In my case, two things. Firstly, not putting home ownership on a pedestal as a crucial part of my financial well being. Truthfully, actually purchasing is quite low on my list of financial priorities. I have been a renter for 12 years and it has worked very well for me. My retirement savings plan accounts for the possibility of renting through retirement (or, equivalently, cashing out investments some time closer to retirement to purchase). At this stage in my life I’d much rather rent and have a pool of liquid investments than have a mortgage I can barely afford.
Secondly, I’m very focused on growing my income in my career. I’ve tripled my income since 2019 and if the chips fall correctly it should double over the next year. Were it not for the excessive housing costs I would not be so focused on income growth since my current salary already comfortably supports the remainder of my spending.
The only thing I feel I’m missing from a financial standpoint is access to leverage. Next year I’ll have filled all of my spouse’s and I’s registered accounts so I’m going to more seriously investigate how to safely lever up using margin and derivatives.
I’ve never thought of savings in terms of setting a target amount per month. Instead, I’ve always targetted my spending so that it is at most 70% (though often this has been lower) of whatever cash I regularly have coming in. Any income I get above my regular pay is 100% sent to savings.
I budget assuming 2 paycheques per month, though I am paid bi-weekly. Off each paycheque I automatically withdraw a fixed amount to my shared household spending account and my personal one. All of this spending is around 65% of each paycheque (after all deductions). It includes everything from necessary life expenses, fun money, and travel to emergencies.
Everything else is saved. So, to be more precise my savings come from 4 sources: