Invest 50% of my take home pay in 2015.

[minority_finance_mo]

To get through this you have to invest 50% of your take home pay in 2015.

September update. Remember, my goal is 70%.

Month	Income	Invested	Ratio
Jan	2906€	1702€	59%
Feb	4798€	3702€	77%
Mar	2862€	2702€	94%
Apr	3968€	3030€	76%
May	2842€	2550€	90%
Jun	3692€	2772€	75%
Jul	2925€	1934€	66%
Aug	2966€	2082€	70%
Sep	2782€	1802€	65%
Total	29740€	22278€	75%

Very impressive!

Thanks! The percentage might go down a bit further since I ordered new glasses today (for the last week the old ones have been holding together only because of liberal application of duct tape). And because I might yet replace my bike. But I think I will be able to manage the 70% for the full year!

Apologies if you answered this already, but how did you manage to live on ~150 euros in March?

[McStache]

Goal is >=70%, stretch goal is >=75%

January      66%
February     73%
March         78%
April           80%
May            81%
June           55%
July            36%
August        82%
September  63%
-------------------------
Average      70%

[maco]

I did a check a couple nights ago of how the money's going. It looks like I'm at 45% for investments + debt paydown (counting extra mortgage principle as debt paydown but my minimum mortgage payment as spending). I still think I need to do better.

[WerKater]

Apologies if you answered this already, but how did you manage to live on ~150 euros in March?

As you probably imagine, I didn't. Although it would be cool ;)

I think I explained this in my very first post a bit but did not give much detail. The third column is "Invested" by which I mean the money that I did in fact shovel into my investment account. The previous months I had been saving up a bit for an expense that I was expecting but which I was ultimately spared. So I invested the saved up money in march (and I had found MMM in february and realized that I should invest right away and not save up for things that might come up).
If you add up Income and Investments from Jan-Mar, you find average monthly spending of a bit over 800€ which is in fact pretty exactly my baseline expenses.
I realize that it would be more precise to actually track my spending and just use "Income-Spending" instead of "Invested", but this is much easier and in the long run it should average out. Especially since I don't do this saving up any more.

However: Thanks for the reality check because I went back and checked my other numbers and the one for May is in fact wrong. My income was higher than I had put in the table. Here is the corrected version:

Month	Income	Invested	Ratio
Jan	2906€	1702€	59%
Feb	4798€	3702€	77%
Mar	2862€	2702€	94%
Apr	3968€	3030€	76%
May	3412€	2550€	75%
Jun	3692€	2772€	75%
Jul	2925€	1934€	66%
Aug	2966€	2082€	70%
Sep	2782€	1802€	65%
Total	30310	22278€	74%

[MEJG]

SEPTEMBER FAIL!  totalled car with only collision on it (bought it for 500, only worth 2,000, SH put 4,000 of damage on it....) plus a low income month plus offering in Aug to help a family member out  with a dead transmission.....  On the upside we're only 900 and change away from mazing DH's 401k.


Net SR:
5/15: 48%
6/15 65%
7/15: 61%
8/15: 52%
9/15: 12%

Average net SR: 50%

Shooting for a much better Oct and Nov to bring the average up a bit

[ThreadPacifist]

September Update:

Turns out, people love to give you free stuff when you have a baby. The result is the lowest spending month of the year! (Hospital bills are a large one time payment, so I've not been including my HSA savings into my overall calculations nor will I include the hospital bills). 86.1%


January:  70.3%
February: 51.8%
March:     92.9%
April:       76.2%
May:        72.6%
June:       7.59%  (car totaled)
July:        83.5%
August:   85.27%
September: 86.1%

YTD: 73.06%

It might still be possible to hit my 75% goal. I'll have to monitor the Christmas season very carefully.

SEPTEMBER FAIL!  totalled car with only collision on it (bought it for 500, only worth 2,000, SH put 4,000 of damage on it....) plus a low income month plus offering in Aug to help a family member out  with a dead transmission.....  On the upside we're only 900 and change away from mazing DH's 401k.


Net SR:
5/15: 48%
6/15 65%
7/15: 61%
8/15: 52%
9/15: 12%

Average net SR: 50%

Shooting for a much better Oct and Nov to bring the average up a bit

Hey fellow car totaling buddy! Don't let it get you down, just keep doing what you're doing with that great 60% SR and everything will work out.

[mandy_2002]

My monthly update:
January:     53.7%
February:    39.4%       
March:        97.2%         (Feb lack of savings went into March)
April:           58.3%
May:            93.7%         (3 paycheck month, with residual cash moved into savings)
June:           66.2%
July:            70.0%       
August:       110.4%       (Money from e-fund - not originally marked as savings - moved to take advantage of stock drop)
September: 109.9%       (Ditto)

YTD:  81.2%     

Year end goal:  65%

[2Birds1Stone]

77% YTD

This will drop to exactly 75% for the entire year as my pay drops off in Q4 and spending is up for the Holidays.

[Cookie78]

Update:
Jan   57.82
Feb   69.45
Mar   59.29
Apr   69.86
May   52.16
Jun   63.44
Jul   67.79
Aug   71.29
Sep  81.94

[linuxhero]

Monthly update:

January: 54%
February: 56%
March: 96%
April: 64%
May: 58%
June: 57%
July: 56%
August: 53%
September: 51%
October: 50%
----------------
Average: 59.5%

The investments contributed year to date are in:
Before tax 401K contributions and company match: $17.2k
My Roth IRA: $21.9k
Wife's Traditional IRA: $5.5k
HSA: $5.5k

[WerKater]

October update. Remember: My goal is 70%

Month	Income	Invested	Ratio
Jan	2906€	1702€	59%
Feb	4798€	3702€	77%
Mar	2862€	2702€	94%
Apr	3968€	3030€	76%
May	3412€	2550€	75%
Jun	3692€	2772€	75%
Jul	2925€	1934€	66%
Aug	2966€	2082€	70%
Sep	2782€	1802€	65%
Oct	2834€	2034€	72%
Total	33144€	24312€	73%

[BarbeRiche]

Nice to see these impressive numbers!

I don't have it month by month by it goes like this :

73k take home pay //10k tax return //7k from rental property (after expenses)

46k in RRSP/TFSA/PENSION PLAN/STOCK PLAN (not including what the company puts in)

Roughly 51% saving rate....still 10k in the bank and plan to add extra 8k in RRSP by years end.

If I add the home equity + company % I get to 67k total savings YTD which would bring us to almost 75% SR but I don't know if I should include that? It does sound good :D

Crazy thing is I don't even feel like we are restricting ourselves.  Went to Mexico, Italy and Greece and bought a 6k car with cash in 2015.  It just blows my mind to hear people saying they have no money when I know what salaries they make with no children, etc...

[peterpatch]

I'm sorry I haven't been posting lately, I vacationed in September and October has been very busy for me. I have an automated system to calculate my savings rate which rely's on Mint.com. Mint hasn't been working with my bank for weeks on end so I don't have any numbers to share. Nonetheless my vacation was budgeted for and we came in under budget so there's going to be some savings there and I got a big birthday cheque from a well heeled relative. Also spending is thrifty and my checking account is flush with cash so I am doing something right.

If Mint doesn't get their act sorted out, I am going to have to (GASP) change my spreadsheet so it works again. I am lazily hoping this problem goes away on it's own in a couple of weeks.

[McStache]

Goal is >=70%, stretch goal is >=75%

January      66%
February     73%
March         78%
April           80%
May            81%
June           55%
July            36%
August        82%
September  63%
October       68%
-------------------------
Average      70% (just barely)

A lot of expenses in October, but also a bonus.  So things evened out in the end and I am just barely (69.54%) holding on to 70% for the year, though I'd like to (and think I will) hit it outright.

