;not advise

Don't focus on a number but focus on giving yourself some room to breathe. Slowly build a habit of saving money by snowballing money into a savings account to start. Don't measure your worth by money.

I didn't consider saving until I bought the engagement ring (which left me at a bank balance close to 0 and it wasn't the first time). I was 27 years old.

I started setting aside some money as a cash reserve (bucket #1) and I made sure there was enough money to:

    - get me through two months on rent (3,000 GBP)
    - feed myself for two months (400 GBP)
    - buy one flight ticket home (to parents basement)(700 GBP)

Once bucket #1 was full, I started tossing money into bucket #2 which was disposable income stashed in a decent interest paying savings account. This was for rainy days and the future.

By the time I was 29, I had about 10,000 GBP in savings between the two buckets. A good portion of it was spent on our wedding and honeymoon (from #2). By 30 I had 15,000 GBP in savings. Most of that was spent when I moved to Tokyo (damn moving costs). I had $1,000 USD left; it was a fresh start.

I'm 32 now and I have about one year worth of living expenses in savings and then some. I make monthly contributions towards a pension, life-insurance, and a retirement fund (bonds).