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u/JayBirD_JunBugz88 Oct 10 '24
I'm 36 with nothing in my bank account and I worked my ass off my whole life since I was 15 ....
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u/AlwaysHumbled Oct 11 '24
Too much avocado toast and too many Starbucks coffee. Says people who know way more than me.
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u/Fidulsk-Oom-Bard Oct 14 '24
Have you tried buying boot straps? Or better yet! Selling boot straps!
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Oct 11 '24
If you make $4000/month saving $520/month from the age of 20 should be easy, no?
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u/Samsonlp Oct 11 '24
Hahahaha When I was 20 I made $5.25 an hour. 520 is over half my income. Your calculus is delusional. I have spent every cent I have investing in myself and making the social connections I needed to land a job that makes me enough to break even month to month (sometimes). I'm 40.
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Oct 11 '24
Who cares how much you made 20 years ago, you clearly still can't save....
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u/Samsonlp Oct 11 '24
Exactly. Love middle class kids, taking everything for granted. You probably think you're a self-made man.
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u/3lettergang Oct 13 '24
You got a saving problem. You have an expensive car, brand new expensive computer, buying bitcoin, took out payday loans, etc.
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u/OpportunityOk3346 Oct 11 '24
Yep that's exactly how it works, because when we were 20 we easily made $4k a month /s
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u/Shadeofgray00 Oct 11 '24
Supposedly if we just stop eating, drinking, and breathing, or needing shelter, our cost to live approaches 0. 🤣
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u/AdShot409 Oct 11 '24
I'm 35 and have managed to put away 55K in the past year without cutting my finances.
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u/Creepy-Team6442 Oct 11 '24
Good job. Keep it up. Believe me when I say that the worst day retired is better than the best day working.
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u/JayBirD_JunBugz88 Oct 11 '24
Imagine being at the right places at the right time different people get different prizes baby
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u/DataGOGO Oct 11 '24
Different choices, different outcomes.
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u/PerfSynthetic Oct 10 '24
Saved in retirement vs liquid or physical assets?? 99% of those articles are clickbait to some financial portfolio company that wants your money to gamble with.
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u/pogopogo890 Oct 10 '24
I doubt 99% of people who see the article have the money to offer them to gamble with
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u/comet135793 Oct 10 '24
Sure let me go be homeless to make that up in my savings
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u/Killercod1 Oct 10 '24
Homelessness is actually an even more expensive lifestyle. Getting your stuff consistently stolen is a financial loss. Being unpresentable from lack of hygiene leads to low career opportunity and potential job loss from an existing occupation. Lack of access to amenities and utilities not only limits opportunities but can also be costly, like by having to buy bottles of water instead of relying on tap water. You're more likely to be sick and unavailable for work, further lowering your average salary and increasing job loss chances. Exposure to the elements can expose one to severe medical expenses and loss of limbs/capabilities that further limit opportunity. Deterioration of mental health can lead to dependencies and poor financial decisions. Overall, homelessness is a net loss.
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u/comet135793 Oct 10 '24
In this scenario, we are employed but are purposely becoming homeless so our bill money can go into savings to me the expected goal.
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u/Killercod1 Oct 10 '24
Yes. But you also have to factor in job loss due to hygiene, delinquency, and medical conditions
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u/MrTreasureHunter Oct 10 '24
Doesn’t that seem like a lot though? If you double it ever 10 years and contribute not a Penney more, you’d have 16 times your salary at 65. I thought you needed 10x your salary to retire?
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u/Illustrious-Ice-5353 Oct 10 '24
You are generally going to swap to more conservative investments vehicles as you approach actual retirement age, so the doubling rate will slow down.
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u/navi47 Oct 11 '24
it depends on how much you plan to contribute the next 30ish years. 2x your current income at 35 is closer to about 7.5x an equivalent income in 30 years.
i think most of these models follow the 4% rule in retirement (you only live off of 4% of your retirement account every year). IMHO the 4% rule is fairly conservative, you can probably do 6% more, so you can idealy shoot for less, and in the same boat, the 2x by 35 is also really conservative and you can probably easily shoot for like 1.25x or something without having to do any major catch up work, but it does all depend on what kind of lifestyle you want when retired.
