How much $$$ do you guys save a month?

[yeahitsrust]

I only have 350 in my savings now. But I get my first commission check and first bonus check the 1st of August. I want to lie and tell yall ima save it up. But being my first nice chunk of change in a few months im going to splurge and buy a few pairs of shoes and take a mini 4 day vacation. Then save the rest. SMH at myself.

 

[aveezythebeast]

These last two months have been easy. Stacked $2k

 

[ricky409]

Originally Posted by iamsaikotic

Turning 26 this year and debt free other than my mortgage.

I used to work in sales and the commission helped me save up for the down payment to my house, paid off my car, paid off student loans and everything else.

Still saving about $500 - $1000 depending on what I want to do that month.

I'm really focusing on traveling right now so I can't save as much as I want to.

I'd rather enjoy my money now while I'm still young than when I retire.

what do you do?

Originally Posted by HankMoody

Originally Posted by 2SeatPort

I'm fortunate enough to have a job where I can live comfortably off of one of my two paychecks a month, so I'm saving ~ $2000 a month ...I have a well-paying job but my whole first year of savings is going into student loans, including the midyear bonus i just got

. My girl says that I can be cheap sometimes

but in the sense that I don't ever buy new clothes and such for myself, even if I'll still pay for her meals/tickets. She got mad cause I went to look at Sperrys, saw that they were cose to $100 and instead got some GBX shoes from sears to wear to work instead

. Oh well, my goal is to be debt-free by 25. Unless there's an easily liquidable investment that returns 5% or better, I just wanna get rid of my student debt asap...

Anyone have any tips on stacking? My tip is to set a hard budget and save half of any unexpected money you come across- but the rest is for your to spend on anything you want. That way you're still able to enjoy yourself-guilt free when some $$ comes your way while still saving more than you think you are.

What do you need advice on? #humblebragGood job though. I'm the same way.

so much truth. lol

but what do you do though, fambs?

Originally Posted by Brandon3000

$0

It's mine? I spend it

#swag

Originally Posted by zapatohead408

Originally Posted by scshift

Back when I had a job, I saved 100% of it. No lie, every time I got a paycheck I'd go to the ATM, throw it into my savings account and never withdraw it, for the entire duration of my employment (about a year, minus a couple months). I didn't put it into my checking account because that meant I could've used my ATM card places and use money, I basically left it there untouched.

Looking back, it was a dumb move, I made like 0.05% interest and I should have invested it.

homie, aren't you like 16 or 17? Not that it matters (I'm 16) But you seem so damn smart

you gonna be a billionaire.

that's my lil asian homey from the bay maryland...

Originally Posted by Dmvbatman

Originally Posted by xxhu5sl1npnoyxx

I have been saving 80% of my income for about a year now. I use the other 20% for spending money and bills. My goal is to have like 2 years worth of yearly income saved up and invest it. Any ideas on what to invest on? I would love to hear.

rent a spoons

 

[jackieboy]

Don't save, invest.

 

[scshift]

Originally Posted by ricky409

Originally Posted by zapatohead408

Originally Posted by scshift

Back when I had a job, I saved 100% of it. No lie, every time I got a paycheck I'd go to the ATM, throw it into my savings account and never withdraw it, for the entire duration of my employment (about a year, minus a couple months). I didn't put it into my checking account because that meant I could've used my ATM card places and use money, I basically left it there untouched.

Looking back, it was a dumb move, I made like 0.05% interest and I should have invested it.

homie, aren't you like 16 or 17? Not that it matters (I'm 16) But you seem so damn smart

you gonna be a billionaire.

that's my lil asian homey from the bay maryland...

I'm from Massachusetts

 

[three2three]

F saving, im not even joking either.

saving 20% blah blah of paycheck isnt the way to financial freedom anyways unless youre cakin anyways an even if you are caking, cost of living an uncle sam.............dependin on how you live. goodbye

"income property"

generate guaranteed monthly income, imagine matching your currently salary thats the goal to start with..............ive met regular ppl who in a couple years are now millionaires, so far along with my mother she is my partner we have a property in buffalo ny an birmingham alabama

im already goin on my second trip to vegas in september, an i dont believe i even had a vay cay last year.

OOO, Vegas, what a feat.

