How much money do you guys save each month?

Started by Sirfetch’d August 25th, 2016 5:18 PM
  • 1309 views
  • 36 replies
I ask this because I am working pretty good hours now at my new job and I would like to start saving up some money to fall back on or just have for future down payments. I do not make a whole lot each month but I am still living at home so I don't have too many expenses. In most months I can probably set aside $200-$300 but I don't necessarily want to set that much aside. Would $100-$150 be good enough? Just curious how you all save money!

Her

Age 29
Seen 3 Hours Ago
Posted 1 Week Ago
i usually save an even $1k lmao...... i feel like that's way out of left field compared to pretty much any response in this thread, especially considering i am but a secretary at my work lol
i don't guilt myself about food but i allow only one or two material purchases a month, the rest being saved or promptly paying bills/rent when they come up. bear in mind i don't drive - that's probably the main reason why i am able to put so much away, not fretting about all things to do with driving and car ownership. otherwise i don't know, i guess i'm just good with money. i certainly don't get paid any more than the average person my age is, my rent isn't small and i have other bills i have to take care of too. idk!

moon

they/them
Seen 13 Hours Ago
Posted 2 Days Ago
37,443 posts
15.5 Years
I usually save between 713 and 952 american dollars per month. Strange sums maybe, but I simply converted from swedish kronor xD

I'm preparing for a future, and I earn decently well these days so I can afford to.
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Ice

Seen October 16th, 2022
Posted February 3rd, 2020
3,448 posts
8.8 Years
When I had a job in a greenhouse, I saved around $400 a month, but because I still lived with my parents at that point, so my expenses were quite low. I think a good amount to save really depends on what your future prospects are, if you're planning on moving out soon, or if the job is stable. I don't think most people here have situations that are very comparable to base it off. I personally made a balance when I went full-time, to see how much I'd save and how much I'd spent that I was happy with, and added any extra cash I ended up having left over at the end of the month to my savings account. A balance like that can really show some insights if you really wanna get into it.

Ivysaur

Grass dinosaur extraordinaire

Age 32
He/him
Madrid, Europe
Seen 2 Days Ago
Posted April 5th, 2023
21,076 posts
16.2 Years
About 200€ a month, mostly because my salary is pretty low. When I was in Argentina two years ago, making twice as much, I managed to save about 600€ a month. My expenses are generally low though, because here I'm living at my mom's, otherwise I'd be pretty screwed considering the cost of rent.

Sheep

She/Her
Australia
Seen 2 Hours Ago
Posted 4 Hours Ago
39,253 posts
16.6 Years
I still live with my parents so I save almost all of my money. I have a very very small part-time job right now that I do from home since last month so the pay is extremely low but with no bills or expenses to pay it still adds a good chunk to my savings for when I can move out. When I worked full time I saved almost my entire monthly paycheck too, again, because of no bills. Whoo. I love to save.

donavannj

Age 32
Male
'cause it get cold like Minnesota
Seen 6 Hours Ago
Posted 1 Week Ago
22,513 posts
18.2 Years
For various reasons, I've only been deliberately setting aside only about $20/week (which is $80 to $100 a month depending on the month) as a set in stone amount for saving. Part of that has to do with wanting to keep funds in my checking account in the event of sudden big expenses rather than having to dip into savings or put it onto a credit card and have to potentially pay either interest on the credit card or service charges for too many transactions from my savings accounts. The other part is that my checking account has a higher interest rate than any of my savings accounts at present.

I have a lot more than $80 to $100 per month I'm not spending, though.
whoops

tokyodrift

got me looking for attention

Age 29
he/him
Seen 3 Days Ago
Posted 1 Week Ago
4,525 posts
11.9 Years
I live at home so I save quite a bit actually. The way everything falls most of my bills are at the end of the month, and I usually have enough to cover them all in one pay period. I'd say $100/month is good, but I think it all comes down to what your living situation is.

Imperator161

Seen February 5th, 2023
Posted July 31st, 2020
1,415 posts
14.7 Years
I save a couple hundred dollars per month. I used to save more, but I moved apartments and my rent went up a bunch, so things are a little tighter than they were before. I live in a pretty high cost of living area, and I was originally expecting to just barely be breaking even for the next few years, so I'm happy with the way my budget has turned out. I'm in a phase of life where I plan to eventually make significantly more money than I do now, though, so that makes a difference when I think about the future.

I would say that how much you need to save depends on your personal goals and financial situation, the cost-of-living wherever you might consider living, etc. Since you're living at home right now and it doesn't seem like you're in a huge rush to move out (and you presumably have the emergency safety net of your parents if some sort of disaster strikes), saving $100-$150 per month rather than $200-$300 is probably fine. If you start thinking seriously about buying a house or something of that sort, you may need to significantly increase your savings or adjust your lifestyle, though, depending on where you live. In general, I would vote for more-is-better on the savings front, but your happiness matters too, and an extra $100 or so in your bank account per month may not be worth it if you feel like you aren't enjoying life as a result. For me, an improved living situation was worth a few hundred dollars extra per month, so I opted to spend that money rather than saving it. Different things may matter to you, and you're the only one who knows how important certain luxuries are to you. For now, I would suggest just trying to develop the habit of saving some money each month, and increase that over time as your salary begins to increase or as your circumstances change.