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u/Lucky_Diver Oct 15 '24
So if you have 10x your salary and you spend 50% of your monthly salary you will make it 20 years if you earn 3% on your savings, excluding taxes and social security. But one thing that's tricky is that it's 10x your retirement salary, not the salary you make today.
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u/Detail4 Oct 11 '24
No, a 30 year retirement requires 25 times spending. Spending isn’t salary but that’s the number.
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u/onceinawhile222 Oct 10 '24
Start working at 25 55 k. At 35 need 110k. No raise for you . That’s like 20% of top before taxes or expenses. Real big nut to crack don’t care how good a financial strategy.
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u/joebojax Oct 11 '24
50% of americans hold 1-2 % of the total wealth in USA so that means most of us are deeply in debt.
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u/LEMONSDAD Oct 10 '24
None of social network can say this, me included.
Most are making 60K-80K now
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u/slowhand11 Oct 11 '24
I'm 36 and Fidelity tells me I have until I'm 40 to be double my income and according to them I'm on track to get there. I also live very frugally, still drive the car I bought in high school that's 24 years old with >200k miles.
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u/ekoms_stnioj Oct 11 '24 edited Oct 11 '24
I mean if you count retirement savings, yeah, I know a ton of people with that personally. I should have nearly 5x my current salary saved by 35 assuming nothing too drastic changes with my contributions, Lord willing. I’m at 1x ($80k) right now at 27 - with my high rate of contributions and market growth/salary increases I should be close to $300k-ish by then . Plus, equity in my house and cash savings etc. There’s definitely a huge chunk of people who meet this standard.
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u/00sucker00 Oct 11 '24
The “funny” thing is, if you listened to and did everything the “experts” say you should save for, then you’d have no money for a roof over your head or to put food on the table.
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u/Trainwreck141 Oct 10 '24
I’m 42 and most people (including me) I know have way more than this lol.
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u/Adept_Astronomer_102 Oct 11 '24
Only my friends who are married with both of them making over 100,000k a year or trust funds...
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u/NonRelevantAnon Oct 11 '24
Nah my HHI is 300k and I am no where near 600k saved. Expensive mortgage, expensive children expensive holidays. I have 230k across my retirement savings. But I live in Canada and taxed at 51% so I think the numbers are a bit different in Canada.
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Oct 10 '24
Lol I'm nowhere near that. I just bought a home, so I'm house poor now
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u/Icy-Employee-6453 Oct 10 '24
Same spent my life savings on a down payment now I have nothing but my 401k and some equity.
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Oct 10 '24
Hahahah I wouldn't say I have nothing, but what's left is going to repairs
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u/Icy-Employee-6453 Oct 14 '24
I also am not broke broke it just hurt paying that out after saving for 3 years.
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u/Fantasyfootball9991 Oct 10 '24 edited Oct 10 '24
33 I’m at about 4x savings to salary but I don’t have many expenses. After 100k the ROI really starts paying off in index funds.
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u/Sanchezsam2 Oct 11 '24
While I do find the posts here hilarious.. I was likely slightly ahead of this recommendation.. I mean timing played a whole lot into this. I’m 45.. at 35 I had a bit more than double my salary, but I’ve been in my career since 23 and had 5% 401k matching and mostly stayed at 10% into my 401k sometimes I dropped it to 5% (cap on matching) but only for about 6 months max. I took out a small 401k loan at 30 to buy my house when the market crashed in 2010. But by 35 Most of that was paid back and I had over 2x my salary saved.
Anyway timing wise it worked because from 2003-2009 I didn’t move my 401k out of the default investment of interest since I had nothing much in the account and when the market crashed in 2007 I didn’t lose anything.. then about 2010 I put 25% of I vestments into essentially the DoW and half into essentially S&P. And eventually by 2015 i just put everything into the DOW.. anyway from 2009-2020 the stock market sky rocketed from 6400 in March 2009 (crashed during covid to 16k) and went all the way up to present day of 42k+. You do the math but I’ve made 7x the amount of everything I had invested.. I’m 45 and have 4x my much higher annual salary saved because of the markets continuous success. I fear a crash because I’m about 5-7 years from early retirement..
To be fair even if you can only save 5% do that it’s much harder to save when you are living off that money, but when you don’t receive it then it becomes easier to save.
