What's a good level of savings?

Bubbaclaus · 02-06-2015 11:56PM

I currently save 700 per month. It's transferred out of my current account the same day I'm paid so that 700 is locked in. I budget my month then around whatever's left.

Hopefully getting a wage increase soon so I can push this up towards 1,000pm.

jester77 · 03-06-2015 08:39AM

needhelpguy wrote: »

What's a good level of savings? I'm a 29 year old guy, 30 this year - single no commitments and I've €20k saved. Is this good/bad? Manage to save 1k a month at the mo but think I should have more saved.

What level are other people at? State your age and commitments, for perspective.

So you are nearly 30, which means you have been working about 9 years if you take the average graduation age. 9 years is 108 monthly salaries, so you have managed to save an average of €185 per month. Not exactly super, but better than a lot of people.

Tabnabs · 03-06-2015 12:36PM

six months net salary is a good target for savings. Anything on top of that can be spent or invested as required.

kippy · 03-06-2015 12:44PM

jester77 wrote: »

So you are nearly 30, which means you have been working about 9 years if you take the average graduation age. 9 years is 108 monthly salaries, so you have managed to save an average of €185 per month. Not exactly super, but better than a lot of people.

To be fair to the OP, they've done very well to save that much. There are many people who don't save at all in their 20's for whatever reason - sometimes a combination of not earning that much but having high living expenses.

scdublin · 03-06-2015 02:06PM

Going by my mates of the same age, that's pretty good. They'd probably think you were incredibly rich actually. Have you been saving for long?
I like to think I'm a very good saver as well...always good to have money for a rainy day but it's nice being able to spend some of it on sunny holidays away too

The Dark Side · 03-06-2015 02:15PM

Have 7 separate savings accounts with the OH.
2 Credit Union Accs
3 Investment Accounts with direct debits from our current acc every month
2 Bank Saving Accounts.

Use them for different purposes - kid' education, holidays, car purchases etc

We never take out loans to buy stuff other than a mortgage.

I've always been a disciplined saver and like to cut unnecessary expense out of my life so I can treat myself to the things I really want.

Geuze · 03-06-2015 02:40PM

Greentopia wrote: »

These people saving 1k a month...have kids and a mortgage do ye? I'm guessing not. :pac: fair play if you do and still can, it's just that I don't know many people who can save €100 a month, never mind a grand with a few kids to clothe, feed and educate and mortgaged up to the gills.

I have a mortgage + wife SAHM + kids + car, and save approx 25% of net income, 800 pm.

Geuze · 03-06-2015 02:41PM

This lad is unreal for saving:

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/threads/32-year-old-hopes-to-semi-retire-by-40.116679/page-5#post-1432807

See post 92.

AppleBottle · 03-06-2015 09:39PM

I'm 24, no commitments and I save a little per month. I don't want to go into details about the amount. I did save when I got a job before college at 17/18, saved a good amount too back then but I had to use those savings and was back to square one when I graduated college. I started saving again this year. I'm not hoping to have spectacular savings by the end of the year - but just something there if I need to dip into it. Really thinking about it now, I could actually put away a little more than I do already. I usually still have money in my account by the end of the month.

lcwill · 03-06-2015 10:21PM

bilbot79 wrote: »

dirt? Claim back? Wha?

First time buyers who buy before 31 Dec 2017 can claim back any Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) they have paid since October 2014.

DIRT is a tax you pay at 41% on any interest you get from the bank - it's deducted automatically by the bank.

The idea is to make it slightly easier for first time buyers to save a deposit by letting them off the tax on interest they receive while saving.

If you are reading a thread about saving you should find out what it is because you probably pay it.

massdebater · 03-06-2015 11:09PM

I'm 28 (29 this year) and have roughly €35k saved (plus I live in a mobile home worth €10k which I will be selling after xmas). I quit my job last xmas to travel and I've probably spent about €7k since then.

When I was working, I was saving close to €1500 every month in a normal office job (non managerial) and that's including drinking twice a week, holidays every year, owning 2 cars etc. I was just always a hoor for saving. Single with no mortgage or dependents makes a huge difference though.

04-06-2015 12:22AM

I really should save a lot more than I do, I'm desperate for dipping into my savings. My boyfriend earns less than me but manages to save way more.

I do however put 10% of my wages into the employee stock purchase scheme at work, which is a fantastic way of saving! In six months I made a grand "free money". It's pot luck really, but your pretty much guaranteed to make money, on my one anyway.

c_man · 08-01-2016 12:33PM

*bumpity bump bump*

Well New Year, lots of people including myself start looking at our savings. Was talking to a friend yesterday about it and was shocked at how little stock ( :pac: ) he puts away for a rainy day, he said around 5-10%. Now he's in the same boat as myself (single, professional job, no 'real' commitments as such) but fair play, he's enjoying life to the full with multiple holidays etc.

How much do you manage to stash away? I've usually been good in this regard but have had a lot of unexpected expenses recently so want to get back in the habit. I'm aiming at about 25-30% of my income going straight into a savings account (direct debit ones work best for me, I can't spend it if it leaves my account as soon as I'm paid

). Should I be aiming for more?

I'd really like to be a position where I could put a decent deposit on my own place in the next year or two. I'm sick of house sharing.

