structure our bills first and insert at least enough savings right off for the max contributions to a Roth IRA and the max that our employer will match up to.

So we do this: Put bills in order of importance:
1) Mortgage/Homeowners/Property taxes (or rent if you paid that instead) because this is our life and we need to live somewhere
2) College loans (because this is the only UNFORGIVABLE debt and you cannot get rid of this if you ever had to claim bankruptcy and they WILL garnish your pay).
3) Savings - max to 401k match, max to the Roth IRA for both of us and 100 in our "emergency fund" which right now is so severely low it's sad. I think we have 2k in there and need 50k
4) then we do monthly utilities/insurances/other property taxes
5) credit card payments. Which at this time we pay 10x more than needed. Maybe we SHOULD put that towards savings but 7.9 percent interest on CC vs. 1% or less on a savings account? LOL No choice for me there.

So I'd do that too. I think your house/rent is #1, followed by student loans, followed by water, electric/gas, followed by savings for retirement, savings for emergency fund, followed by car payments/maintenance, followed by phone bill (you need a car and phone for getting work), followed by any other "utilities (sewer/trash), followed by health insurance, auto insurance, life insurance, dental insurance, long term care insurance (if you are older than 50), and if you can afford MORE, then cable, saving for kids college eduction, clothing, charity, gifts, spending money (out to eat/concerts/movies etc) then "incidentals". By this time you should be 100% broke unless you are beyond middle class.

Don't get an expensive car. Who the heck cares! Just get one that is safe, reliable, inexpensive and comfortable (with the features that you would love on a long trip but nothing you can't live without). You do NOT need a 40k or more vehicle!

House: Do NOT live beyond your means. Things to look for include: safe neighborhood, place where homes maintain the value or will go up, good schools, close to shopping/schools/work and NOT granite countertops. Most of these "trends" will end soon. The granite/stainless steel stuff has been around a good 10 years now so don't get fixated on stuff that will be outdated in a few years. Look for potential and soundness. Neighborhood is everything.

Just my two cents.

I think that's the hierarchy.

[savana]

I save 20 to 25% of my salary as, I have to pay for two loans and do have some responsibilities with my expenses also. Sometime, it happens that I cant save that much but, I manage to save it more not less.

[cash4sure]

Having been a stock broker back in the 80"s, I always appreciated finding people who were actually saving money, but was appalled at thier investment porfolio. Although, I see a lot of people in this forum saving a good chuck of their earnings...how about some input on where you are putting said money? How much interest are you earning from those savings?

Jack

[Coronet]

Having been a stock broker back in the 80"s, I always appreciated finding people who were actually saving money, but was appalled at thier investment porfolio. Although, I see a lot of people in this forum saving a good chuck of their earnings...how about some input on where you are putting said money? How much interest are you earning from those savings?

Jack

I just started working (fresh out of college) so for now my savings are in an easily accessible place. I have my 20% a month stored in a savings account earning 0.4% interest. Crappy interest, but all rates are pretty poor right now so.... After I save up 3 month's worth of expenses I'll start moving my excess savings into higher-yielding accounts. I have some money in a mutual fund so that's earning a lot more than 0.4% right now.

[tdls17]

The key is getting control of debt. We put away 25% of incoming cash flow by living within our means, which means our debt is minimal and free's up more $$ for saving/investing.

Denise
Eliminating Debt, Cures Offering Quick And Clear Solutions To Get Out Of Owing

[zhuwh]

This month , i didn't have the lunch at the restaurant , and i brought the meal to my office , then i found that i have saved 40USD .

[personalbudgetstuff]

10% of everything your earn as general rule.