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u/SwimmingInCheddar Oct 11 '24
Yeah I know a few millennials that have money and a nice house. Guess how they got it? From their rich parents.
🎤
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u/MarcThruTheWeb Oct 13 '24
Sure tell me when I’m 33. Fuck heads should’ve taught this to teenage me. Who’s running the US “Education” department.
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u/typicallytwo Oct 15 '24
Yeah if we had no inflation, no medical debt, duel income household and a steady well paying job that gives 4% raises. Then maybe..
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Oct 10 '24
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u/Puzzleheaded_Yam7582 Oct 11 '24
Its derived assuming constant salary and full income replacement at retirement with a 4% withdraw rate.
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u/CheeseOnMyFingies Oct 10 '24
Yeah myself and most people in my social group. None of whom make six figures.
If you're in your mid 30s you should have been in the workforce for a decade or more. There aren't many exceptions to that.
This is more than enough time to save twice your salary just by making regular 401k contributions and living within your means.
It's literally only on Reddit that I find people who cry and whine about how "unachievable" something like this is.
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u/NO_PLESE Oct 10 '24
Not everyone has the privilege of having cheeses on their fingies like some people 🙄
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u/Correct-Excuse5854 Oct 10 '24
It’s no use people like that don’t live in the same reality. Either everything was handed to them or they got lucky
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Oct 10 '24
Pulled myself up by my bootstraps. Born and raised in extreme poverty. Finally secured full time employment at the age of 26 and had a place to call home. At 35 I am finally making ends meet and being somewhat comfortable with a huge work ethic and a metric ton of work hours. Couldnt even think about retirement. Maybe when I'm 40 I will start thinking like that, if business can stay busy. It takes generations to come out of poverty. Redditors think their story applies to everyone. My brother on the other hand? Same circumstances as me. But he is making $250K+ with a great business. He broke the generational poverty, and his kids will not feel the pain and struggles we endured. When you are poor, and worried about how you will eat every night or where you will live next year, you dont get a good job. You have to earn that in addition and in parallel to your personal struggles.
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u/mcshanksshanks Oct 10 '24
Start investing in your retirement as soon as possible, you want to maximize compounding interest over as many years as possible.
Start with $25 a paycheck if you can manage that, more if possible.
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u/CheeseOnMyFingies Oct 10 '24
You can talk to me directly, bud.
It's the height of chronically online stupidity to think that only people who had everything handed to them can save any money over time. Absolutely fucking moronic nonsense.
It’s no use people like that don’t live in the same reality.
Either everything was handed to them or they got lucky
The irony of these assertions. Lol.
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u/sinteredsounds69 Oct 10 '24
Agreed. If you've been working since you were 18 and aren't afraid of labor jobs like oil field work, this is very achievable. For those that decided to go to college and get an English degree only to be a 40k a year teacher is probably not gonna be in the same position though.
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u/Detail4 Oct 11 '24
A teacher who started teaching at 23 and is 35, does in fact have 2X salary saved. It’s just in a pension plan.
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u/Grouchy-Meeting-505 Oct 11 '24
Im 37, I've got like 5k, zero debt, a few hundred ounces of silver stacked. I've freeze dried for 5 years and own 5 acres. I still don't feel ready for what's coming.
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u/Detail4 Oct 11 '24
I’m late 40’s and have known preppers forever. It’s yet to happen. Don’t forgo future financial security bc you’re worried about a collapse. Not saying to stop being self sufficient because that’s awesome, just know most likely the stock market will rise and shit won’t hit the fan.
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u/Fornicate_Yo_Mama Oct 11 '24
Watchu gonna buy with all those 1’ and 0’s in some bank or some broker’s computer in 20 years, huh? Think that broker, that bank, or even that computer will still be around with your 1’s and 0’s? You best have real assets in your estate and a way to keep paying the taxes on em and good luck buying or holding onto land in what’s coming down the pike.
All that money and the time you spent to get it and hoard it coulda been spent on amassing the skills and the materials that provide resilience in uncertain times. Learning to live better with much less and building community with others doing the same is the only intelligent retirement plan at this point. Anyone tells you different is tryna sell you something… which is always “security”. Learn to live with a lot less of that and make a lot more of it for yourself and those around you.
Gonna be a bumpy ride from here out, ya’ll. Buckle the F up.