Chain Smoker · 08-01-2016 12:43PM

I think what's more significant is how difficult you find it to save money.

I'm 25 so the figures are lower, but I usually have a tier of savings. There's a sum I'd basically never touch unless absolutely necessary and another that fluctuates but generally grows unless I've no income for a patch.

messy tessy · 08-01-2016 12:50PM

c_man wrote: »

*bumpity bump bump*

Well New Year, lots of people including myself start looking at our savings. Was talking to a friend yesterday about it and was shocked at how little stock ( :pac: ) he puts away for a rainy day, he said around 5-10%. Now he's in the same boat as myself (single, professional job, no 'real' commitments as such) but fair play, he's enjoying life to the full with multiple holidays etc.

How much do you manage to stash away? I've usually been good in this regard but have had a lot of unexpected expenses recently so want to get back in the habit. I'm aiming at about 25-30% of my income going straight into a savings account (direct debit ones work best for me, I can't spend it if it leaves my account as soon as I'm paid ). Should I be aiming for more?

I'd really like to be a position where I could put a decent deposit on my own place in the next year or two. I'm sick of house sharing.

I'm 28, single, no dependents and manage to save (on average) 35% of my income each month. I am going to set up a DD at the end of January for this amount - as you say if its not in my account it can't be splurged.

I am hoping for an aggressive year of saving (!) so I can afford my own place within the next two years. I have the deposit for an apartment saved already, but as my rent is pretty cheap for the area I am in I am trying to build up a bigger lump sum, unless the apartment of my dreams comes along!

kjl · 08-01-2016 12:57PM

About a year ago I had over 100k saved, then I bought a house and most of that disappeared.

I am back up to about 20k savings now, plus have a load in my pension but I don't really keep track of that.

hairyslug · 08-01-2016 12:59PM

Me and herself are in our mid 30s, late last year we decided to move house so had to start saving.
We were amazed how much we were able to put away each month, it was not enjoyable, money went on necessities and that was it.
We joked about it earlier in the week that 12 months ago we never thought we would be have this much, granted in 8 weeks time it will all be gone on the mortgage

ohbygod · 08-01-2016 01:07PM

I'm a 29 female owe 10k in the credit union have 0 saving's I'm living week to week my finances are a mess

08-01-2016 01:08PM

I'm in my thirties and have spent all my savings on my education. I'm not in a position to save anything at the minute but oddly enough I'm not too concerned. Sometimes it can be stressful but living has taught me that at the end of the day it really doesn't matter if you have 50k or 2k, it can still be a wonderful life or a pretty crap one regardless.

valoren · 08-01-2016 01:19PM

Savings amount is subjective. You can't simply say that you need to have x amount saved by y age.
Everyone has different incomes and expenses.

As a general rule, I would suggest the advice from the Richest Man in Babylon which advises you should pay yourself first.

A part of all you earn is your to KEEP.

No less than 10% should be saved/invested permanently, before you spend anything. It should remain untouched.
You can do whatever you want with the remaining 90%.

Mint Sauce · 08-01-2016 01:21PM

Had savings as well until I blew most of it on a house, and its associated new contents, improvements, costs, etc etc etc.

Have recently started saving again after breaking even for a while, due to still buying things for it, extra bills etc, but have aways tried to keep a minimum amount for security, and avoided purchases that were not necessary at that time. I'm not saving a fixed amount every month, but still try and put aside a bit.

draiochtanois · 08-01-2016 01:22PM

This post has been deleted.

08-01-2016 01:23PM

I have 2/3 of a large vodka bottle in savings

08-01-2016 01:27PM

draiochtanois wrote: »

There is lots of potential for matchmaking on this thread, out two savers together and they can hook up and buy the place of their dreams together

Or finding myself a sugar daddy! :pac:

Mint Sauce · 08-01-2016 01:33PM

Strawberry Milkshake wrote: »

I have 2/3 of a large vodka bottle in savings

I do similar as well, chuck any small change into one of them empty 5l water bottles. In fairness it never gets to more than a few inches deep, but always get couple hundred euro out of it once or twice a year.

donegaLroad · 08-01-2016 01:34PM

could this be another revenue thread? :eek:

*if anyone has mentioned that they have savings in an off-shore account, go back and delete!

timmy880 · 08-01-2016 01:36PM

I'm 27 and have a fiancée....... What on earth are savings?

ASoberThought · 08-01-2016 01:40PM

30 year old male here.

Working since the age of 14 and have about 500 euro saved. I don't owe anything and never have. I've always had a well paying job and squandered thousands on drink, drugs and bouncing around from country to country.

I plan on getting 3-6 months rainy day fund behind me and generally spending my 30s being a bit more careful with the finances.

The Backwards Man · 08-01-2016 02:03PM

I said it before and I'll say it again, saving purely for the sake of saving is pointless. The same 8x4 will hold the lot of us, so enjoy it while you can, and if you can't spend it all, invest it, put it in a pension or give it to me.

I think I posted that in this thread before. . .

messy tessy · 08-01-2016 02:27PM

draiochtanois wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

haha!!

I'm single and a catch!! Form an orderly queue guys

What's a good level of savings?

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