2016 Savings Rate - How did you do?

[ducky19]

We were at 40% last year after taxes, including employer contributions, and mortgage principal. Really ratcheting it up this year, should be at 73%+ this year.

[Much Fishing to Do]

Hmmm, looks like its 55% savings rate net of taxes.  I would normally be very happy with that, but given I'm still in some higher earning years with my business it really should have been better.  Due to my violently fluctuating income, I focus more on just Total spent as compared to prior years and we did not do well.

[2Birds1Stone]

Just a hair over 80% net savings rate. This year due to much lower income it will be around 55-60%

[Mariposa]

Better than I thought: 42%

Numerator = contributions to 401K / Roth IRA / taxable account + employer contribution + difference in cash accounts

Demoninator = gross W2 wages + employer contribution - federal / local / FICA taxes withheld + expected 2016 tax refund

*I generally don't count home equity as part of our NW, so payments toward home equity aren't counted in savings rate. We live in a HCOL area with exaggerated housing costs, and we're not planning to move, so whatever we've sunk into home equity is completely illiquid.

[NorthernBlitz]

Better than I thought: 42%

Numerator = contributions to 401K / Roth IRA / taxable account + employer contribution + difference in cash accounts

Demoninator = gross W2 wages + employer contribution - federal / local / FICA taxes withheld + expected 2016 tax refund

*I generally don't count home equity as part of our NW, so payments toward home equity aren't counted in savings rate. We live in a HCOL area with exaggerated housing costs, and we're not planning to move, so whatever we've sunk into home equity is completely illiquid.

I calculate the same method as you do (although I generally neglect the change in our cash accounts). I'm very conservative with our withholding, so I usually get $4-5 k back from USA+NYS (we moved from Canada in 2013 and my income fluctuates, so I'm still trying to figure things out here in the USofA). If interest rates get significantly better than 1%, I may have to do a better job estimating my taxes before hand.

We're also at 42% with this calculation.

If I take my property taxes out of the equation, we'd go up to 48%. While we do live in an area with high property taxes, at least half of that is self inflicted...we spend too much on housing, but we own the house ourselves so I (usually) tell myself that it's OK. It's always something that I revisit at this time of year.

[Mariposa]

I calculate the same method as you do (although I generally neglect the change in our cash accounts).
...
We're also at 42% with this calculation.

What a coincidence!

To be perfectly accurate, I guess you should add your 2015 tax refund into the denominator. Our 2015 refund was far smaller than what we expect to get back for 2016 and basically cancelled out by the daycare expenses withheld from our paychecks, which we just got a check for this month. Things can get pretty complicated taking all these things into account.

I count our property taxes as a part of our spend, too. We have high local taxes (NYC) but fairly low property tax, so it doesn't make that much of a difference.

[RWD]

I came up with ~71% for 2016 after adjusting for tax refunds.

[kissthesky]

78% in 2016 (not including mortgage principal as savings, does include 401k)

2016: 78%
2015: 86%
2014: 71%
2013: 71%
2012: 74%

Projecting/hoping for 80% in 2017.

[Grande]

72% for 2016 not including mortgage principal payments.

That's excellent. When mortgage principal is added, it's outstanding.

I'm 61-65% annually.

[Tabaxus]

I am terribly embarrassed to say that I did such a poor job of tracking my expenses last year, and shuffled my investments around to such a degree, that I haven't been able to actually reconstruct how much I put into savings last year in a reliable way. 

According to Vanguard, I bought an additional ~$45k in my taxable account.  I also maxed out my 401(k) ($17.5k), his and her backdoor IRAs ($11k), his and her HSAs ($6,700), put a down payment on a house (~$120k), and have about $70k of cash sitting around from last year (after accounting for my intent to buy a car) that I haven't been able to bring myself to pull the trigger on.  But the house downpayment required me to liquidate some other savings from prior years, so I haven't been able to track through.  Just focusing on the non-downpayment things, and treating the cash as having been saved, saved about 43% of my gross (i.e, not accounting for income taxes).  If I say half of the downpayment came from last years' cash (which I think is right in rough justice terms), that goes up to about 60% of gross.  Haven't factored in mortgage principal at all.

So, not as good as I would have liked.  More irritated with my inability to reconstruct it though.

[Retire-Canada]

That's excellent. When mortgage principal is added, it's outstanding.

