About how much money should you have left over each month after paying bills and buying groceries, ect??

Answer 1

You may be coming at it from the wrong angle. Trying to save what is left over each month usually results in no savings. The best bet is to save before you do the spending for the month. Putting away 10% is the recommended starting point. However, you may want to ease into that slowly. Save 5% from your paycheck the first month and then increase that percentage by 1% over the next 5 months.

Lets say that you are making $2000 a month. This method will have you remove $100 from that first month and gradually increase it to $200 over the next 5 months. After 5 months, level out at $10%. This should give you $2100 in savings in the first year (not counting any interest earned, saved money will earn you money if you treat it right).

You might look at your money left over at the end of the month and say, "But I don't have that much left over". That is the problem with trying to save leftovers. They are usually very small or non-existant. Save the money before you go and spend money on anything else. Then budget the rest of the money so that you can live off of it. This may require you to spend money a bit smarter and not splurge. Many times there are budget vampires sucking away at your finances. Eating out is one of the biggest budget vampires there is. Credit cards are another type but that type is hard to get rid of. Examine how you spend your money and see what can be reduced or eliminated to help you.

Answer 2

One commonly used benchmark is to save 10% of you paycheck each and every month. If you do this consistently (don't cheat and dip into the money) and invest the money conservatively, you will have a great deal of money left over once you retire.

If you find it easy to save 10%, then try a higher number. If you look up "tightwad" in the dictionary, you will see my mug smiling out at you - I live quite comfortably and save 45% of my pay.

I believe that it is important to set yourself a realistic and and absolute goal for saving. Trying to save "some" is a sure way to dissappoint yourself. Achieving your targets and watching your savings grow will motivate you to continue.

The crux of the matter is to be serious and consistent. Raiding the piggy bank should be viewed as just as serious than not paying your rent of mortgage payment.

Answer 3

Anything above 0 should be adequate. As long as you have anything more than that, you should put some in savings. Other than that, I've never heard of a specific amount you "should" have after paying bills. It's all a matter of how much you "want" to have and how you spend what's left.