How much $$ of my checks should I be saving? (Washington, percent, investment)
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Ideally, at least 10%. I agree that there lies much paranoia and panic on these boards and people would have you buy nothing but gold and spam to prepare for the apocalypse, but in the end the choice is yours. Use good judgment.
I'm a college student and at the moment I'm bringing home about $1,500/month. I work PT during the school year anf full time during summers. I save about 40% of what I make. Is this enough? How much do ppl usually save?
1. Don't worry about what other people are saving. Most people are living payday to payday or are going further in debt. I'm not making that up. Jeah Chatzky did a study in her book, The Difference and found 69% of Americans fell into one of those two categories. That is a stressful way to live, IMO. In most instances, it isn't necessary.
2. To answer your question "is this enough?" I'll have to answer that with another question. Enough for what?
How much you should save should depend on your goals. I would make a list of all the things you want that require money. Then write down the price. Don't forget about retirement. In general, for retirement, you'll want to save 25X your living expenses (at least). So if you are living on 10K per year, you'll need to have at least 250K saved in savings and investments.
You may decide you want to save a lot and retire early. This path can be difficult for those who don't like going against the grain. Most people don't do this and will think you're weird. Unless you have an income that's well above average, you probably won't be able to have the same social life as most other people.
Even if you don't buy into every aspect of his philosophy, there is some good stuff on there you can use (practical as well as philosophical).
I am a saver by personality...But I do think saving 40% of a pretty low income is not going to make you happy in the long run. If you increase your income significantly, then it's easier to save that percentage and still have some fun. But don't live your life just to save money. It's ok to do that for a limited period of time (no more than a few years). But beyond that, you probably won't be happy. I, do, however, think 10% is kinda skimpy. I'd say the minimum should be 10% for retirement and another 10% for short and medium term savings (EG for your next car, for an emergency fund, etc). Some of your budget (maybe 10%) should be for some kind of fun (such as a hobby, dating/social life, etc.).
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