I'm 61-65% annually.

Thanks I worked a bunch of extra on a side-gig. Hence the high savings rate. Without that I'd be more like 50% which is my target +/-. I don't include mortgage payments as I don't have a plan to sell the house so those payments have no impact on my FIRE planning. This year will be even higher due to more side-gig work and then I'm done working FT so savings rate will drop a lot - possibly to zero in 2018.

So you savings rate is better than my "normal" rate without the temporary side-gig.

[w@nker]

75%.  Odd metric.  After-tax denominator.  Numerator includes some deferred tax savings.

[facepalm]

Last year I was horrible. only managed around 20%. But this year I have smartened up and am on track to save at least 55% of gross.

[minimalistgamer]

Total income - $91,190.00
Taxable income - $70,490.00
Expenses - $32,299.31
Savings - $58,890.69
Savings rate - 64.58%

[Begonia]

25% which isn't too bad considering that:
a) We're a one-income family in the Bay Area.

I also live in the Bay Area and managed 23%. Rent gobbles up 40% of net income. Currently looking for another job and a living situation to cut rent in half. Savings rate goal for this year is 40%. I would move from BA but I have to stay put for family reasons. While it costs a lot to live here, the opportunity to make great $ also exists.

[Bumperpuff]

I'm at 65% of my post tax salary.  If I include 403a contributions (I work for the state and am SS exempt) from me and my employer (which I add to my income) I'm at a pretty sweet 72%.

If only I had found MMM a couple years earlier, I'd be so much closer to FIRE right now.

[Step37]

60%

Have further optimized spending, income should be the same or better for 2017, so aiming for >70% this year.

[Saskatchewstachian]

Mine was OK for the year but the big Big BIG win was the increase to savings rate after finding MMM.

Jan -Jun = 27%
July - Dec = 59%

Part of this was due to an increase in come but still very happy with the outcome. Overall on the year it was 46%. I discovered MMM in about March and started putting it into effect about June.

[Retire-Canada]

Mine was OK for the year but the big Big BIG win was the increase to savings rate after finding MMM.

Jan -Jun = 27%
July - Dec = 59%

Part of this was due to an increase in come but still very happy with the outcome. Overall on the year it was 46%. I discovered MMM in about March and started putting it into effect about June.

Nice work. It's great to see the progress isn't it?

[damnedbee]

12% pre-MMM (Jan-July)
40% post-MMM (Aug-Dec)

Aiming for 46% this year.

[brute]

55% of gross. Not bad, but we can do better this year.

[Saskatchewstachian]

Mine was OK for the year but the big Big BIG win was the increase to savings rate after finding MMM.

Jan -Jun = 27%
July - Dec = 59%

Part of this was due to an increase in income but still very happy with the outcome. Overall on the year it was 46%. I discovered MMM in about March and started putting it into effect about June.

Nice work. It's great to see the progress isn't it?

It's fantastic! This year we are shooting for about 65%. This may be our highest earning year for the next 5-8 years since we are still DINK's at the moment and I work away. Hoping to put a bunch away and then let it grow.

Yesterday I also calculated our "Coast Number" i.e. if we left everything we have invested and never put in another cent above employer matches. This number came out to 100k/yr at 51 yrs old. Kind of nice to see that number as well :)

[47%MMM]

52%

*Net of taxes
*Does not include employer contribution to 401K

Actually pretty bad if you knew the spending side.

We just moved too and that has resulted in a large up tick in short term spending but it was to a smaller home so we're hoping that will start declining soon...

[beee]

Take home savings rates. Tax refunds are treated as income.
1 car purchase and downpayment for a condo are not included in expenses.

Found MMM in January 2015.
2012 — 12%
2013 — 28% — first full-time job
2014-2015-2016 — check attachment

[Mr Chin Stubble]

I have no idea if this is "right" or not.

There isn't really a right or wrong. If your methodology serves you as one metric of your financial performance in pursuit of your FIRE goals that's all that matters. Sharing it online with others in this thread is really just entertainment and if the methodologies are not the same it's largely irrelevant.

Agreed. It might as well be 1000 % or 1,000,000 % unless there's a uniform standard for calculating it.

[kpd905]

We ended up at 32% last year because we saved up for a down payment for most of the year.  The tax bill was rough due to not maxing out the tax deferred accounts.