How much to save?

Andyc7

I am currently attempting to save money on a more regular basis. I have read that 10 per cent is a good figure to save each month. Is that amount rally possible?

cloud_dog

"How much to save" is a very subjective thing and depends on your lifestyle and existing commentments.

I have roughly been saving / investing 20% of my salary (doesn't include pension payments). The 20% comes from when I first started working and gave me dear old ma 20% of my monthly take home for my keep. Basically I carried on with it, it seemed a reasonably good number and I have altered the split between cash savings and investing over the years.

The important thing to do is to start saving at a rate that is comfortable for you. It is so easy not to take the first step and then you feel as if you are having to do without to save; whereas if you start saving early you don't really miss it.

Remember, you always live to your means no matter what you earn - human nature. Some live beyond their means but that is covered in the debt board.

Once you have the discipline to save you will find that if you need to you can stop saving if circumstances dictate, knowing that you will probably start again once things ease.

cloud_dog

Walletwatch

Another thing that helped me when I started working was keeping milestones and tracking my progress against it. The first milestone I kept for myself was to save ten months pay, so that if I were to lose my job, I had this amount to fall back on till I got a new one.

The sense of achievement when you get to a milestone makes the pains associated with saving and giving up on spending worthwhile IMO.