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How much $ do you save a month or a year?

N

n8236

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 1, 2006
1,065
32
How much $ (net) do you save a month?

After all my necessary expenses, I'm @ a savings rate of 35%, but probably more realistically @ 25-30% because of the following:

1. Live with my folks (but I do pay them some food/lodging costs)
2. Drive only once to work
3. Single

I feel like I'm not saving enough because I want to fund my future iPhones, Macbook Pros, possibly a new car, wedding and eventually a down payment on a house.

I have pretty good compared to most people since the only necessary/steady bills I pay are (1) car loan (2) car insurance (3) phone bill (4) student loan (5) money to folks.

How do you get by and how many % do you save?
 
A % is completely relative. A person could be making $10,000 a year, and save 90% of that. While another person is saving around $20,000, but makes about $100,000.


So, in that aspect...I don't save at all. Granted, I'm only 17, and started my first job last week.
 
At the moment, not much... But when I lived with my parents, I was able to save almost $5,000 that I invested into various stocks and most of them did fairly well... But when I was unemployed after I moved out, I lived off that money (so my savings is :()

But I am a firm believer of the 40% debt-to-income ratio if possible.
 
I try to follow this formula:
 

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I try to save 20% but lately I've been having trouble doing that. My wife lost her job and the employer is fighting the unemployment. We aren't sure what the future will hold. I'm hoping we can pay all the bills. We have enough saved up to cover the expenses for about 2.5 months and a little more if I can get some car detail jobs and other things like that. In the mean time we are sitting tight, not spending much at all and she's looking for a new job.

She actually has an interview Monday. Send good thoughts her way, eh?

But back on topic, sorry...

I bring home about 2400 a month as a teacher and I try to save 200 a month. When things pick up, it'll be more.

I want to save for a house and pay off our cars. Make us overall less dependent on short term dips in income.

Make sure that you don't overspend. You seem like a young kid and smart for saving. I understand what it's like wanting the new gadgets, but also save for the future and really get that good feeling from knowing you are financially secure. Ideally, you should always UAE a stash of emergency savings in case you lose your job and can't find work. Maybe say 6 months of income saved up? But that's ideal...and we aren't always able, huh?
 
SidewaysTakumi said:
My wife lost her job and the employer is fighting the unemployment. We aren't sure what the future will hold. I'm hoping we can pay all the bills. We have enough saved up to cover the expenses for about 2.5 months and a little more if I can get some car detail jobs and other things like that. In the mean time we are sitting tight, not spending much at all and she's looking for a new job.

She actually has an interview Monday. Send good thoughts her way, eh?
Click to expand...

I know how it is, I recently had a brief unemployment spell. Prayers for you, bro.
 
I have 4 bank accounts to help me save. Only 1 is a "real" bank account with card. The other 3 accounts are with an online bank that pays me 6.51% interest. The accounts are free and take 2 minutes to set up, so I set up accounts with different goals. I don't know any of you, so I'll just give you some real dollar numbers for my "set" expenses.


As far as I'm concerned, my wallet doesn't care how my money is spent. As long as I'm saving around 35% (some of which I'm using to pay back a debt), the rest can be spent however I want. Below is what I believe my expenses are, but I know how volatile it is from week-to-week, and I tried to be realistic. ;)

Set Expenses: (just an estimate. It fluctuates significantly)

- Breakfast $9 (cereal and milk)
- Lunch (purchased at work) $17
- Dinner (eating out) $25
- Groceries: $50
- whisky (bottles): $15
- Random food/drink on weekends: $20

- Rent: $190
- Bills: $20 (I live with 2 housemates)
- Going out: $25
- Health insurance (once I become a permanent resident, I won't need to pay this): $34
- Gym/pool membership $25 :(
- Yearly public transport: $23/week
- mobile phone: :$18
- random expenses (toothpaste, shampoo, etc) $10


Savings (currently)
- Savings used to pay my parents back the $25000 I owe: ~10%/year. I'll pay them $35k since they lost money by not investing. I hope to pay it back in 5-6 years.
- Actual savings (which I NEVER touch): 20%
- Savings for vacations (flights only): 5%


At the end of all my expenses and savings, I have around 10-15% that I can spend on whatever I want. This includes things like going to movies, going out for breakfast, birthday and Xmas gifts for others, clothes, gadgets, money to spend while on vacation, and any time I spend more than what I estimated my budget to be.
 
