To save 10% of my salary each month?

[AdeptEagle]

I’ve been sticking to saving 10% of my pay but some people I know think it’s too much or that I’m being too cautious. They say I should be enjoying more of my salary now, instead of worrying about the future. Is it unreasonable to prioritise saving or should I be spending more in the present?

It’s entirely up to you to do whatever you want, it’s not up to me or anyone else for that matter 🤷‍♀️

How would we know? We don't know your salary or your circumstances. It's no-one's business but your own. You crack on.

Well it’s hard for anyone to advise without knowing your age, life situation or salary! But I actually think you should be saving more than this if possible. I don’t think saving 10% is a lot

Some people are the people who aren’t saving and want to make themselves feel better about it.

It’s a good idea to save just in case and if it’s easy to do right now then go for it.

I save 25% of mine.
My daughter wants to buy a house so saving more than 50% each month.

It's relative to what your goals are and what you can afford.

It's entirely dependent on you surely? Have you got enough savings, do you have something big to save for? Do you have dependants do you earn a lot of money, do you enjoy yourself?

I wish I could do this!

Do you have a mortgage or own outright? Do you have children? How old are you? Do you have an emergency fund already? So many factors to consider before answering.

Save when you can, then you have it when you can't... that's how I see it.

My financial situation has recently changed, and I have lower essential outgoings for a period. I'm definitely going to save more now, as I may not be able to later.

Who are these 'some people'? Why are you discussing your personal finances with 'some people'?

10% is barely anything - based on the income split rule, you should be trying to save closer to 20%. But if 10% is all you can afford, that's fine, I certainly wouldn't be listening to anybody telling you it was too much.

What are you saving it into? Pension, life time ISA, for what it’s worth I’m probably older than you, worked part time with DC, currently saving 30% in to my pension, but also have fun money. So do you have fun money? And the more you save whilst you are young, into a pension, the less panic you have when older.

What are you saving for exactly?

Don't die after not having any fun experiences, with a shitload of money in the bank!

Depends on so many things, no-one can answer.

What do you mean by savings? Is it genuinely spare money or would it get used for car repairs, Christmas, holidays etc or have you already accounted for this?

How much spare money do you have? Unless you're living on cold beans in an unlit house to afford to save the 10%, it's actually quite on the low side.

If you're only saving 10% of your income, then no, you shouldn't be spending more. You should be aiming to save more if you possibly could, unless you're already mortgage free with pensions sorted.

Forget about what others say and do what you think best. The financial flowchart is a good guide

. https://ukpersonal.finance/flowchart/

I think there’s a balance and it’s entirely up to you and how comfortable you are.

i think it’s important to think about your future, but also remember to live in the moment - so a balance is good.

10% isn’t much, I was always told to save 20%. If you earn for example £3k a month 10% is only £300, that’s not going to get you very far if you’re saving for a house or something else big.

If you can afford to save then keep saving. I put 40% of my wage into savings (which I can access) but there’s always something to save for or unexpectedly pay.

Well it depends doesn't it. If you'd usually fritter money away on crap then it makes sense to have a savings target each month, if saving 10% means you are struggling or having to say no to things you really genuinely want then perhaps be a bit more flexible.

10% isn't a lot. I save 21% excluding pensions. I always think i should be saving more.

Before having my daughter we tried to base our finances one 1/3 rent/mortgage, 1/3 bills, 1/3 savings. Once she came along it was 1/4 for each plus 1/4 on nursery. Obviously we had the benefit on two incomes.

I've always tried to save as much as I could but also tried spend on things that we enjoy so we used this money for holidays and meals out. We decided some years ago that we weren't getting much enjoyment out of the meals we were eating out as often we were ordering food we could make at home. We switched from eating out about once a month to somewhere fancier every 6-12 months and the normal places say every 3 months. The annual spend was similar but we were getting more pleasure from it. We've been on holiday with friends and self catering to bring costs down and mean that the holidays don't wipe out our savings.

I'd save as much as you could but also don't be afraid to use that savings for things that bring you pleasure. There has to be balance in life fun and joy but also building in some security and resilience into life with savings

If that’s what you want to do then fine.
But are you saving at the expense of living and having fun?
Your savings account balance is meaningless if you get knocked over by a bus before you spend it. But a frugal retirement if you could have saved more will also be difficult.

It hugely depends on what you earn and what your outgoings are. My first job after uni, I had just enough to cover my outgoings and clear a little debt. I didn't do things like going on holiday, because I couldn't afford it. I definitely couldn't afford to save.

When I got a better paying job, I finished clearing my post uni debt and managed to go away sometimes and got a car. From that point, my income rose more than my outgoings, so I could save. Things have gone up and down over the years, including 16 months with no work after redundancy. So I have not always been able to save all the time.

I would say save as much as you can without having to live an austere life. I don't regret the money I spent going travelling in my younger life. I would have probably regretted it had I spent it all on getting pissed every opportunity I had. Once you've got the rent/mortgage and other bills covered, save it. If you can only afford 1% of what you earn, or 10% or 50% do that. But it's your business, not your friends'. You can have the odd luxury without frittering it all away.

Isn't the standard advice to spend 50% of salary on essentials, 30% on wants and 20% savings? Though I think it might be 30% on savings.

Even so, I think saving 10% is quite low for the average person. I'd recommend saving more unless you already have huge savings, mortgage fully paid off, very comfortable etc. depends on your circumstance and how wealthy you are

The thing is, most people make the mistake of succumbing to lifestyle inflation.

I think what’s important, is a rainy day fund which covers a few months of outgoings. A pot you can dip into for things like car repairs. And of course, a pension. After that, it’s nice to have a goal you’re saving towards.

You’ll be surprised how many people live pay cheque to pay cheque.

If you can afford to save 10 percent and still manage to live you are doing well. When my DS was saving for his deposit he saved 25 percent every month and didn't go out much.