I will qualify this post by reminding everyone that I came from a very poor family that somehow managed to do well with what they had. I will also remind everyone that budgeting wise, DH and I didn't do poorly until we moved away after college so our current mess was a momentary blip of insanity.
Has anyone looked at various sites about what percentage to save of their income? I nearly popped a gasket when I saw some of them recommending saving the same amount I currently save (which I consider low because I am paying off credit cards)!!
Now I have always known I was oblivious and out of touch but when a savings blogger who thinks he is extremely frugal suggests that 50/20/30 goal(musthaves/ savings/wants and this was the most extreme I could find) is difficult to obtain even for him, I begin to wonder how long I have been in the deepfreeze.
Did I miss something? I understand there are times in people's lives where they can't always save alot but that is why you save when you can. I currently live on 45% of my income and that includes an allowance. Everything else is debt payments and savings. My dh does the same.
I can see why it was a struggle for someone like my father to live on a poverty level income and save (which he still did) but why is 10% the most common advice I see? Don't people want to retire eventually?
I realize that a great majority of you figured this out sooner but for me its a new concept. I see myself as a spender (because in my family I was the spender by comparison) and the concept that I could be considered an extreme saver in the near future is beyond my imagination.
Rant over, I feel better now 
Deeply Disturbed...
January 10th, 2008 at 06:07 pm
January 10th, 2008 at 06:12 pm 1199988773
January 10th, 2008 at 07:00 pm 1199991623
Take an extreme example of a person who is trying to get by with only 20k a year. By those percentages, this person would have to survive on only 10k. I won't say it's impossible, but... very, very difficult.
Contrast that with the other extreme of 200k, and can anyone survive on only 100k? I certainly hope so!
So, without knowing how much he makes, it is possible that meeting up to such a percentage COULD be tough for him.
That said, I absolutely agree with you that it's disturbing when there are people out who are convinced that they can't save. Technically, everybody can! It may not be at a number or percentage that seems impressive at first, and often times, it's just an excuse because they don't want to try to lower their standard of living and be frugal.
January 10th, 2008 at 08:42 pm 1199997736
Which, incidentally, is probably why I can save a larger percentage than most. I am used to being poor. By the standards in my head, I am extremely rich.
January 11th, 2008 at 03:15 pm 1200064513
Obviously there are a LOT of other things to save up for!
January 11th, 2008 at 05:40 pm 1200073201
A percentage isn't a "cookie cutter" item. A percentage is a much FAIRER way of assigning a breakdown of savings/expenses. Therefore, if Dick makes $1000 a week, he could/should/would save $200 a week. Conversely, if Jane only makes $500 a week, she could/should/would save $100 a week. Since there is a discrepancy in their earnings, there naturally could/should/would be a similar discrepancy in their savings. Hence a designated percentage makes far more sense than a flat rate.