My approach is to live on "left-overs," which is whatever's left over once I've paid all my bills and met my monthly targets for savings, RRSP, and paying down the mortgage. The problem with that approach is that as your income grows, the amount left over grows with it and you can fall into the habit of lifestyle inflation.
I have been experimenting with what I'm comfortable with (I like having a small cushion of cash for unexpected things so I don't have to dip into my emergency fund) and try to ratchet down the leftover amount periodically by increasing my savings or RRSP targets, or putting more toward the house.
I have a feeling I could ratchet down the leftover amount until it's quite small; I seem to be able to adapt my spending to whatever's available. Right now my leftovers amount to roughly 10% of my gross income, but my gross income's pretty high and I could knock that percentage down further without feeling too constrained. I'm still fine-tuning it. Note that my "personal use" of the leftovers includes staples like food, clothing, etc., in addition to fun and indulgence.
I have been experimenting with what I'm comfortable with (I like having a small cushion of cash for unexpected things so I don't have to dip into my emergency fund) and try to ratchet down the leftover amount periodically by increasing my savings or RRSP targets, or putting more toward the house.
I have a feeling I could ratchet down the leftover amount until it's quite small; I seem to be able to adapt my spending to whatever's available. Right now my leftovers amount to roughly 10% of my gross income, but my gross income's pretty high and I could knock that percentage down further without feeling too constrained. I'm still fine-tuning it. Note that my "personal use" of the leftovers includes staples like food, clothing, etc., in addition to fun and indulgence.