I have been meaning to do more finance posts for some time now. Having lived in the US for almost 5yrs now, I’ve been surprised to learn about how many Americans live paycheque to paycheque, regardless of income. I’ve since realised I have a very different mindset when it comes to finances than the average American, because even when I didn’t have anything in particular to save up for, I still saved 20-30% of my income after tithing and gifting 10-15%.
As such, in the past 5yrs I have been able to:
- Purchase a 3yr-old Honda Civic and paid it off in full within a year.
- Accumulate enough savings to live without working for a year.
- With my hubby, pay for our wedding in full.
- Still have some savings left to make opening a CD worthwhile.
A friend asked me how I managed to save so much, and I really had to think about it because saving has just been somewhat second nature to me. I’ve now put it into words, and have decided to write it here in case you’re interested and it can somehow help you with your savings goals.
This may be particular relevant now as many Americans are struggling due to COVID, and we are very, very thankful that Jacky still has a job. We aren’t able to save up much now that we’re on his single income, but knowing we still have savings in the bank just gives us a lot more peace of mind.
So here they are, some key financial/saving rules I’ve followed subconsciously my whole life. Jacky and I are now slowly saving up for a house, following the same guidelines:
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