[southernhippie]

so using 50% to pay off mortgage counts?

[mandy_2002]

so using 50% to pay off mortgage counts?

Yep, any money that goes direct to principal should be counted (so not interest, insurance, or taxes which may be tacked onto your payment).

[mandy_2002]

My monthly update:
January:     53.7%
February:    39.4%       
March:        97.2%         (Feb lack of savings went into March)
April:           58.3%
May:            93.7%         (3 paycheck month, with residual cash moved into savings)
June:           66.2%
July:            70.0%       
August:       110.4%       (Money from e-fund - not originally marked as savings - moved to take advantage of stock drop)
September: 109.9%       (Ditto)
October:      70.8%

YTD:  80.0%     
I'm expecting this to fall slightly for the rest of the year as I pay for High Deductible Health plan costs from Peace Corps requirements.

Year end goal:  65%

[maco]

I'm sorry I haven't been posting lately, I vacationed in September and October has been very busy for me. I have an automated system to calculate my savings rate which rely's on Mint.com. Mint hasn't been working with my bank for weeks on end so I don't have any numbers to share. Nonetheless my vacation was budgeted for and we came in under budget so there's going to be some savings there and I got a big birthday cheque from a well heeled relative. Also spending is thrifty and my checking account is flush with cash so I am doing something right.

If Mint doesn't get their act sorted out, I am going to have to (GASP) change my spreadsheet so it works again. I am lazily hoping this problem goes away on it's own in a couple of weeks.

If it's Chase, they have officially dropped support for any third-party logins because of the security risks.

[Cookie78]

Update:
Jan   57.82
Feb   69.45
Mar   59.29
Apr   69.86
May   52.16
Jun   63.44
Jul   67.79
Aug   71.29
Sep  81.94

Oct 71.47

[sisto]

I've been eyeing this gauntlet for months and pretty sure I was already achieving over 50%, but been to lazy to calculate it. I finally did that today and I'm at 60% and that does not even include the principal portion of my mortgage, so yay! Glad to see so many achieving this. I love the support here.

[BarbeRiche]

My monthly update:
January:     53.7%
February:    39.4%       
March:        97.2%         (Feb lack of savings went into March)
April:           58.3%
May:            93.7%         (3 paycheck month, with residual cash moved into savings)
June:           66.2%
July:            70.0%       
August:       110.4%       (Money from e-fund - not originally marked as savings - moved to take advantage of stock drop)
September: 109.9%       (Ditto)
October:      70.8%

YTD:  80.0%     
I'm expecting this to fall slightly for the rest of the year as I pay for High Deductible Health plan costs from Peace Corps requirements.

Year end goal:  65%

That's pretty impressive!  Congratz on such high % !

You must make a lot of money or live very frugally...maybe both :)

Either way good job!

[ThreadPacifist]

January:  70.3%
February: 51.8%
March:     92.9%
April:       76.2%
May:        72.6%
June:       7.59%  (car totaled)
July:        83.5%
August:   85.27%
September: 86.1%
October:  76.2%

Total: 73.31%

Took the professional engineering exam this month. Company says they'll reimburse me if I pass, so I'm assuming I've passed and didn't count those expenses. A bit of a spendy month. I'd like to blame our annual life insurance premiums, but I think an uptick in take-out during baby's first month is to blame for the higher bills.

On a positive note, I got a promotion at work, so that should increase the savings rate nicely.

[peterpatch]

Mint is finally working with my bank again and just as I suspected I am at a  50% savings rate so far this year. Good work everyone else who has made it through the gauntlet so far!

[BarbeRiche]

January:  70.3%
February: 51.8%
March:     92.9%
April:       76.2%
May:        72.6%
June:       7.59%  (car totaled)
July:        83.5%
August:   85.27%
September: 86.1%
October:  76.2%

Total: 73.31%

Took the professional engineering exam this month. Company says they'll reimburse me if I pass, so I'm assuming I've passed and didn't count those expenses. A bit of a spendy month. I'd like to blame our annual life insurance premiums, but I think an uptick in take-out during baby's first month is to blame for the higher bills.

On a positive note, I got a promotion at work, so that should increase the savings rate nicely.

Way to go!  Was your baby born this year?  My gf is due in February next year and people are trying to scare me saying I'll be looking for pennies on the sidewalk because babies cost so much :P

[WerKater]

November update. Remember: My goal is 70%

Month	Income	Invested	Ratio
Jan	2906€	1702€	59%
Feb	4798€	3702€	77%
Mar	2862€	2702€	94%
Apr	3968€	3030€	76%
May	3412€	2550€	75%
Jun	3692€	2772€	75%
Jul	2925€	1934€	66%
Aug	2966€	2082€	70%
Sep	2782€	1802€	65%
Oct	2834€	2034€	72%
Nov	3813€	2900€	76%
Total	36957€	27214€	74%

My expected income for december (2700€) will bring my annual income to 39657€; 70% of which is 27760€. That means, I only need to invest a total of 546€ in december to reach my 70% goal for the year. So, in addition to my usual spending of 1000€/month, I would reach my goal even if I wasted 1156€. And you can guess whether I will do that.

[McStache]

Goal is >=70%, stretch goal is >=75%

January      66%
February     73%
March         78%
April           80%
May            81%
June           55%
July            36%
August        82%
September  63%
October       68%
November   91%
-------------------------
Average      73%

It's looking like I'll fall right between my goal and my stretch goal for the year. 

[linuxhero]

Monthly update:

January: 54%
February: 56%
March: 96%
April: 64%
May: 58%
June: 57%
July: 56%
August: 53%
September: 51%
October: 50%
November: 50%
----------------
Average: 58.6% (includes mortgage principal)

It looks like I'm going to squeak by even if I do not include the mortgage principal, so I'll use those numbers for the rest of the year:

Savings rate not including mortgage principal:

January: 46%
February: 48%
March: 93%
April: 57%
May: 51%
June: 50%
July: 48%
August: 46%
September: 45%
October: 42%
November: 42%
----------------
Average: 51.6% (not including mortgage principal)

[mandy_2002]

My monthly update:
January:     53.7%
February:    39.4%       
March:        97.2%         (Feb lack of savings went into March)
April:           58.3%
May:            93.7%         (3 paycheck month, with residual cash moved into savings)
June:           66.2%
July:            70.0%       
August:       110.4%       (Money from e-fund - not originally marked as savings - moved to take advantage of stock drop)
September: 109.9%       (Ditto)
October:      70.8%
November:   74.8%
December:  Year end savings should be lower because of a stop in the after tax 401K contributions (trying to get them rolled into Roth IRA by end of year) and end of year charitable contributions.  According to the math, even with 0% invested, my 2015 savings rate should be at least 73%.  WooHoo!!

YTD:  79.2%     

Year end goal:  65%

[ThreadPacifist]

January:  70.3%
February: 51.8%
March:     92.9%
April:       76.2%
May:        72.6%
June:       7.59%  (car totaled)
July:        83.5%
August:   85.27%
September: 86.1%
October:  76.2%
November: 66.27%

Total: 72.75%

Property tax and car insurance dragged my savings rate down this month. Looks like I'll have to be content with a >70% goal rather than the >75% I was wanting. Still happy with it overall. If the car hadn't been totaled in July, I'd be sitting at 79%.

[Cookie78]

Update:
Jan   57.82
Feb   69.45
Mar   59.29
Apr   69.86
May   52.16
Jun   63.44
Jul   67.79
Aug   71.29
Sep  81.94
Oct 71.47

Nov 72.12

[bzzzt]

Sitting at almost 62% for the year even with a horribly spendy November. We had our patio and front walk replaced (paid cash, contractor knocked off $300) and I ordered a new washer/dryer on a Black Friday deal to replace our older ones since the washer is going out (sale + GCs from CC rewards = 55% of retail price!).

