Ask:
I've been reading alot about saving, retirement and investments and I'm confused. If I add up all the avenues to save for I'd need to save about 50 of my income , (10 % 401K's, house 10%, Emergency FUnd 10%, kids 10% for each.) DH is going to put 10% into his 401K, but still need to be able to build up an emergency fund and just basic housesavings for house maintance and stuff. So how do you decide all this. Or is it just 10% across the board.
Answer:
This article from MSN Money helped me put things in perspective a couple of years ago. I'm no where close to living on 60% of my income but I do live on about 80% of my income with 10% going to build up my Emergency Fund and roughly 10% to retirement. Those 2 things happen every month - REGARDLESS - of what else happens. Honestly I can't imagine spending 10% of my pay for FUN - that would be insane to me! I probably spend closer to 1-2% over a year.
You have to do whatever works best for your family. Other people's percentages are not necessarily going to work for you but it can give you something to aim for. Good luck!
"You can use this calculator to estimate your own monthly income and expenses. ."
Answer:
I guess dh and I each put 10% of our incomes into retirement and about 8% into each. We try to keep our money msrket st 10,000 and we have a savings that we put 1200 into a month, but that also pays our taxes (on dh's side business) and any other big thing (vaction, new floors, etc.)
Answer:
10% for each child seems high. What if you had 5 kids? That's 50% of your income. I guess it depends on your goals for their education too. If you plan on financing 100% of their ivy-league education, 10% may be too low. But if they're going to a state school you can get by with less.
I think 10% for retirement is good, but you can even allocate more if you can.
Another rule of thumb for your emergency fund is to have 6 months of income saved.
Every household is different; you have to take into consideration your lifestyle and long-range goals.