How much of your salary do you save and why?

[SnugShaker]

I know everyone has different financial priorities and responsibilities, but I’ve been wondering lately how much other people set aside from their income. It seems like we’re always encouraged to save as much as possible, but realistically, everyone’s situations are so different, and sometimes it’s hard to know if you’re on the “right” track.

AIBU to wonder if most people save as much as they could (or should)? And if you’re comfortable sharing, how much of your salary do you manage to save each month? Do you have a specific goal in mind, or is it more about building a general safety net? I’d love to hear how others approach saving, especially with everything getting more expensive.

Currently about 40% because I am selling my flat and hoping to buy a house either mortgage-free or with under 50k mortgage. Otherwise, I am to save at least 20% for a rainy day

I put 20% into my higher interest pot as soon as I get paid, put £400 in my sons lifetime Isa, and whatever is left the day before payday goes into the high interest pot. My children are grown up now, I didn't save much when they were young.

Of our combined take home we save just over 30% at the moment. This is because my DH is in a stressful job that is well paid but not sustainable so saving as much as we can now. Also because my company has just been taken over and my job is not necessarily safe so could be a period where I'm jobless. We would like to pay off our mortgage in 5-6 years before DC1 goes to uni or equivalent

I put 50% of my take home pay into savings.

Long term, short term, joint then my sinking funds.

Not a lot as I don’t have much spare once we’ve paid into the joint account for household bills and I’ve paid my bills and food shopping etc. we do save a set amount a month each which goes towards Christmas/holiday.
Ive tried to get into the habit of setting aside some money if I do overtime into a separate account so I have cash to treat myself to things like hair appointments and little treats
if our income/expenditure were to change then I would definitely try to save more

Currently I am putting 25% of my take home pay into savings. I also have my pension set at 10% so that's coming out before I get paid.

Me and my partner are saving up for a house extension next year which will use up a huge chunk of our savings so we are being pretty strict right now with no holidays etc. We also hope to start a family soon so the more we can save now whilst we have no dependents the better.

I save as much as I can because my sector (tech) is going under in the UK. Orgs closing every week. Loads of my friends have been made redundant. Every time I see another person I know turn on the green banner on LinkedIn, I save another five hundred quid.

£500/month. What I need to pay off the last bit of the mortgage when the cheap fix is up in 3 years. Then I can retire.

Monthly household income is about £2300. We save £600/month. Two kids, smallish mortgage.

According to my budget I save 40% however in reality I never save that much. It doesn't really matter, though, because the house is paid off and I have a good defined benefits pension. It's just about how early I will end up retiring.

After and excluding pension, 20%. Saving for a house.

About 2 thirds of mine at the moment but we want to buy a house in Jan/Feb time and need money for stamp duty, a moving van etc (I used to pay for nursery but DS2 started reception this year so there's extra money for savings).

So you run 4 ppl including a mortgage off 1700 pounds?

Please tell us your secrets

I save 50% , have £750 disposable a month and if I don’t spend that I add it to savings the next month. I’m saving towards early retirement and have everything I need or want, sure I could buy a new car but as I WFH it would be a waste

Bugger all at the moment. Which worries me when I think about it. Our big costs (mortgage, childcare) have gone up rather substantially. We had a few years in pay freeze and now very minimal increases. It's rather frustrating, but it is what it is. We build up a bit for energencies, but then an emergency happens! We have some choices to make in the next year that will have a big impact on our outgoings.

As much as possible. I'm not sure of what that will look like exactly as I've now decided to take a career break to look after our baby.

Pre baby we were saving so that we could retire early and travel. Now it's more about building some wealth for him. If we can give him a leg up through a private education or saving for a house deposit etc then we will.

Haha, no secrets really. Just live in quite a basic way.

Mortgage £500 (low because we spent years building own house in the evenings around our FT jobs, as we live in a tourist area and it was the only way we could afford to buy when in competition with people buying second homes, wealthy retirees etc).
Food and toiletries around £550/month. Cook from scratch, love oats, potatoes and lentils! No takeaways, no makeup, basic toiletries etc.
Phones, broadband etc basic. No subscriptions, haircuts, expensive hobbies. Rarely buy new clothes. Electric is low. Prefer house about 18°. No tumble drying etc.
Buy second hand cars, fix ourselves, run them to death. Old small cars are cheap to insure too.

On it's own each thing is just a small saving, but it all adds up. People probably think it sounds dull, but I love my life. I find materialism makes me feel very guilty so I just don't buy 'stuff' anymore. All my hobbies happen to be pretty much free.

15% additional voluntary contributions in to my pension.

Then:

£500pm (plus any rounded up amounts that my banking app identifies) in to my cash ISA - rainy day savings.

£50 pm in to a Monzo account - holiday spending money.

£200pm in to an instant access savings account - service charge and household repairs/improvements fund.

£100pm in to a stocks and shares ISA - long term savings pot - probably for something fun when I retire.

I'm not sure you will get a response here representative of an average society op.
I read the first few and decided I should try a lottery ticket.

I save £500 pcm split between ISA, premium bonds & private pension. I'm looking to increase my private pension contributions in 2025 when I've finished my debt repayments.

Nothing. Well, very little.

I transfer £20 into a savings account each month, and whatever the round-up function adds up for me which is between £10-30 a month. It pays for Christmas.

I earn around £50k. But I lose 10% in pension contributions, plus another £140ish per month student loan repayment. I’m a single parent. I rent, as I have never been able to save up for a deposit. There just isn’t much to spare each month to be able to save any more.

I put 40% of my salary into my pension (started late - I am 55) and save 50-60% of my take home pay.

Always been single, one child who is now an adult, didn't receive maintenance for her and old habits die hard.

You go first OP

Not much really, £250 a month if I’m lucky, I’m supporting two teens, one at uni, single parent. No contribution from XH.

I save 20% of my take home pay. That's in addition to pension contributions, share saves and child trust fund.