How to enjoy a pay raise and save for the future
Making a new salary last requires doing the boring, non-flashy, responsible work of saving for your future self first. A pay increase immediately triggers wistful dreams of house projects and small luxuries, turning daily spending into an exercise in constant restraint. This temptation makes it hard to stay on track, preventing people from balancing their savings goals with enough leftover cash to just play with.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Automating savings and investments to immediately earmark 50% to 70% of new income
- 2Creating a modest sinking fund or fun budget for specific non-necessities like date nights and experiences
- 3Finding cheaper DIY alternatives or free community events instead of paying for commercial entertainment
- 4Distracting oneself by focusing on the long-term freedom of early retirement and being debt-free
- 5following personal finance wikis and flowchart strategies
- 6automating savings and transfers
- 7living below current means like previous lower-income lifestyle
- 8maximizing employer retirement matches
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I am finding myself wistfully dreaming about all the house projects and small luxuries we could swing instead and we haven't even recieved our first paycheck yet!”source ↗
“Even just listing them makes me both proud (we're doing it!) and sad (I want them!). It has been an exercise in constant restraint.”source ↗
“I am looking for encouragement to stay on track. I am looking for other people who have done the boring, non-flashy, responsible thing and are now on the other side of it and can say it is worth it.”source ↗
“For the first time ever I’m a salaried employee and just signed the offer letter! This is the most money I’ve ever made between 85-95k, any suggestions or tips on finances ? on how to enjoy it but also save up for future me?”source ↗
“Not sure what I’m looking for but I’ve never had this much money and I’m just looking on advice on how to make it last I guess!”source ↗
“In my head I could save maybe 1K a month. I live at home and the two bills I plan on taking over comes out to about 700. I don’t have any CC but small things like klarna and afteroay that’s less than 1K. No car payment or any other kinds of debt so I feel like 1K is a decent place to be and then play with the rest”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 4Why does my car insurance keep going up?
- 2How to ask for a pay raise without risking the gig