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- Mar 2, 2004
HAHA.
SOM - School of Management at Yale.
LSE - The London School of Economics and Political Science
(not laughing at the advice, tried to quote your question for me, oh well.)
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How much of your paycheck do you put into savings?
HAHA.
SOM - School of Management at Yale.
LSE - The London School of Economics and Political Science
(not laughing at the advice, tried to quote your question for me, oh well.)
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- Feb 17, 2008
Saving is hard work man. You have to be disciplined. I put 35% of my paycheck into my savings acct. I try to at least have 15% of my earning from the pay period prior left in my acct. when the next pay period starts so that the amt in my savings accumulates.
One trick I tried was to take out max amount you want to spend each week and have it in cash. Leave the debit/credit card at home and only spend the cash. When you physically see yourself spending money it makes you more aware of your habits as opposed to just swiping a card.
One trick I tried was to take out max amount you want to spend each week and have it in cash. Leave the debit/credit card at home and only spend the cash. When you physically see yourself spending money it makes you more aware of your habits as opposed to just swiping a card.
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- Apr 28, 2010
that doesn't give you any return. Savings accounts aren't even paying half a percent. High yield accounts may possibly be passing 1%.
some old russian dude that came in the other day was telling me how in the 80's his interest return was paying his bills. Said he got 6k a month and he just paid his rent with it.
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- Jul 17, 2004
I really hope you don't do an unfunded PhD, especially in the humanities/social sciences. I finished grad school over a year ago and would never have went unless I was fully funded. I don't know how it is in Social Work, but in my grad field (history) your chances of securing a position at a decent research institution would be almost impossible if your MA and PhD work wasn't fully funded. Having said that, I'm glad I decided not to pursue a PhD and find work in another field.
Regarding your question, it really all comes down to the math and what your financial goals are. Do you want to purchase a car or a home anytime soon? How quickly do you want to pay off your student loans? Do you have credit card debt with high interest rates?
When you answer those questions for yourself, you'll have a better idea of how you should parse your paycheck.
The best advice I can give you is to pay off the debt with the highest interest first. If you only have student loan debt, calculate a payment that will allow you to still save money for short and long term goals, but not one that is so low that it doesn't affect the principal.
The next thing to do is to open a retirement account through your work (even if they don't match until you've been there for a certain amount of time) and put a small amount into it each paycheck. If you're able to, I would also highly recommend opening a Roth IRA and putting something into it every paycheck.
Only after doing the above two things (debt and retirement) would I look into a savings account. Obviously, you want to have some sort of cushion or emergency fund in case you lose your job or have a a large medical bill. If you are able to put away $1-3K into such an account, you can then move onto saving for things like a down payment on a house or car, future vacations, or large purchases.
If you can do all of the above, you will be a rarity amongst your peers.
It's hard for recent grads who are just starting in the "real world" to think about saving for their retirement but it is so important to start doing that as soon as possible.
Regarding your question, it really all comes down to the math and what your financial goals are. Do you want to purchase a car or a home anytime soon? How quickly do you want to pay off your student loans? Do you have credit card debt with high interest rates?
When you answer those questions for yourself, you'll have a better idea of how you should parse your paycheck.
The best advice I can give you is to pay off the debt with the highest interest first. If you only have student loan debt, calculate a payment that will allow you to still save money for short and long term goals, but not one that is so low that it doesn't affect the principal.
The next thing to do is to open a retirement account through your work (even if they don't match until you've been there for a certain amount of time) and put a small amount into it each paycheck. If you're able to, I would also highly recommend opening a Roth IRA and putting something into it every paycheck.
Only after doing the above two things (debt and retirement) would I look into a savings account. Obviously, you want to have some sort of cushion or emergency fund in case you lose your job or have a a large medical bill. If you are able to put away $1-3K into such an account, you can then move onto saving for things like a down payment on a house or car, future vacations, or large purchases.
If you can do all of the above, you will be a rarity amongst your peers.
It's hard for recent grads who are just starting in the "real world" to think about saving for their retirement but it is so important to start doing that as soon as possible.
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- Mar 3, 2013
I feel you! I am fortunate to be able to save 25% of my check every month. That's after I pay about $600 in student loans, other bills, car note, etc.
