Comments on: Poll: How Much Are You Saving This Year Compared to Last Year?

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[...] Generation X Finance asks his readers how much they’re saving compared to last year. [...]

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[...] promotions brokers are offering for opening a new account. Generation X Finance asks how much you’re saving in 2008 vs. what you did in [...]

By: Steve Austin

Steve Austin — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:48:51 +0000

Jeremy, ok, I voted “More” but qualify it here in case you think it’s bunk:
* I always aim to save more by spending less
* I got myself into higher-yielding vehicles this year (vis last year) but will have no earned income this year
* hence, in %-of-income terms my saving has really jacked up, but in nominal dollar terms my saving has fallen
.
Saving, investment, and re-investment (re-saving?) all kind of blur together for me. The only thing that is constant for me is a reduction of spending, which by definition always results in more saving.

By: N-GIRL

N-GIRL — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:44:14 +0000

ABBM, Don’t feel bad about $20/mth. It’s something to start with. I started with that myself awhile back.

I just paid off 2 items in my life and will be increasing my savings abit. I also will be going on my soon to be husband’s insurance, thus freeing up another $90 a week in my paycheck.

With my freed up $ in my check, I will be able to put more money in my 401K as well my ING Direct. I plan on getting all the credit cards paid off shortly. I also plan to have an emergency fund put away. I can’t wait for debt freedom

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:40:23 +0000

Steve,

I guess what I had in mind by saving more, was a situation where you actively changed or increased your savings. Retirement, emergency fund, or otherwise.

If you always save a set percentage of your income and you happened to get a pay raise that resulted in more dollars being saved, that wasn’t what I was thinking about in terms of saving more.

And yes, I do think that if someone is able to save more, it probably means they are spending less.

By: Steve Austin

Steve Austin — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:28:55 +0000

Jeremy, before I vote, would you clarify what you mean by “more” and “saving”? Is that in absolute or relative terms? The difference being that “more” in relative (% income, % net worth, % something) terms indicates an opinion that there is more value in saving this year than last year. Whereas someone who has a rising income and invests on a % of income basis (Fiscal Musings touched on this in her/his comment), could actually lower their % savings yet still end up saving “more” in nominal terms. Finally, what do you mean by “saving”? Does saving cover both investment and speculation? Or does it mean only insured depository bank accounts of some sort? You do ask for this in open-ended form for the comments, but you don’t say how we should make our vote in this regard. Finally, in your view, is asking someone whether s/he saves more equivalent to asking her/him whether s/he spends less?

By: Ron@TheWisdomJournal

Ron@TheWisdomJournal — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:30:28 +0000

It’s about the same for me, but I’m being much MORE aggressive with debt re-payment. By mid May, I will have paid off $12,000 in credit card debt and another $4,000 in my oldest daughter’s braces. Next up…the car loan. After that, the student loan and then it’s all over (except the mortgage!) Woo Hoo!

By: Fern

Fern — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:47:31 +0000

My only debt is a small ($73K) mortgage, so my savings continues to go toward retirement. A chunk of discretionary income ($425 a month) also goes toward paying off my mortgage.

By: Mr. Meef

Mr. Meef — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:30:50 +0000

Increased my pre-tax 401k contribution 1%. I do that each year. It’s not a significant change in take home pay, considering it’s broken down into 26 payrolls.

By: Jen

Jen — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:59:10 +0000

I got a significant raise (as opposed to a cost of living adjustment), so I upped my 401(k) contribution 2%. Plus, my household expenses have stabilized after living in my condo for 2+ years. Money has stopped flying out the door – yay!

Now I am adding to my emergency fund.