What is the 10% Savings rule? - Texas Regional Bank (2024)

Key Takeaways:

  1. Setting aside 10% of your gross monthly income is an excellent way to build your savings.
  2. Accounts with compounding interest help your savings grow over time.
  3. The best time to start saving was yesterday, but starting today is the second best time.

The 10% rule is a savings tip that suggests you set aside 10% of your gross monthly income for retirement or emergencies. If you still need to start a savings account, this is a great way to build up your savings.

You should create a monthly budget before starting your savings journey. Starting a monthly budget will help determine if you can afford to put away 10% of your gross monthly income. Adjusting to a budget might take some time, but it’ll be worth it.

Don’t worry; you don’t have to come up with a budget on your own. You can use our practical budgeting template to help you get started.

If you have a lower monthly income, don’t let that discourage you from saving. If you are stretching your budget too thin to put away 10%, try starting smaller and building up to 10%. Start with 4% and work your way to 10%. Save where you can and be mindful of your budget.

Remember that your gross monthly income is the money you make before taxes, insurance, and other deductions.

How the 10% Rule Helps you

What can you use your savings for? You can use it for emergencies, like unexpected car repairs or medical bills. You can save for a down payment on a house. And, of course, it’s always good to save for retirement.

The 10% rule helps you build a better habit of saving and be more prepared for unexpected expenses or long-term financial goals.

How the 10% Rule Works

Starting to save early is a great way to build your savings over time. For example, the median household income in the United States was $70,784 in 2021. If you saved 10% of that each month, you would have $7,000 saved in a year.

If you started using the 10% rule at age 25 and invested 10% of your monthly income in a retirement account, earning 5%. By the time you turned 65, you would have saved $280,000 and earned $1,152,663.63 in interest, resulting in a total of $1,432,663.63 in your retirement account.

An excellent way to set money aside each month while being mindful of your budget is by setting up regular automatic transfers into your savings account. Setting up automatic transfers makes savings simpler. Not having to transfer your 10% each month manually will keep you from forgetting or skipping moving money to your savings.

Where to Keep Your Savings

Now, where should you put that 10%? You can save it in a regular savings account, a high-yield savings account, or even a retirement account. But before you open any of these accounts, check the fees and minimum balances. Remember that having an account with compound interest can help you save even more over time.

Compound interest lets your money work hard for you by growing interest over time. Good examples of compounding interest accounts are certificates of deposits (CDs), savings accounts, interest bearing checking accounts, 401(k) accounts, and investment accounts. With compounding interest, the sooner you start, the better.

It’s important to remember to keep your retirement savings and emergency fund separate. There are better ideas than using your retirement savings for unexpected expenses. Instead, you can put your retirement savings into a long-term investment account like a 401(k). Just be sure to contribute enough to get your employer to match if they offer one. An emergency fund can be kept in a high-yield savings account, which earns interest and is readily available.

Final Thoughts

Yesterday was the best time to start savings, but today is the second-best time. To find more personal finance tips check out our website Personal Finance Archives – Texas Regional Bank. Please schedule an appointment today with one of our bankers to review our savings account options.

What is the 10% Savings rule? - Texas Regional Bank (2024)

FAQs

What is the 10% Savings rule? - Texas Regional Bank? ›

The 10% rule is a savings tip that suggests you set aside 10% of your gross monthly income for retirement or emergencies. If you still need to start a savings account, this is a great way to build up your savings. You should create a monthly budget before starting your savings journey.

What is the 10% saving rule? ›

The 10% rule of investing states that you must save 10% of your income in order to maintain a comfortable lifestyle during retirement. This strategy, of course, isn't meant for everyone as it doesn't account for age, needs, lifestyle, and location.

Is saving 10% of your income good? ›

You should consider saving 10 - 15% of your income for retirement. Sound daunting? Don't worry: your employer match, if you have one, counts. If you save 5% of your income and your boss matches another 5%, you've accomplished a 10% savings rate.

What is the 70 10 10 10 rule for money? ›

What is the 70/10/10/10 budget rule? The 70/10/10/10 budget rule says you should use 70% of your income for expenses and divide the remaining 30% into emergency savings, long-term savings, and giving.

