How much do you save or invest from your monthly salary per month?

Hey there,

This question reminds me of a similar thread here.

Sorry ah but I'm going to make a potentially unpopular opinion... I think we should be wary of asking generic "how much do you save/how much do you invest" questions. It breeds unhealthy comparison where there is simply no ground for comparison.

There is no fixed proportion of your salary that you must save. Budgeting guidelines like 50-30-20 are guidelines; they are not prescriptive. Everyone is different. Everyone is fighting their own battle.

A 30 year old supporting his family with both parents struggling to find unemployment and younger siblings in university simply cannot be compared to a 25 year old with working older siblings and whose parents are financially independent/retired already.

Instead of asking blanket questions like "how much you save", we should look at our circumstances and determine what is a reasonable amount to be saving and spending given these circumstances, and then committing and adhering to that guideline we set for ourselves.

Instead of asking for numbers, we should be asking for principles. You derive your own numbers based on the principles. And the principles are - set aside emergency funds, spend within your means, differentiate needs and wants, etc, etc.

Perhaps a question in this scenario might go along the lines of "what guidelines do you use to govern your saving habits, and why?"​​​

I think percentage of saving is really depend on our stage of life.

but ill share mine.

me and my husband save about 70-80% of our income which is $14-16k/month (include cpf)

my husband employer

i am self employee.

we live in rent a 2.1k hdb

married with one furkid 🐶

i am 28, my husband 33 :)

Context : 21F, still studying, not working

Allowance : $350/month
Passive income : ~$500
Total : $850

Expenses : $250 (30%)
Insurance : $38 (4.5%)
Investment : $300 (35%)
Remaining $$$ -> Savings : ~$260 (30%)

For context: 23F, fresh grad with no liabilities

Based on my monthly take-home pay of $2800:

35% ~$1000: long-term investments

35% ~$1000: savings for upcoming big-ticket items

7% ~$100: savings for emergency fund

8% ~$250: VC MA, hoping to meet prevailing BHS limit by my early 30s so future MA contributions will spillover to SA and I can hit prevailing FRS as early as possible too (refer to 1M65/4M65 movement), I view CPF as the "bonds" component of my long-term/retirement portfolio

15% ~$450: expenses​​​