How Can I Calculate My 20% Savings Rate by Looking At My Paycheck? Do I Negotiate for a Higher Salary if HR Already Told Me The Range?

You want to save 20% for retirement, but how can you determine this if retirement contributions come out automatically from your paycheck? Danielle breaks down the 5 simple steps it takes to look at your paycheck and figure it out. A listener wants to know - should I negotiate for $5,000 more even if I already talked to HR about the salary range? Genevieve gives us the HR perspective on when to negotiate and what you should consider before having the conversation. Danielle's steps to figuring out your savings rate: 1. Know your base salary and the amount of $ taken out for retirement. 2. Look at paycheck and see what your take-home pay is monthly post tax & retirement contribution 3. Calculate 20% of the number you have found in #2 4. Subtract what you automatically save (#1) from what you need to save (found in #3) 5. If you want to see what % that is, then take the answer from #4 and divide it by #2!