I've been employed for 13 years and I started with a low-paying job ($35k). I had to pay off some loans in the early part of my career and didn't save much for the first 6 years. After that, I bought my house which ate into my savings. The house is currently worth $500k more than what I paid for it. Currently, I try to save at least $4k per month. I drive a cheap car (pay $134) per month and have no other debts other than my mortgage. The only thing we splurge on is food and even with that, we don't spend more than $15/person when we go out.