Ask HN: Hacker Finances? / How much do you save each month?

What percentage of your monthly income do you spend on: A. Mortgage/Rent, B. Credit cards / Personal Loans, C. Other expenses ?

What percentage of your income do you put into savings?

Using myself as an example, of my income over the last 6 months (also my partner does not work and we have 2 children): 32% - mortgage, 20% - Bills and utilities, 10% - loans (school loans, Credit cards etc), 18% - food and dining, 7% - education, 4% - auto, 2% - gifts and charities and only 3-6% into savings.

The issue is, we feel like we are being pretty frugal etc, but can never seem to get ahead. It feels weird to be making so much money but still feel like we are living month to month. We have been prioritizing paying off loans, since it makes sense. Home improvement projects seem to get expensive too (all DIY), since we bought an older home and want to make it feel livable.

There's this voice in the back of my head telling me that every other person in my position (making a decent salary) has their shit figured out: 1. not overpaying for their living space, 2. socking away tons of money in savings each money, 3. living frugally, 4. plans to retire by 35 etc.

I can't help feel a bit crushed having bought into "the system" and perennially feel like I need to be making more money just to keep up.

Feel free to share any thoughts or strategies related to this.

What hacks do you know to either save money or that have helped you establish some financial security.

Addendum:

People are providing some really good advice on this thread. I want to outline some additional details.

Current Lifestyle:

Take lunch everyday to work, CHECK

Walk or bike to work, CHECK

Cheap Hobbies: Veggie gardening, Meditation, CHECK

Buy used stuff rather than new, CHECK

Drive older car, CHECK

Budget software, CHECK

Entertainment.all.first == Netflix.find_by_price($8.99)

Entertainment.find_all_by_name(cable, TV, video_games).empty? == true

EDIT: formatting, updated percentages, notes

I let my nature flow where it will.

There are ten days of rice in my bag

And, by the hearth, a bundle of firewood.

Who prattles of illusion or nirvana?

Forgetting the equal dusts of name and fortune,

Listening to the night rain on the roof of my hut,

I sit at ease, both legs stretched out."

    Ryokan (1757-1831)

28% Rent / Utilities

7% Groceries

5% coffeeshops and restaurants

2% random socializing(theaters etc..)

10% misc.

Save the rest of it.

Your categories (after tax):

A. Rent - 10% B. Debt service - No loans, no pending CC debt. C. Discretionary - 30% D. Net (savings) - 60%

How do we do it? Well, we make a lot of money (me, $225k, she, $100k, this before tax), so that's one thing. We have no kids. We travel a bit but not a ton because I am something of a homebody. We don't have lavish tastes. And we were lucky enough to have parents that paid our way through college.

What I mean by the last thing is that I feel no pressing need to own a house, an expensive car, a boat or a plane. My hobbies are inexpensive relative to my means (computer gaming, reading, skiing). And she and I are of one mind on finances.

My advice around saving (from when I was making much less): as a hacker you should be thinking about what you are spending money on. The simplest way to increase your net is to reduce spending on non-necessities that cost a lot of money. That is, focus on the inner loop, the big ticket items, the cars and AC replacements, backyard pools and mortgage payments.

I have no idea the scale you are talking about when you say home improvement, but it can easily be a non-necessity depending upon the condition of the house. If you bought a house that requires 35% of your income in mortgage payments AND needs expensive fixups AND you are carrying significant personal debt, you may have overextended.

That's not the end of the world, provided that your home improvement costs are efficiently appreciating the value of your house or you are willing to cut on your other discretionary spending. Appreciating your existing assets is a form of saving. But biting off more than you can chew is risky.

By living paycheck to paycheck you are running a great risk in the event that anything happens to your income. At a savings rate of 2-5%, it takes you anywhere from 7-17 months to build up a single month of mortgage payment buffer, and that's not including the cost of putting food on the table.

I'm not well versed enough in real-estate to say whether selling your house and getting something more manageable is the right choice for you. But I can say, not knowing the composition of your discretionary spending and assuming zero transaction costs, I would probably downsize if I were in your shoes.

Of course you could always just start making more money, and that is advice that HN likes to throw out there, but I personally think it's easier to spend less than to make more, especially in the short run.