What is your Savings Rate?

[runmanTX]

So we recently had a NET WORTH poll and another (which I can't remember for the life of me right now ) but I'm curious to know what others' savings rates are.
Mine tends to vary depending on the month as my income fluctuates but I believe my savings rate (savings as a percentage of your total income) is about 44% for January. I know this may be low for some trying to conquer FIRE but is quite high for me.
How about others? Do you calculate your monthly savings rate? If so, what percentage is it and is it ideal for you?

[SZQ]

I save around 70% most months recently. Pre-COVID about 60%. It's ideal for us at the moment because we plan to buy a house this year (PR application result pending) so I am building up the down payment to improve our chances of a good house loan rate or getting a loan at all if PR is rejected.

Wife earns little and saves nothing

We live comfortably but we don't have expensive hobbies. We don't smoke, don't drive, rarely go out drinking, and have no kids. Just pay rent, utilities, groceries and eat out on weekends. Go to the cinema every couple of months. Also save for a few domestic holidays during the year.

I imagine it will all change if we get a house and if we have kids

[runmanTX]

I save around 70% most months recently. Pre-COVID about 60%. It's ideal for us at the moment because we plan to buy a house this year (PR application result pending) so I am building up the down payment to improve our chances of a good house loan rate or getting a loan at all if PR is rejected.

Wife earns little and saves nothing

We live comfortably but we don't have expensive hobbies. We don't smoke, don't drive, rarely go out drinking, and have no kids. Just pay rent, utilities, groceries and eat out on weekends. Go to the cinema every couple of months. Also save for a few domestic holidays during the year.

I imagine it will all change if we get a house and if we have kids

70% is absolutely amazing! Great job there. If you could keep that SR up, you'd be living high on the horse in the future. But no kid drain yet, eh? Kids are definitely expensive. Haha.

[mighty58]

Percentage of gross (pre-tax) or net (post-tax)?
And "savings" presumably includes investments?

Personally, I prefer looking at it as a percentage of net, post-tax money. We all pay taxes, to differing degrees, but that's money out the door that we can't choose what to do with, so no point counting that, as far as I'm concerned.

[Zanuhesu]

Wife is currently back in university, so with one income, we saved 52% of our post-tax income last year. Trying to tighten the belt a bit on several expenses this year to try and up that a bit, but there's only so much left to save without increasing income, which will come once my better half graduates

[runmanTX]

Percentage of gross (pre-tax) or net (post-tax)?
And "savings" presumably includes investments?

Personally, I prefer looking at it as a percentage of net, post-tax money. We all pay taxes, to differing degrees, but that's money out the door that we can't choose what to do with, so no point counting that, as far as I'm concerned.

Yes, yes. I was thinking savings as a percentage of post tax, net income. And I was also including investments as "savings".

[runmanTX]

Wife is currently back in university, so with one income, we saved 52% of our post-tax income last year. Trying to tighten the belt a bit on several expenses this year to try and up that a bit, but there's only so much left to save without increasing income, which will come once my better half graduates

52% is excellent. Thanks for sharing. And best of luck to your wife in school.

[TJKansai]

How about others? Do you calculate your monthly savings rate? If so, what percentage is it and is it ideal for you?

Earned income, post-tax, post-pension contribution, I'd say 50% give or take, at least when I wasn't paying university tuition .

Factors that make it tough to sort out a clear number:
-do pension contributions count as savings?
-is pension income that is not spent savings?
-dividends that are reinvested?
-mortgage payments? One might say paying off debt on a property that is growing in value might be considered savings.

[RetireJapan]

My wife and I have probably saved/invested about 60% of our income in recent years (I don't have anywhere near an accurate number because I am lazy and don't enjoy tracking things). I suspect this will fall this year when I leave my day job, or maybe the % will remain the same and the amounts will fall

We'll continue maxing out iDeCo and tsumitate NISA, and probably contribute a bit more to our taxable accounts.

[TJKansai]

FYI we do have some similar info here:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1601&p=14442&hilit=poll#p14442