Friday, July 14, 2006

Savings rate - known for the first time

I spent a romantic evening with a bottle of shiraz and my bank statements. It took a couple of hours but I know know how much I have saved in the first six months of 2006 and have a projected range for the year as a whole.

The good news is that I saved about 42% of my pre-tax income in the first half of the year. The projected savings rate for the year as a whole will be less than this because (i) I will spend more on holidays in the second half than the first half and (ii) the wine bill (en primeur) was paid in July. My estimate for the year as a whole is somewhere between 35% and 39% of my pre-tax income. The range is largely due to the fact that my income is slightly variable and the cost of our Christmas holiday is unknown at this time.

I realise that there is room for improvement in these numbers and will look at ways to try and lift the annual figure to the upper end of the projected range (without compromising the planned holiday).

The calculations are based on pre-tax income and after-tax savings. They do not take into account income from sources other than my job.

No comments: