How I Decide How Much Goes to Savings, Deposits, and Investing

In the last two posts I 整理 my thoughts about:

• Annual deposits with 5–6% interest (safe parking place, but not magic)

• What investing actually is, and how it’s different from just saving

Now comes the practical question:

“Every month, how much should I put into savings, how much into deposits, and how much into real investing?”

There is no perfect formula. Our income, responsibilities, and risk tolerance are all different.
So this post is not “you must follow this”.
It’s just the way I try to build my own money layers so I don’t panic later.

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Step 1: Know my real monthly needs

Before talking about percentages, I need one basic number:

How much do I really need to survive one month?

I include:

• Rent / home cost

• Food (normal, not “treat myself every day” version)

• Utilities & internet

• Transport

• Basic health / phone / small obligations

This becomes my monthly basic expense number.

Example (just imaginary):

• Monthly net income: 10,000

• Basic expense: 6,000

Leftover = 4,000 that I can use for:

• Savings

• Deposits

• Investing

• Plus maybe a small “fun” budget so I don’t feel like a robot

Without this number, any “percentage plan” is just theory.

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Step 2: Build the three layers in order

I like to think in layers, not products:

1. Layer 1 – Safety (Savings / Emergency Fund)

2. Layer 2 – Parking (Time Deposits)

3. Layer 3 – Growth (Investing)

And I build them in this order, not all at once.

Layer 1: Safety first

If I don’t have emergency money, I’m forced to sell things at the worst time.

So at the beginning, almost all my leftover money goes here:

• Target: at least 1–3 months of basic expenses

• Kept in: normal savings account / e-wallet (something easy to withdraw)

Using the example above:

• Basic expense: 6,000

• 1 month emergency = 6,000

• 3 months emergency = 18,000

While I’m building this, I don’t worry about “investing” yet.
The goal is just: “Can I handle one small disaster without borrowing?”

Layer 2: Parking with deposits

After I have at least a basic emergency buffer, then I let some money “rest” in deposits:

• Time horizon: money I won’t touch for 6–12 months

• Purpose: slightly better return than savings, with low risk

• Product: time deposit / fixed deposit

If suddenly I need money:

• First I use Layer 1 (savings)

• I try not to break the deposit unless really needed

Layer 3: Growth through investing

Only when:

• I have some emergency savings, and

• I don’t feel nervous looking at my bank balance

then I allow a portion to go into growth assets (bonds, stock funds, etc.).

This is money I’m willing to leave for several years and accept price ups & downs.

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Step 3: Simple percentage frameworks I use

I don’t like very complicated budgets.
Instead, I use a few templates, and I can adjust them depending on my situation.

1. When I’m still building my emergency fund (very early stage)

Here I’m in “stabilize my life first” mode.

From my monthly leftover (after paying basic expenses), I might do:

• 70% → Savings (Layer 1)

• 20% → Deposits (Layer 2)

• 10% → Investing (Layer 3) (or even 0% if I’m super anxious)

Example: leftover 4,000

• 2,800 to savings

• 800 to deposit

• 400 to investing (or 0 if I’m not ready)

This looks “boring”, but that’s okay.
The priority is to feel safer each month.

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2. When my emergency fund is mostly ready (more balanced)

Once I reach, for example, 3 months of expenses saved, I can slowly push more into growth.

From the same leftover 4,000 I might move to:

• 40% → Savings (to keep growing the buffer, but slower)

• 30% → Deposits

• 30% → Investing

So:

• 1,600 to savings

• 1,200 to deposits

• 1,200 to investing

Here, my safety layer already exists, so I’m okay allowing more to go into “roller-coaster land”.

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3. When I’m comfortable with risk (slightly aggressive)

If I reach a point where:

• Emergency fund is solid

• Deposits are already at a level I’m happy with

• I understand my investments better

Then I might shift again:

• 20% → Savings

• 20% → Deposits

• 60% → Investing

This is only if emotionally I can handle it.
If I know a big drop will make me unable to sleep, I should not copy this.

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What if my income is irregular?

Not everyone gets a fixed monthly salary. Some months are big, some months are small.

In that case, I prefer to use rules based on cash that comes in, not fixed numbers.

Example rule:

1. Every time I receive income:

   • First, cover this month’s basic needs.

2. From the leftover:

   • 50% → Savings (until emergency fund target is reached)

   • 25% → Deposits

   • 25% → Investing

If one month is very good, the amounts are bigger.
If one month is bad, maybe there is nothing for investing – and that is okay.

The important thing is the habit and direction, not perfection.

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Small “fun money” to avoid rebellion

One thing I learned: if I make my plan too strict, I end up rebelling against myself.

So even while trying to be disciplined, I like to keep a small:

“Guilt-free fun” percentage

Example:

• After paying basic expenses, I set 10% of leftover as “do whatever I want” money:

  • Eating out

  • Game top-up

  • Little reward

The other 90% follows my savings / deposit / investing plan.

This way I don’t feel like money is only for bills and future stress.

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How I review and adjust

Percentages are not tattoos. I can change them.

Every few months I ask:

1. Do I still feel safe?

   • If not, increase the percentage for savings.

2. Is my deposit level enough for short–medium term plans?

   • If I’m saving for something in 1–3 years (e.g., travel, small business), maybe increase deposits.

3. How do I feel about my investments?

   • If price swings make me too emotional, I might reduce the investing portion and move back to deposits until I learn more.

Slow adjustments are better than big impulsive changes.

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Not a perfect formula, just a clear direction

At the end of the day, my goal is not to find “the best percentage in the world”.

My goal is to have a clear direction:

• I know how much money is for today (expenses & little joys)

• I know how much money is for safety (savings & deposits)

• I know how much money is for future growth (investing)

And I accept that:

• In some seasons, safety needs to be the focus.

• In other seasons, growth can get more attention.

As long as I keep reviewing and adjusting honestly, I’m already doing better than my past self who had no map at all.