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Savings - that's something that the wife and I have not been able to do for a couple of years. I would sock a couple of hundred away in the savings account per month but then life would get in the way and I'd need to dip into that.

My wife was out of work for 17 months, got a job that was a 20% pay cut. We were living paycheck to paycheck for a while. She recently got a new job that brought her pay back up to where she had before the layoff.

At this point we're just trying to dig out of the hole that nearly a year and a half of unemployment wreaked on us. I'm hoping that by next year we'll be able to start saving more. My kids will be out of daycare, the minivan will be paid off and Lord willing nothing major will whack us.
 
Would you count savings also for say your retirement account? Or are you just talking savings accounts.

I like to have one years worth of savings for emergencies. Anything after that I usually put in my retirement accounts or stock accounts. Not so much a set %. It could be 20 bucks here or there or it could be 2000. It all depends on what we have planned for the month (trips/purchases etc). But we don't do anything until we have at least X amount in the bank with X = mortgage and bills for a year.
 
My 25-35% is pure savings into a savings account. I also have a total contribution of $1k a month into my 401k.
 
I'm a poor student. I save roughly $100 of a total $1300 per month, but the saved money mostly gets spent on vacations. So I guess my savings rate is 0.
 
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The amount of money in my bank account has grown by 1,000% the past 3 years.
 
coupdetat said:
I'm a poor student. I save roughly $100 of a total $1300 per month, but the saved money mostly gets spent on vacations. So I guess my savings rate is 0.
Click to expand...

I'm a poor retiree. I save $200 every month, by direct deposit to a high-yield account.

Plus anything left over from my stipend at the end of the month.
 
Once you are into the housing market, there is another way to "save" that a lot people don't take advantage of. Put as much money as you can afford into "pre-payments" on the mortgage (after necessary expenses and a little reserve cash). Each dollar that you can prepay goes directly against the principle, and adds to your equity. As the principle declines, each month's payment goes less towards interest and more towards principle - adding to equity.

If you ever need to cover a large emergency expense you can dip back into the equity by renegotiating the mortgage, or taking out a 2nd one.

The upshot is that instead of owing the bank for 30 years you can pay off that debt (and not make payments!) much sooner, or move up to a larger house using the added equity as the downpayment.

So - not "saving" in the sense of money in the bank... but it does add to the "asset" side of your balance sheet. Cash in the bank can be seen as a liquid asset, and increased equity as a longterm investment.

If you are in an area with increasing property values, your "savings" rate is the mortgage rate interest plus the increase in property values.
 
Over the past year I've only saved about $5000. However, that's because I'm paying off my mortgage at almost double the minimum amount so that I can pay it off a lot faster. I've knocked 18 years off it :)
 
I save £30 a week because I get EMA...

It's all going in a bank account for when I start University! I use my allowance to pay for dinner at sixth form and my bus fares.
 
I have 21 savings accounts :) 10 are for various toys I will buy in the next 5 years - a next gen console, an L series lens, a bmw, an imac next year, a holiday, etc. The other 11 accounts are mostly tax free savings accounts of various descriptions; savings for retirement I guess and to pay off my mortgage if interest rates rise.
 
Nermal said:
Over the past year I've only saved about $5000. However, that's because I'm paying off my mortgage at almost double the minimum amount so that I can pay it off a lot faster. I've knocked 18 years off it :)
Click to expand...

Two Thumbs Up! You won't regret it.....

Owning a house out-right gives one a great sense of freedom and peace of mind. :)
 
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