<prompt> Human: Hi rpersonalfinance. I have always heard that you should be saving between 10 and 20 of your money, but what counts as savings? Is that only retirement savings? Or can it include saving to buy a car, house, or pay for education? Heres my situation:After tax income is 2,200monthI spend about 1,500month on everything - rent, utilities, food, car, entertainment, etc. That leaves about 700month that I save. However, I am only putting 100 of that toward retirement, just to max out matched 401k contributions. I also put an additional 50month toward my car to pay if off faster, and the remainder is going into a savings account to pay off my tuition for my Masters Degree a year from now so that I wont have any student debt. Is this all considered savings? I could take on student debt and make minimum car payments to save more, but that doesnt seem smart. Once my degree is paid in full next year, most of that money will shift into paying off the car, retirement, and saving for a down payment on a house. Can I call this savings to make myself feel like I am meeting the recommended amount?  <response>: I dont think Ive ever seen a consensus on what exactly savings are - everyone uses their own criteria. I personally think savings as money not spent on other things so, discretionary savings. So retirement and paying off the car dont count. Retirement is an expense just like food is in a sense - it does stay in my possession but its all earmarked. I will need retirement money, its not some cool toy I can buy like I can with a proper savings account.Having said that, since people do have their own definitions, when you hear save X, see what they say savings is. Most will count retirement savings, which is why I do count retirement when Im determining my savings rate, for example, when theres a new study form the Dept of Labor talking about average savings rates. That way I can compare apples to apples. 