How much you earn is only half the story. The other equally important half is how much you can save each month/year from your salary.

While we chase after higher and higher salaries, dont forget to see how much of the income you can retain (save) each month, each year.

If you can save $60K each year out of an annual income of $120K, you are already doing better than someone saving $50k out of $200K annual income.

This was how we did as a couple in our savings history :

Starting off as a married couple (30 yo) to 40 yo : Annual household savings - $50K average (~28% of salary)
40 yo to 45 yo -- $75K ave (~37% of salary)
45 yo to 50 yo -- $130k ave (~43% of salary)
50 to 55 yo -- $330k ave (90% of salary)
55 to now -- $450k ave (98% of salary)

The higher savings came from the following combination of factors:

1. Tapering off of financial commitments (home loan, car loan, children's education...
2. Salary increases (promotion, better bonuses, increased benefits, etc.)
3. Passive income increases from investment


The earlier you are able to save 100% of your earned income, the closer you are to financial independence! We are already too late. Nobody told us about investing for passive income. Then we only know how to save but not invest.