What is the maximum amount of money you should keep in a savings account? ›

FDIC and NCUA insurance limits

This insurance protects your money if the financial institution you bank with goes out of business or otherwise can't afford to let you withdraw your money. So, regardless of any other factors, you generally shouldn't keep more than $250,000 in any insured deposit account.

What is the 10 rule for saving money? ›

The 10% rule is a savings tip that suggests you set aside 10% of your gross monthly income for retirement or emergencies. If you still need to start a savings account, this is a great way to build up your savings. You should create a monthly budget before starting your savings journey.

What is the 10 percent rule? ›

What is the 10 rule? The ten percent rule of energy transfer states that each level in an ecosystem only gives 10% of its energy to the levels above it. This law explains much of the structural dynamics of ecosystems including why there are more organisms at the bottom of the ecosystem pyramid compared to the top.

Can I retire at 65 with no savings? ›

You can still live a fulfilling life as a retiree with little to no savings. It just may look different than you originally planned. With a little pre-planning, relying on Social Security income and making lifestyle modifications—you may be able to meet your retirement needs.

Is having $100000 in savings good? ›

There's no one-size-fits-all number in your bank or investment account that means you've achieved this stability, but $100,000 is a good amount to aim for. For most people, it's not anywhere near enough to retire on, but accumulating that much cash is usually a sign that something's going right with your finances.

How much savings should I have at 50? ›

By age 50, you'll want to have around six times your salary saved. If you're behind on saving in your 40s and 50s, aim to pay down your debt to free up funds each month. Also, be sure to take advantage of retirement plans and high-interest savings accounts.

What is the 20 10 rule money? ›

The 20/10 rule of thumb is a budgeting technique that can be an effective way to keep your debt under control. It says your total debt shouldn't equal more than 20% of your annual income, and that your monthly debt payments shouldn't be more than 10% of your monthly income.

What is the purpose of the 10 10 rule? ›

Under the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act (USFSPA), the 10/10 rule governs the method of payment. At least ten years of marriage overlapping at least ten years of military service is needed for direct payment from the retired pay center, usually the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS).

What is the 10 10 10 rule in finance? ›

There are several different ways to go about creating a budget but one of the easiest formulas is the 10-10-10-70 principle. This principle consists of allocating 10% of your monthly income to each of the following categories: emergency fund, long-term savings, and giving.

How much cash can you keep at home legally in the US? ›

The government has no regulations on the amount of money you can legally keep in your house or even the amount of money you can legally own overall. Just, the problem with keeping so much money in one place (likely in the form of cash) — it's very vulnerable to being lost.

How much money is too much to keep in one bank? ›

How much is too much savings? Keeping too much of your money in savings could mean missing out on the chance to earn higher returns elsewhere. It's also important to keep FDIC limits in mind. Anything over $250,000 in savings may not be protected in the rare event that your bank fails.

How much cash is too much in savings? ›

Gaines reiterates that even most high-yield savings accounts lose value to inflation over time. “More than two months' worth of living expenses in a savings account is too much given the ability to earn around 5% from easily accessible money market accounts that should not fluctuate in price.”

What is the 70 20 10 rule for savings? ›

The 70-20-10 budget formula divides your after-tax income into three buckets: 70% for living expenses, 20% for savings and debt, and 10% for additional savings and donations. By allocating your available income into these three distinct categories, you can better manage your money on a daily basis.

Do I really need 10 times my salary to retire? ›

By age 40, you should have accumulated three times your current income for retirement. By retirement age, it should be 10 to 12 times your income at that time to be reasonably confident that you'll have enough funds.

How do I calculate 10% of my paycheck? ›

Either way, take your gross earnings—the amount before taxes or other deductions are withheld—and multiply that number by 0.10. (This is the same as dividing by 10.) For example, if your biweekly paycheck has gross earnings of $1,350, that means you would set aside $135 for savings from each paycheck.

What is the 10 20 30 rule for savings? ›

The most common way to use the 40-30-20-10 rule is to assign 40% of your income — after taxes — to necessities such as food and housing, 30% to discretionary spending, 20% to savings or paying off debt and 10% to charitable giving or meeting financial goals.

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