Not really. I just started doing it a couple of weeks ago for my trip next week to the Caribbean but I'm planning on taking at least 75% out for "shopping" money. So when I come back I'll have to start over again.

My husband and I have been investing in our future as well as our children's. We also don't believe in credit cards. I have never had on and my husband only had a few in college and regrets it. We've been saving for a house which is a pain right now cause the mortgage company is just sitting around waiting for things to calm and we kinda need the house now.

i've been saving more and cutting back on a lot of things. and also trying to pay off my debt as much as possible. though credit cards can be bad if you don't know how to handle them, it's still a good idea to get one to build up your credit. if you don't have student loans or a car loan or mortgage already, it'll be hard to get one when you don't have any established credit.

I have, but not really because of the economy. I've just paid off my car, so now what I was spending on my car payment is going into savings.

i've wanted to do that - but with the way that things are going right now - i'm kind of in a hole. my fiance isn't working which makes things all that more challenging for me, and i can only hope that i'll be able to start to save more.

if what the media say is true --- that we're in this total depression, then how in the heck do Americans have more money to put more into savings??

Something doesn't seem to be adding up.

And to answer your question, yes, we have put a lot more aside each month. I'd say we've increased it by 50%

My saving took a hit so I have to rebuild the account. I have so many bills that it's not funny but I will have to add a small amount weekly to get it together.

Absolutely! But since about a year ago.

When people were spending beyond their means, retailers were in euphoria. Now that times are tough with people without the buying power, and people who do have cash won't spend it, makes year-over-year comparisons look terrible!

I typically don't buy stuff I don't need, so my discretionary spending has stayed pretty consistent. I do not like sitting on cash, as I'm a believer that it is worthless unless it is spent. And with savings and money market accounts at these low rates, I'm looking for some high-beta.

I paid off my credit cards a few months ago so all of the money I used as payments now goes into savings. I used to stress out about how little I was able to save but now I'm finally able to relax a little!

We've always lived well within our means, so we've always been putting a good chunk of money toward retirement and the future. Especially since the whole Social Security system is kind of up in the air, I definitely don't want to be depending on the government to be footing the bill for my retirement.

I just don't want to end up like my parents....they are in their 50's and have only about $60K in their retirement funds and they have 2 mortgages on their house, a bunch of credit card debt, and a new car loan. So yeah, I guess they kind of bought into the whole debtor lifestyle of making minimum monthly payments for the rest of their lives. Kinda sad, actually.

We just bought a house so we're saving like crazy because I'm freaked out that I'll lose my job. So far we've got about 3 month's worth of mortgage and bills saved up but more never hurts. We're also investing more than we used to. Its a great time to get in the market when stocks are so low.

You can save so much money by cutting out lattes/dining out, cutting back on meat, taking public transpo. And you will be MUCH healthier--bonus!

Paying down credit card debt comes first. Unless you can find me a savings account that will get better than 6%. What are CD rates looking like now?

I am saving more money now since I've switched from banks to credit unions--the bank fees were killing me--and cut out all kinds of unnecessary fees from car insurance and other things. I also, now, do a monthly budget (instead of a general one)--which I read about in a previous article on this site--and it helps. Making a budget makes sense now--it works better if you look at it on a smaller scale. Thank you Team Sugar!

Being a recent college graduate and living paycheck to paycheck as it is, I wasn't saving ANYTHING until a few months ago. I set up an automatic program through my bank to subtract $25 from my account every month. I figure if I never had the $25 to spend to begin with, I wouldn't miss it as much. It's worked so far