Ditto, my taxes are about a third of my gross, but I do save about half of my net, making for about a 1/3 savings rate overall.
Honestly, I haven't hut to cut on many things to get here, so I'm pretty happy about it. One key thing has enabled this:
No car. None, no desire for one. I pay extra to live centrally in the city near good public transit, but the extra I've paid (compared to living in a burb) is a tiny fraction of the cost of car ownership.
By my estimates that alone gets me an extra 10% savings rate at the very least. I have all the spare cash in the world to travel, buy cool toys without ever digging into the rainy day/startup fund.
Yes, I mostly save "about" a third. The hard part is getting to above a third consistently. I agree with the car part, but with the proviso that it doesn't work so well when suddenly you end up with a job in some industrial park that doesn't have good public transit.
True, but you can always wait to buy a car until you need it, and the savings will* still outdo the cost of a rental to tide you over while shopping for one.
*Estimating here. Looking at Hertz.com, you can rent for ~$250/week, which for me equals about 4 months in minimal car insurance.
Honestly, I haven't hut to cut on many things to get here, so I'm pretty happy about it. One key thing has enabled this:
No car. None, no desire for one. I pay extra to live centrally in the city near good public transit, but the extra I've paid (compared to living in a burb) is a tiny fraction of the cost of car ownership.
By my estimates that alone gets me an extra 10% savings rate at the very least. I have all the spare cash in the world to travel, buy cool toys without ever digging into the rainy day/startup fund.
Being childless certainly helps, too.