5 ms·

I don't have a rule of thumb, but my actual number is usually more like 2/3 of gross saved. It helps to have the car paid for and not have a mortgage or apartm

I don't have a rule of thumb, but my actual number is usually more like 2/3 of gross saved. It helps to have the car paid for and not have a mortgage or apartment lease though.

ojbyrne 17y ago
That seems impossible for me - taxes and other deductions are over a third of my gross salary.
- potatolicious 17y ago
  Ditto, my taxes are about a third of my gross, but I do save about half of my net, making for about a 1/3 savings rate overall. Honestly, I haven't hut to cut on many things to get here, so I'm pretty happy about it. One key thing has enabled this: No car. None, no desire for one. I pay extra to live centrally in the city near good public transit, but the extra I've paid (compared to living in a burb) is a tiny fraction of the cost of car ownership. By my estimates that alone gets me an extra 10% savings rate at the very least. I have all the spare cash in the world to travel, buy cool toys without ever digging into the rainy day/startup fund. Being childless certainly helps, too.
  - ojbyrne 17y ago
    Yes, I mostly save "about" a third. The hard part is getting to above a third consistently. I agree with the car part, but with the proviso that it doesn't work so well when suddenly you end up with a job in some industrial park that doesn't have good public transit.
    - orborde 17y ago
      True, but you can always wait to buy a car until you need it, and the savings will* still outdo the cost of a rental to tide you over while shopping for one. *Estimating here. Looking at Hertz.com, you can rent for ~$250/week, which for me equals about 4 months in minimal car insurance.
- jasonkester 17y ago
  You're right. I guess I don't factor taxes in at the time, since I pay them out of savings.
- nostrademons 17y ago
  2/3 of net, however is very possible. Works out to something like 50% of gross, maybe a little less.
b3b0p 17y ago
I save very close or more than 2/3 of my current salary. I own my car, I bought it in cash. Where I live I need it (I already tried the whole Vespa thing, I lasted one winter and was exhausted). I don't have a mortgage. I sold my house. I rent. I don't want the baggage a house brings (time, maintenance, stuck in one place). My rent is ~ half of my old mortgage which was not that much and in a much more enjoyable community (behind campus and about 2 min walk from the video store, coffee shops, and grocery store). I only buy what I truly believe I will hang on to and be happy or content with. Why do I do this? I don't know, maybe to retire early. Maybe do the whole start up thing someday. However, I think it's mostly because it's comfortable for me. I don't feel comfortable in one place and like the ability to just throw everything in my car and go. I don't like things that hold me back or slow me down. Edit: this is after taxes and whatever else they take off. I'm going by what my paycheck says.
- ojbyrne 17y ago
  For me it is the startup thing. 1 year of saving 1/3 of your gross (1/2 your net) is one year of runway when you quit.

I don't have a rule of thumb, but my actual number is usually more like 2/3 of gross saved. It helps to have the car paid for and not have a mortgage or apartment lease though.

ojbyrne 17y ago

That seems impossible for me - taxes and other deductions are over a third of my gross salary.

potatolicious 17y ago
Ditto, my taxes are about a third of my gross, but I do save about half of my net, making for about a 1/3 savings rate overall. Honestly, I haven't hut to cut on many things to get here, so I'm pretty happy about it. One key thing has enabled this: No car. None, no desire for one. I pay extra to live centrally in the city near good public transit, but the extra I've paid (compared to living in a burb) is a tiny fraction of the cost of car ownership. By my estimates that alone gets me an extra 10% savings rate at the very least. I have all the spare cash in the world to travel, buy cool toys without ever digging into the rainy day/startup fund. Being childless certainly helps, too.
- ojbyrne 17y ago
  Yes, I mostly save "about" a third. The hard part is getting to above a third consistently. I agree with the car part, but with the proviso that it doesn't work so well when suddenly you end up with a job in some industrial park that doesn't have good public transit.
  - orborde 17y ago
    True, but you can always wait to buy a car until you need it, and the savings will* still outdo the cost of a rental to tide you over while shopping for one. *Estimating here. Looking at Hertz.com, you can rent for ~$250/week, which for me equals about 4 months in minimal car insurance.
jasonkester 17y ago
You're right. I guess I don't factor taxes in at the time, since I pay them out of savings.
nostrademons 17y ago
2/3 of net, however is very possible. Works out to something like 50% of gross, maybe a little less.

b3b0p 17y ago

I save very close or more than 2/3 of my current salary. I own my car, I bought it in cash. Where I live I need it (I already tried the whole Vespa thing, I lasted one winter and was exhausted). I don't have a mortgage. I sold my house. I rent. I don't want the baggage a house brings (time, maintenance, stuck in one place). My rent is ~ half of my old mortgage which was not that much and in a much more enjoyable community (behind campus and about 2 min walk from the video store, coffee shops, and grocery store). I only buy what I truly believe I will hang on to and be happy or content with. Why do I do this? I don't know, maybe to retire early. Maybe do the whole start up thing someday. However, I think it's mostly because it's comfortable for me. I don't feel comfortable in one place and like the ability to just throw everything in my car and go. I don't like things that hold me back or slow me down. Edit: this is after taxes and whatever else they take off. I'm going by what my paycheck says.

ojbyrne 17y ago
For me it is the startup thing. 1 year of saving 1/3 of your gross (1/2 your net) is one year of runway when you quit.