I thought 50% was a stretch goal but keeping at it all year, I'm going to kill it. On top of it, the other thing that's getting killed, the mortgage! My wife and I should be completely, totally debt free by Dec 31st. It's going to be a Happy New Year!

[BarbeRiche]

Sitting at almost 62% for the year even with a horribly spendy November. We had our patio and front walk replaced (paid cash, contractor knocked off $300) and I ordered a new washer/dryer on a Black Friday deal to replace our older ones since the washer is going out (sale + GCs from CC rewards = 55% of retail price!).

I thought 50% was a stretch goal but keeping at it all year, I'm going to kill it. On top of it, the other thing that's getting killed, the mortgage! My wife and I should be completely, totally debt free by Dec 31st. It's going to be a Happy New Year!

Well played!  That will be a good reason to celebrate.

How long did it take for you to clear the mortgage?

[bzzzt]

How long did it take for you to clear the mortgage?

3 years, $145k including down and interest. I could've done it sooner if I had found MMM sooner, but the first year was a lifestyle inflation year, last year was getting ready for a baby, this year was long overdue house repairs/upgrades. I've always been a good saver by American standards (20-40%), but really sunk my teeth into it over the last 15 months.

This probably isn't our "forever" home. We'd both like a place with a bunch of land in the sticks, but this is home base for now and it serves it's purpose well. LCOL in a fairly HCOL area.

[Malum Prohibitum]

This thread is very inspiring.  I am trying to see if I can go to 50% in 2016.  Currently only in the 40s %.  I am sure somebody will start another thread in January.

:)

[linuxhero]

Yay, final update of 2015:

January: 46%
February: 48%
March: 93%
April: 57%
May: 51%
June: 50%
July: 48%
August: 46%
September: 45%
October: 42%
November: 42%
December: 41%
----------------
Average: 50.7%

My strategy to front load my after tax contributions followed by pre tax contributions seemed to work, and I was able to figure out (using much trial and error) how to maximize my 401k after tax contributions for my bonus check only (this year, I tried to put the maximum, 50% of my bonus check into the 401k, but it took effect 1 pay period after the bonus.  Doh.) 

Looking forward to next year and doing at least as well.

[McStache]

Goal is >=70%, stretch goal is >=75%

January      66%
February     73%
March         78%
April           80%
May            81%
June           55%
July            36%
August        82%
September  63%
October       68%
November   91%
December   85%
-------------------------
Average      74%

Overall a very good year!  I didn't make my stretch goal, but solidly beat my goal of 70%.  Hopefully I can make it to 75% next year!

[2Birds1Stone]

Well, I did a preliminary end of year check......76% for 2015. Unless something goes horribly wrong in the next 3 days.
 

[FIRE me]

To get through this you have to invest 50% of your take home pay in 2015.

Challenge accepted.

$24,000   401k max out (with catch up)
$  6,500    IRA max out (with catch up)
----------
$30,500    Total.     <--- should be just about 50% of my gross, not take home.

Made it. Take home (gross minus involuntary deductions - tax, mandatory insurance, union dues) was $41,575. 401k and IRA was topped out as promised. 73% take home invested.

[ThreadPacifist]

January:  70.3%
February: 51.8%
March:     92.9%
April:       76.2%
May:        72.6%
June:       7.59%  (car totaled)
July:        83.5%
August:   85.27%
September: 86.1%
October:  76.2%
November: 66.27%
December: 77.73%

Total: 73.1%

Overall, I'm happy with the results. 80+% was achievable if the car had not been totaled and our spending was down 12% from last year. Unfortunately, child care will start this month, which will likely prevent these percentages again. At least with the promotion I received, the overall amount saved should only see a small dip.

[peterpatch]

Great work everyone.

After the final accounting I saved 54% of my take home pay in 2015.