Also, if you don't already do so, you might want to track your daily expenses for a couple of months to get a sense of exactly how much money you're spending on different things. There are a lot of apps to help with that, and you can get them to send you daily reminders to add in what you've spent that day, or you can use a spreadsheet.
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gimmepie

Age 27
Male
Australia
Seen 1 Day Ago
Posted 1 Day Ago
I couldn't say exactly how much but I save every spare penny I get.
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LegendChu

❤ CAREFREE, BUT CARING ❤

Male
Third Rock From The Sun
Seen October 21st, 2017
Posted October 21st, 2017
14,122 posts
9.1 Years
I ask this because I am working pretty good hours now at my new job and I would like to start saving up some money to fall back on or just have for future down payments. I do not make a whole lot each month but I am still living at home so I don't have too many expenses. In most months I can probably set aside $200-$300 but I don't necessarily want to set that much aside. Would $100-$150 be good enough? Just curious how you all save money!
Well, it depends on expenses for the month, so no fixed amount, but ya I do make sure I can save as much as I can.

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Dracowyn

Hell's Traffic Accident

Age 30
Male
Phondrasôn
Seen September 9th, 2022
Posted March 5th, 2022
413 posts
12.2 Years
I stil live with my parents and have a full time job. My parents do't ask that much to live with them, so I get to keep about 1200 euros a month for myself. I often buy things though but I usually still save about 900-1000 a month. Depending on if I need stuff it's sometimes less though but still a really nice sum.

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I feel kinda ashamed that my answer is probably 0.

Though I'm trying to be much better about that.
Eat less pizza :<

I originally was putting aside 0 but cut out silly expenses like eating out daily, going to the grocery store 3 times a week instead of buying all at once, not taking my lunch to work, etc.

blue

gucci

Male
United Kingdom
Seen September 26th, 2021
Posted August 7th, 2019
21,056 posts
15.4 Years
Not very much at all. I have a low income to start with but on top of that I'm also paying off my car, insurance, phone bill, and most importantly my Netflix subscription.

Tsutarja

Age 28
he / him
Florida
Seen 6 Hours Ago
Posted 6 Days Ago
27,325 posts
13.2 Years
Zilch. Unless you count all the chump change I put into my piggy bank!
I'll one-up you with that: assuming I somehow quit pizza and stick to like, fruits and vegetable and beef and other stuff, then I'd save literally hundrends.

Sadly, and unfortunately my picky taste buds have won every single war they've been in and probably will for the foreseeable future.
I know that feel 8(

Sammi

Age 33
she/her
The States
Seen 23 Hours Ago
Posted November 8th, 2021
14,085 posts
18.3 Years
For a long time, it was $0.

Now I save as much as feasibly possible. tl;dr my work schedule is erratic at times so I have to make sure I can pay my insurance premiums when I'm not getting regular paychecks. So I save a ton when I can, so I have money when my hours are low. I won't be able to put money back into the savings account until late September/early October.

Let me tell you, it is 10x easier to save money when you have a savings account.

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Alex

what will it be next?

Seen December 30th, 2022
Posted December 26th, 2022
6,407 posts
16.4 Years
I'm earning a full time wage and living at home so my monthly expenses are pretty low. I put about $500 away every week, which equals to $1k every paycheck. It feels very nice having money saved up because you never know when you might need it. And you have the freedom to find something worth buying or investing in with that money.

donavannj

Age 32
Male
'cause it get cold like Minnesota
Seen 6 Hours Ago
Posted 1 Week Ago
22,513 posts
18.2 Years
I'll one-up you with that: assuming I somehow quit pizza and stick to like, fruits and vegetable and beef and other stuff, then I'd save literally hundreds.

Sadly, and unfortunately my picky taste buds have won every single war they've been in and probably will for the foreseeable future.
Possible fixes:

Homemade pizza!

Buy frozen pizzas in bulk

work at a pizzeria and get employee discounts on pizza
whoops

Margot

some things are that simple

they/he
Seen April 16th, 2022
Posted February 25th, 2019
3,662 posts
17.3 Years
Ehhh depends on the month, but usually between $500 and $800. I've gone through a really rough month and I'll be lucky if I can save anything for a few months to make up for it. I'll probably be saving less now that I live alone too, rawr.

Logan

Age 28
Male
Salisbury, England
Seen July 19th, 2022
Posted November 12th, 2021
10,414 posts
14.5 Years
I managed to save up 12 grand but then I bought a new car instead of being sensible