I have dreams about an 80% savings rate. They mostly involve making much larger amounts of money.
Expense justifications *cough, excuses, cough*
-I could cut more expenses if I forgot about the kids....not going to happen. After-school care costs are ridiculous they are my second biggest expense after rent. Rent is minimized given my constraints.
-I got rid of my car, which helped. Spending on the bike has gone up somewhat, especially now that it is mission critical - still cheaper than buying gas.
-The biggest thing I can do is pay off my debts so there are no longer the fucking interest costs every month. Working on it like there is a massive fire.
-There are small things around the margins that would move my SR a few %, but would likely lead to burnout and a lower SR longterm (further decrease in grocery bills, no dating).
SR for the year (Jan-Apr): 30% - I think this is the lowest in the thread!
Increasing income:
-My tack is making more money and keeping my costs fixed at their lowest, sustainable levels. I started my second job at the end of last month ($$), so the goal SR for the rest of the year is 50%. I could probably work a bit more at job2 - but that way lies extreme burnout.
-If I get the loan repayment grant (and counted it as income each month), then I could conceivably hit 75% for the second half of the year.
-80% would be a good goal for something like 2018....when I've transitioned to the next phase of my career.
*cough* Not that I would get married solely based on income benefits... HaHa, that would just be crazy!....
Ha! Being married is part of what got me into my mess in the first place...make sure you get married to someone on board with the high SR! :P