[majewsky]

To counter your anecdata with some anecdata of my own, my savings rate right now is around 48%, as in: I spend 52% of my income. I'm currently implementing some lifestyle changes that are going to push the savings rate over 50%.

I'm not trying to deliberately pinch pennies. (Well, maybe a little.) I just happen to live in a way that avoids big spending. I don't have kids, so I don't need to spend money on that. Because I don't have kids, I don't need a large house. Therefore I live in an apartment in the city center, which (besides being convenient) means I don't need a car. And so on.

> the majority burn their salary month per month

I obviously don't know your sample, but out of the people that I know, those who live paycheck-to-paycheck usually do so because they work in low-wage jobs that simply don't pay enough to save any money. There surely are outliers that just don't know how money works, but the majority fail to save because of low-wage jobs.

[flukus]

I'm pretty similar to you, although on the other side of the world in Australia with the ~50% going into paying off apartment rather than saving right now (the only debt I've ever taken on) and much of the 50% I do spend is government sin taxes. But living within your means, not taking on debt (especially for frivolous things) and saving was instilled by my English father, I never knew it was a German attitude, just basic financial responsibility.

That financial responsibility has saved me too, during an unemployed stint I was living off the extra money I'd put against my apartment. Had I not put the money away or gone into more debt to buy a bigger apartment I would have lost it entirely and been back to renting.

The idea of living on credit is insane to me.

[majewsky]

I think that my strongest influence in that regard was my grandmother. She was born in 1937 and experienced WW2 firsthand, and her formative years were spent in East Germany when society was slowly reconstructing itself after the devastations of the war.

[rad_gruchalski]

> my savings rate right now is around 48%

Self employed with Gewerbesteuer?

[majewsky]

No, regular salaried employee. Those 48% are for income after tax.

[rad_gruchalski]

Ah, the number sounded so familiar! Nice, keep it going!