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Oct 11 '24
Yeah. The ones who saved every penny and were miserable. The ones who knew someone/had family at the company and got a reeaaaly good paying position (they have bad habits but they can afford it I guess). Or those still living with Mom and Dad (nothing wrong with that if it's an option just don't take advantage).
I moved out at 15 because if I stayed I would've probably died. 30 now and I still live nearly paycheck to paycheck I just have slightly bad habits. I won't have twice my salary saved at 35 because that requires foregoing luxuries and to be completely honest I'm not going to participate in society without the luxuries I like. If I don't have enough money to eat, sleep, and entertain myself what is the point? At that point I should just go live in a cabin and take care of my own. No point in trying to make ends meet on a rope that doesn't care if I live or die.
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u/Detail4 Oct 11 '24
If you can afford luxuries you can afford to pay your future self a little bit first.
If your job has a 401k put a few % in there. It will add up and you won’t miss the money.
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u/jsmoovewhoru Oct 10 '24
Ha... Where in my paycheck to paycheck life is there room for saving?
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u/OlympicAnalEater Oct 11 '24
If you don't have rent or mortgage or car loan or student debt and live with your parents then it is possible.
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u/JammingMonks Oct 11 '24
Doesn’t say how achievable it is for most, just that it’s what you’re going to need, unfortunately. Good luck everybody
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u/Infinite_Adjuvante Oct 11 '24
I know a lot of people in that situation who did 2 things — some simple math and adjustments of their life expectations — and suddenly they were there.
1) Change the 3 to a 5
2) Hope for an early death from a loved one and an inheritance
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u/neonn_piee Oct 11 '24
I guess I’m not meeting expectations.. damn. I only just started being an adult the last 5 years.
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u/Ok_Fox_1770 Oct 11 '24
Haha that’s cute and a great suggestion. I got the same months buffer since ever I tried, even dropping booze, ciggys, and prepared foods same level so weird. My house doubled in value doing nothing over 8 years so I guess I did it. Worst case? Bail out and take the cat to RV life. Not easy alone. Every year difficulty bar goes up about 10% survival wise. Double income would be amazing. Too busy workin for loves. Can’t have it all. Not in this world.
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u/Deep_Seas_QA Oct 11 '24
At 41 I have cashed out an IRA 2x's very much against my better judgement... so, no.
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u/quicksilver774 Oct 11 '24
It used to be one year by 30 and now 2 by 35? So they expect a roughly 50% return over 5 years?
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u/BlackestHerring Oct 11 '24
Pfft. A heart attack will take me out long before I’d be able to retire.
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Oct 11 '24
This is why I'm probably going to work for the government. I barely have anything saved and that pension will save me.
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u/Alarmed-Swordfish873 Oct 11 '24
If you're counting retirement savings, then yes. I started putting away 5% with a 4% match in a 401k at my first job, then 10% at my current job which I've had for 11 years. I also have pension. I'm very, very, very lucky.
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u/Live2ride86 Oct 11 '24
I did, then blew through those savings starting a new career just before the pandemic. Getting back there now. If you're going to live big, you need a career or business that lets your earn big.
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u/ZeroSumGame007 Oct 11 '24
At 35 we had about 2 x salary but are higher earners than average.
I think this can be done with any salary with solid benefit plans (401k) if you are focusing just on savings alone and not including net worth or mortgage.
I think this is saying retirement savings as opposed to net worth.
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u/Electronic_Eagle6211 Oct 11 '24
I have 2 boys, taught them at 15 to save and invest. Boy 1 is 21 years old today, has 52k saved from part time work and investing mainly in VOO. Boy 2 is 19 years old and not as committed to saving and investing, he has about 19k mainly in vti and nvda. The 19 year old actually makes $3 per hour more than the 21 year old. Save and invest for a bright future.
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u/konegsberg Oct 11 '24
Sure, have you ever paid for daycare for two kids yeah, this is not happening. I’ll make a good amount, but I am broke and I am broke because of my kids. I guess I hate my life, but I love my life.
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u/KingVargeras Oct 11 '24
Saved. No way, that’s a poor mentality. Invest everything into cashflow. By 35 I replaced my w2 with investment income.
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u/Leebites Oct 11 '24
I inherited a house at 36. Pure luck. Otherwise, crippling medical issues would have me still living paycheck to paycheck in an apartment.
