An essay covering a question asked in The Richest Man In Babylon
What would I have to give up in order to save 10% of my income?
Unnecessary spending
Expensive food
Taking days off at work
Too much driving around (gas)
These are a couple of things anybody who wants to save 10% of their money might have to give up. However, overall, it is definitely worth it. First of all, you need some money as backup, and you would be surprised how much 10% of your money with interest can add up to. Secondly, unnecessary spending can be dangerous to your life. Say you buy a 2,000 dollar dishwasher because you like how it matches your cabinets, when you could have bought the 500 dollar one. That turned out to not be a smart move. Next week the bill comes in and you're 1500 bucks short. These things happen in life, and you need to be prepared to give up some things so that you can keep everything else.
There are, however, times that you need to buy something so you don't go crazy. This can happen sometimes, and you have to go with it, because if you don't you'll probably do something crazy. It's better to eat at a fancy restaurant than not eat there and buy a fancy new car a month later. Sometimes, you have to buy something expensive in order to not buy something super expensive. You have to be smart with your money, because if you aren't it will most certainly come back to haunt you.
How would putting in one tenth of your money in savings not effect your state of living?