What % of your Income do you save?

[jodi]

Re: What % of your Income do you save?

I can't really say how much we save every month b/c it varies. Basically if there is money left before the next paycheck (which there usually is) I pick somewhere to put it. Since my and DHs IRAs are almost maxed out, we've been putting the extra toward student loans. I always pay a little extra on the car payment every month too. We have comfortable savings already (about 6 months of salary), so I don't work on building that up too much.

[marglo]

Re: What % of your Income do you save?

These days none. We do have an EF (though not enough), but we are on retirement income and we feel it is more important now to pay off all our debt. After that we will try to save more.

[dealsaver]

Re: What % of your Income do you save?

35% if you include mortgage payments toward principal.

[zoe]

Re: What % of your Income do you save?

I am going to try to save 15% but I will put it on my home loan - and get 6.74% interest tax-free!

[meaghanchan]

Re: What % of your Income do you save?

I *think* I'm saving 25% of my gross pay. It's all going to an emergency fund right now; I'm not saving for retirement yet (will start in November, when EF is at $5000.) I'm 23, so saving for retirement isn't exactly my top priority right now, although I do know how important it is to start sooner rather than later.

The reason I only *think* I'm saving 25% of my gross is that, as an independent contractor, I don't get taxes taken out of my paycheck. I put away 50% of my gross for taxes/savings, but since this year is the first year I'll have worked as an independent contractor the entire year, I'm not really that sure what my tax obligations will be. If they end up being 25%, I'll be right on track. If they end up being less than that, I'll be ahead of the game. If they end up being more than that... Well, at least I'll have the money saved up to pay the full amount, although my emergency fund may take a severe beating.

[jmjj215]

Re: What % of your Income do you save?

We're saving for a house right now. Retirement is waiting until I turn 25 and have a *real* job (starting next Fall). Right now we save income from the business, and live of my internship earnings. I don't know what percentage that is - maybe 50%?

[debtfreeme]

Re: What % of your Income do you save?

Full time job percent wise:
11 to long term savings
3 to short terms
3 to short term savings (second one)
1.5 to christmas and vacation
15 to 403B (voluntary)
2.5 to defined contribution plan (mandatory)

Part time
15 to stock purchse (25% off lowest price in 6 months)
25 to 401K ( they match great!)
5 long term
5 short term

[EHadden]

Re: What % of your Income do you save?

We're on a pretty tight budget that is heavy on percentage going to bills and taxes. My DW and I are still paying for MY past mistakes financially, so we are handling those. We are teachers, and therefore required by law to save 12% into our state retirement program. In addition, we put another 6% into our savings account, which funds our "to-do" bigger items...brakes, tires, garage door repairs, you know, the irregular spending items. I guess most would call that the emergency fund. We also save 4% for Christmas shopping and vacation. We are quickly dropping balances and increasing funds on hand, but it seems that SOMETHING always comes along to absorb some of that cash. I would like to save 2-month's worth of expenses and have that on-hand in case of emergency, but can't seem to get there.

[barbara L]

Re: What % of your Income do you save?

Right now I am only saving $140 per month. When my daughter starts making her car payment again, I hope it will go up to at least 10% of my take home pay, or about $260 - $300 per month.

[TBH]

Re: What % of your Income do you save?

Good thread. Thanks, dealsaver, for reviving it.

Primary job:
10 percent to 403b. Company matches 4 percent.

Second job:
Will be eligible for 403b in January, then will contribute 10 percent for a 5 percent match.

Spouse:
15 percent to 403b (he's older and needs to catch up)

Plus: $25/mo to a 529 plan.
All tax refunds, gifts, suprises go to short-term savings, my Roth, and the 529. This amount is extremely variable but usually amounts to several thousand a year.

I'm hoping to revise my budget this winter and start using "the 60 percent solution": fixed living expenses at 60 percent, 10 percent each to long term savings, short term savings, retirement and "fun money". Except if we're going to be saving 30 percent I don't think we'll be able to spend a whole 10 percent on having fun.

[robex]

Re: What % of your Income do you save?

We save about 18% of our income in retirement savings. When Dh's benefits start up in December we hope to be saving more.
We put an additional 10% in a savings account for unexpected emergencies, and 20% into a freedom account so we don't go broke over Christmas, car insurance, property tax etc.
WOW! I have never added it all up...that's almost half our income!

[Firefly]

Re: What % of your Income do you save?

About 29% of it. Saving for a house and a nice car, not necessarily brand new.

[tomkat]

Re: What % of your Income do you save?

1. 6% of my pay pre-tax goes into my 401K.
2. Approx. $1400/month goes into joint savings account (includes All funds from my freelance job ($800/month) plus approx $600/mo from my 1st job pay)
3. Approx. $610/month of my pay goes into my personal savings (which I dip into very often, because I now pay my credit card in full each month).
4. DH saves anywhere from 25% to 50% of his take-home pay each month.

I wish I'd had the sense to save like this earlier in life! Thanks to my avid-saver husband of 2.5 years, I am getting on track as far as saving now! I made 3 fatal mistakes with my money before I married:
1. Not contributing to 401k at my previous job, which I held for 8 years. I'm now worried if I'll have enough money for retirement (I'm 33 years old).
2. I lived with a roommate for 7 years before I married and had opportunity to save a boatload of money (rent and utilities were really cheap, had my freelance job, plus no kids or student loans), but didn't save nearly as much as I should have. Those were my freewheeling, free-spending days!!!!
3. CREDIT CARD DEBT!!!!!

[pyotr]

Re: What % of your Income do you save?

According to my Quicken reports which I just checked, we saved 27% of our gross (pre-tax unadjusted) earnings last year and saved 37% of our earnings this year.

[Russell]

Re: What % of your Income do you save?

Very cool, you guys are saving an amazing portion of your income - wish I could save more. After calculating percentage wise I think I save about 27-30% a year in 401K, ROTH and personal savings. I really hope the DW can pay off her hefty student loans soon so we can start saving more.