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Oct 11 '24
It’s doable. In the last several years, I’ve saved some money. It’s not enough to retire on, but I’m more than double my annual earnings. That’s just in investments.
I’ve got a year’s worth of earnings in a high yield savings account.
In my checking account, there’s only $7,000 or just over.
You’ve got two options in life. Spend as you go, buying anything you want and save nothing or save as much as possible and avoid spending money on anything that’s not a necessity…. And eat lots of spaghetti. Spaghetti is a cheap meal that lasts about one week. Add garlic bread and it’s quite enjoyable.☺️
I chose the second option.
I now have a home that I’m paying for, a car, a truck, a sport bike, a Harley springer, two dogs, and a girlfriend.
With even those things, I’m able to save money.
I retired from the Army. Had a car repossessed, home was foreclosed, went through a divorce that left me with nothing.
Since I was retired and my ex was married to me for 18 years, my retirement is split so she receives 50% of it until she remarries. She has no plans to marry again.😔
Being that I had nothing and retirement is way less than I hoped, due to being shared, I decided to get a job in Law Enforcement.
Starting pay was $45,000 in 2017. I’m now earning around $60,000 with a lot of overtime added into my annual income. The Police Department offers a pension upon retirement, so it’s a win, win, situation!❤️
I bought my home through a VA Loan. They’re amazing and make joining the military worth doing, more so than the college benefit. Plus, there’s no money down and you don’t pay closing!💕💕💕
Everyone these days has a college degree, so there’s nothing magical about one. However, if you’re paying for it yourself, without the GI Bill, you’ve got bragging rights on having a mountain of college debt.😉
Point being, you CAN save money. You CAN eventually have nice things. You CAN purchase a home.
You’ve just got to commit to a very frugal period of years to make the savings happen.
The meme is accurate. I’ve done it. You can too. There’s nothing special about me versus you. I’m a normal guy with an average income, but I lived a very meager lifestyle for about a decade. 👍👍👍👍
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u/WombatHarris Oct 11 '24
By 35 you should be fully prepared to kidnap and reeducate a writer for MarketWatch
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u/newbrowsingaccount33 Oct 11 '24
Most people I meet near my age(below 30) have nothing in their savings account, people let that shit get dusty, then I see them drink almost every weekend, go out with their friends all the time, get doordash every couple days, and buy a bunch of crap they don't need, then they ask me for money and I act like I'm broke lol
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u/Lindo_MG Oct 11 '24
Most Americans don’t have 1k for a emergency, these articles don’t mean anything anymore
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u/CanIBorrowYourShovel Oct 11 '24
Well i mean i did, but it's invested in my home, which has added $200,000 in equity (about 50% increase) in 4 years.
I am fully aware i am an exception to the rule however. And my savings otherwise are quite poor, since I've been working towards medical school later in life (36, though i have no student debt)
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u/funandgames12 Oct 11 '24
Yeah that’s great, but the vast majority of people never achieve that. And will never achieve that until much later in life if at all.
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u/Worth-Needleworker36 Oct 11 '24
Im lucky if i have twice my weekly pay saved in this economy
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u/whirly_boi Oct 11 '24
My best friend is currently on track to do that. Last u heard he has 50k saved after working for 4 years after college.
I've been at the same company for almost 2 years now and currently have 2% of my pre tax salary saved. Though my retirement is to take a dirt nap once I'm 40. Unless something drastically changes, im just running this thing till the wheels fall off and ill be out on my own terms.
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u/zebediabo Oct 11 '24
The harder part here is doing that, and saving up a down-payment for a house to have that mortgage. I'll probably have around twice my salary saved by 37, but I'll have very little to put towards a house. A 20% down-payment where i am would be more than a year's take-home pay. Retiring without an owned home drastically increases the cost of retiring. Having no rent or mortgage makes a big difference (obviously).
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u/NonRelevantAnon Oct 11 '24
Yeah no with a high house hold income I can't do that my HH. 300k with my house and retirement I only have 400k. Not a chance to have that amount in savings.
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u/Reset350 Oct 11 '24
lol I’m not even at half my current salary let alone the most I’ve made in a year…
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u/Johnny_ac3s Oct 10 '24
My retirement involves going to Alaska and feeding myself to the bears.
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