"income property" doesn't turn into "income". You use that "income" to pay off your mortgage. If you're lucky enough to get more then that goes to paying maintenance, property taxes and insurance (if not included in escrow mortgage) and utilities if you're providing them.  The only benefit of income property is the ability to SAVE your regular paychecks from jobs. It doesnt happen in a couple of years...its takes YEARS to turn profit that is all profit when dealing with income properties unless you paid 40-80k for the property.

 

[dharv]

$75 dollars max

 

[mojodmonky1]

damb... after reading some of yalls post here, i really need to step up my savings game.

Its tough for me cause my wife (well me too) enjoys going out to nice meals and stuff on the regular.  I was just going through my statements for the past couple of months and have been averaging around $2,100/mo just on groceries/restaurants/take-out/bar tabs

.  I definitely need to scale that back.  If I can get it down to around $1,500/mo average, thats $600 every month that can go towards my savings.

Thankfully the wifes ride is finally paid off this month so we can start putting some more money away.  The wife had been putting away around $1,000-1,500/mo but now we should be able to kick that up to $2,000/mo.  I'd like to build a $50K savings emergency cushion (bout halfway there) in the event that one of us loses our jobs or something catostrophic like that.  Once we hit the $50K threshold, I want to start investing whatever else we have coming in.

 

[hood17]

Originally Posted by UptownsDotNetStacky

Originally Posted by AnotherBoringUsername

i wish i COULD save. damn bills.

Man......

This.

I need to start saving. I have no clue how to invest, so I'm just gonna start saving.

 

[cbtcguru]

200 into savings
10% every check into 401k

 

[josednk1068]

10k a month sometimes less

 

[sundoobie]

It's hard to save when you have a mortgage. Whatever money I have extra, I put it towards the mortgage. However I do put 20% of my salary to my 401(k) plan which my employer matches. If I need the cash, at least I have those funds and I am 100% vested in my plan so it's all MINE less the 10% tax penalties!

To me it's kinda dumb to save, when you're paying a grip of interest on your credit cards/mortgage/car note, etc... Also I use Quicken to finance/budget and track my expenses. This program definitely helps me.

 

[ricky409]

Originally Posted by Josednk1068

10k a month sometimes less

  

 

[josednk1068]

Originally Posted by ricky409

Originally Posted by Josednk1068

10k a month sometimes less

  

I'm sorry I meant 100k a month sometimes less
  

 

[nycposite]

I put one full check into savings every month. Plus 50 every week into my 5 yr old son account. So roughly 1000-1300 every month for me and mini me. I only wish I would have been doing this when I started this job

 

[biff lawson]

$100 a week goes into my ING account but damn summertime makes it hard to sit home and be thrifty

 

[mojodmonky1]

Originally Posted by SunDOOBIE

It's hard to save when you have a mortgage. Whatever money I have extra, I put it towards the mortgage. However I do put 20% of my salary to my 401(k) plan which my employer matches. If I need the cash, at least I have those funds and I am 100% vested in my plan so it's all MINE less the 10% tax penalties!

To me it's kinda dumb to save, when you're paying a grip of interest on your credit cards/mortgage/car note, etc... Also I use Quicken to finance/budget and track my expenses. This program definitely helps me.

maybe im doing it wrong?

are you setup on a shorter term loan like 10 year or 15 year?  i know i should be paying off debt that is accruing interest, before saving any cash, but for better or worse I just see my mortgage as being a fixed cost that is going to be there for the next 30 (well 29 now) years.  99% chance that I will be out of my current place and into a new house before I pay the place off in full.  Maybe I should just be making double payments to the mortgage if I can afford to do so?

  

 

[finnns2003]

As much as possible, depends on bills and Amex tab

 

[rightguard]

i dont believe in savings anymore especially with the US dollar depreciating. I set aside about 1000 every month for unexpected expenses.

 

[sundoobie]

Originally Posted by Mojodmonky1

Originally Posted by SunDOOBIE

It's hard to save when you have a mortgage. Whatever money I have extra, I put it towards the mortgage. However I do put 20% of my salary to my 401(k) plan which my employer matches. If I need the cash, at least I have those funds and I am 100% vested in my plan so it's all MINE less the 10% tax penalties!

