About 2 years ago, I figured $4,000 per month saved would be the magic number for us to retire in 10 years time and still lead a comfortable existence. Life got in the way and after a few pay cuts, job changes, my wife graduating nursing school, and me opening my own business, we're now FINALLY able to securely save $4,000 every month. We were able to start with a $28,000 cushion, but this week marks the 2nd week of automated transfers of $1000 from our checking into our brokerage account (plus also deposited another $640 from credit card rewards from business purchases!). I was worried we couldn't achieve it at first, but 2 transfers in, I'm feeling confident that we'll be able to get by without having to dip into savings.