america and spending
while this is not a financial blog, i do write often about america’s obsession with stuff. to further illustrate americans’ unquenchable desire to own more things, i wanted to post a graph showing america’s trend towards spending vs. savings.
according to the department of commerce, not only has the percentage of income saved been decreasing since 1960s and 70s, it actually reached a negative rate in 2005. in other words, on average, americans spent more than they made in 2005 and 2006.
so how are you doing? what is your personal savings rate? and while becoming a minimalist won’t solve all your financial concerns, buying less things will.
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Right now while I’m paying off my debt, I’m saving 10% of each paycheck. My ING account is doing quite well and I’m making great interest. Once my credit cards are paid off (my only debt), it will increase to 20%.
It’s interesting that you wrote about that today. I just read some of the Automatic Millionaire where
David Bach’s advice is “save automatically through regular preauthorized transfers from checking to saving or investments.”
That seems to be the best way to keep your spending in check.
I love this post. My husband and I have lived on a budget since the day we were married and have always saved, but there is always room for improvement! I’m pretty sure we will enjoy our retirement money a lot more later in life, than a new tv (or whatever) now.