<prompt> Human: I have a feeling my wife and I need to get a better handle on our finances in 2013 to save more money. Were both 26 with a combined gross income of almost exactly 100K. Weve already paid off all student debt prior to 2012 and have no credit card balances, car balances, and currently rent 1500mo in a pricey city, doesnt include any utilities. Sounds like we should be able to save a lot still, right? In 2012 our emergency fund was stagnant at 10,000 and increased our liquid savings from 16,800 to 22,000. Roth IRA went from 3500 to 7000. Fully Vested 401K went from 15,500 to 28,000 includes vested employer matched funding. HSA went from 3500 to 4000. Biggest expenses are rent, commuting, some expensive fitness hobbies and a mild addiction to traveling while were young... So what do you think, was this a pathetic effort at saving money in 2012 given that we want to buy a house in 3-4 years? Time to get serious with a budget?  <response>: As someone in a similar situation, it seems reasonable, but not great. You increased your net worth by a little over 20k this past year, the majority of that in tax-free accounts. I would be putting more into your Roth IRA. At your age, the tax free growth in it is going to be amazing. You would get 35 years worth of growth that you wouldnt pay any capital gains or income tax on. Your budget does seem kind of loose. You would get around 5000month in after-tax401k income, or about 3500 after rent. About 1000 of that went to after-tax savings, which means youre spending around 2500month, which is a little on the high side. That said, youve got the money for it, so its not unreasonable.The real question is: are you meeting your goals? If your only financial goal is to retire at 60, comfortably, it looks to me like youre doing just fine. Other than that, the real question of how youre doing comes down to whatever goals you have set for yourselves. 