Saving Only 10 percent of Your Income is for Losers

Are you saving enough for retirement so that you don't have to rely on Social Security for a meagre retirement income?

I just came across an interesting website How the Average US Consumer Spends Their Paycheck:

Interestingly, here is a comment by a guy named Rob:

I am seriously living in the most expensive place in america or something. If an average household income is $63,091...

Mine's $110,000 before tax and i still feel i am running low on money

A guy by the name of Bob replied to Rob with:

You are spending too much. I have 7 children (1 in Med school), we earn 72,000 (before taxes,)

We have a 2,400 sq ft home with a beautiful valley view (no lights, people or buildings). We're able to save up to 30,000 a year if we choose to.

So yes, you spend too much. Our housing at $800 per month is 12% of our income. My suggestion is to look at the chart pie and address the big pieces first.

My guess is you spend way too much on housing and transportation. You probably drive an expensive car and commute. We use 1 car and live 1 mile from work. You could do the same if you chose to. You have to make and ego vs spending decision. Personally my ego does well knowing that we're building our nest egg by big chunks. Both our cars are paid off.

We're into healthy food, so it is mostly veggies, fruit, beans and chicken. Very inexpensive. I'll bet you eat out a lot. 2 people eating $12 lunches each day adds up to $7,500 per year. That is 4 trips to Cancun. Its all about your ego and what you decide.

Good luck my friend.

This was my comment to Bob:

Hey Bob:

Congratulations on your saving habits. I love to hear about people like you.

I am writing a book called How NOT to Retire BROKE: Prosperity Principles to Help You Create $250,000 or More for Your Retirement.

In the book I have a chapter called Saving Only 10 percent of Your Income is for Losers.

I talk about how I was able to save 30 percent of my income once I started making decent money.

I was delighted to read on one website where some guy was saving 60 percent of his income because he didn't increase his spending as his income went up.

Just like this guy, you are saving more than me. It appears that you are saving 40 to 50 percent of your after tax income.

For people who are in debt or unable to save, I advice that they read Larry Winget's book called You're Broke Because You Want to Be.

What I like about Larry Winget is that he tells readers that their excuses about not being able to save money are lies and that excuses are for losers.

One of my favorite quotes of all time is by J.P. Getty who said: "People who don't respect money don't have any."

To add to this, "People who are foolish with their money are foolish in many other ways as well."

Ernie J. Zelinski
Author of How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free
(Over 125,000 copies sold and published in 9 languages)
and The Joy of Not Working
(Over 250,000 copies sold and published in 17 languages)

Here are some quotes about saving money:

Most people will never be able to retire and maintain even a
hotdogs-for-dinner standard of living.
— Timothy Ferris, author of The 4-Hour Workweek

What good is freedom if you've not got the money for it?
— Lillian Hellman

Always remember: Money has no power of its own.
— Suze Orman

Don't buy expensive socks if you can never find them.
— Unknownn wise person

He who buys what he does not need steals from himself.
— Unknown wise person