To me it's kinda dumb to save, when you're paying a grip of interest on your credit cards/mortgage/car note, etc... Also I use Quicken to finance/budget and track my expenses. This program definitely helps me.

maybe im doing it wrong?

are you setup on a shorter term loan like 10 year or 15 year?  i know i should be paying off debt that is accruing interest, before saving any cash, but for better or worse I just see my mortgage as being a fixed cost that is going to be there for the next 30 (well 29 now) years.  99% chance that I will be out of my current place and into a new house before I pay the place off in full.  Maybe I should just be making double payments to the mortgage if I can afford to do so?

  

I have the standard 30 year loan.  Whatever additional monies I pay on top of my fixed monthly payment goes directly to the principal balance so in the long run I am saving a grip in interest.  I mean in the beginning say the first 15 years of your loan,  your payment is basically applied to the interest portion of your debt. Have you ran an amortization schedule on  your loan?  You'll be surprise how much you save in interest if you pay down on your principal early. 

edit... I found an article that somewhat explains what I am doing. 

http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/7112005_Payoff_Mortgage_Amortization_Table.asp

 

[finnns2003]

Man I really feel bad for the folks with college debt. That is ugly stuff. Instead of saving so much, pay that crap off asap, it's toxic.

 

[three2three]

Originally Posted by Mojodmonky1

Originally Posted by SunDOOBIE

It's hard to save when you have a mortgage. Whatever money I have extra, I put it towards the mortgage. However I do put 20% of my salary to my 401(k) plan which my employer matches. If I need the cash, at least I have those funds and I am 100% vested in my plan so it's all MINE less the 10% tax penalties!

To me it's kinda dumb to save, when you're paying a grip of interest on your credit cards/mortgage/car note, etc... Also I use Quicken to finance/budget and track my expenses. This program definitely helps me.

maybe im doing it wrong?

are you setup on a shorter term loan like 10 year or 15 year?  i know i should be paying off debt that is accruing interest, before saving any cash, but for better or worse I just see my mortgage as being a fixed cost that is going to be there for the next 30 (well 29 now) years.  99% chance that I will be out of my current place and into a new house before I pay the place off in full.  Maybe I should just be making double payments to the mortgage if I can afford to do so?

  

I was like you the first few months of my mortgage but then I went on bankrate and saw that I am essentially paying double for the house if I pay if off in 30 years. I am not the type to move around so for me paying it off faster made more sense and if I do decide to sell I want as much "profit" cash from it as I can.
Sending in a 100 or 2 more a month does a lot.

 

[sundoobie]

Originally Posted by finnns2003

Man I really feel bad for the folks with college debt. That is ugly stuff. Instead of saving so much, pay that crap off asap, it's toxic.

Interest you pay on your school loans are tax deductible so I would pay off credit card loans first before school loans.  You don't have to itemize to claim the deduction either. 
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc456.html

Topic 456 - Student Loan Interest Deduction

You may be able to deduct interest you pay on a qualified student loan. Generally, the amount you may deduct is the lesser of $2,500 or the amount of interest you actually paid.

The deduction is claimed as an adjustment to income so you do not need to itemize your deductions on Schedule A Form 1040.

You can claim the deduction if all of the following apply:

• You paid interest on a qualified student loan in tax year 2010
• You are legally obligated to pay interest on a qualified student loan
• Your filing status is not married filing separately
• Your modified adjusted gross income is less than a specified amount which is set annually, and
• You and your spouse, if filing jointly, cannot be claimed as dependents on someone else's return

A qualified student loan is a loan you took out solely to pay qualified higher education expenses. See Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, and the instructions for Form 1040 to determine if your expenses qualify.

If you file a Form 2555, Form 2555EZ or Form 4563, or if you exclude income from sources inside Puerto Rico, refer to Publication 970 instead of the worksheet in the Form 1040 Instructions.

If you paid $600 or more of interest on a qualified student loan during the year, you will receive a Form 1098-E (PDF), Student Loan Interest Statement, from the entity to which you paid the student loan interest.

For further information about this deduction, including how to determine when the deduction is phased out, please refer to Publication 970,Tax Benefits for Education

 

[finnns2003]

Good tips, I was thinking more balance sheet wise but that is a good point.

 

[imvictor]

Nada, wish i could tho.