Is anyone doing okay financially in the big picture? I keep reading about how barely anyone has anything saved up for retirement while I'm doing pretty great. I don't mean that as a flex in any way. I'm just worried everyone my age will be working until they're 80 while I hope to retire by 60.

Posted by eatsleepdive@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 178 comments

Tell me there are others out there who were able to save from a young age?

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Sweet_Priority_819@reddit

My husband and I are fine. We're both in high demand industries and were lucky in other ways. We don't even have mortgage debt anymore. Neither of us inherited anything nor were gifted anything by family either.

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No_Ninja_3740@reddit

I’m 43 and will definitely be working until I’m in the grave.

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PalpitationNo8356@reddit

Paycheck to paycheck. I’ll have to work till I die. Which hopefully isn’t too far off.

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nvboettcher@reddit

I agree that a market economy can be efficient. My concern is the lack of regulation on the market. An unregulated marketplace is the problem.

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jachildress25@reddit

I’m retired in my 40s. Sold my business and have done well investing. My wife still works. We have money set aside for our kids to go to college. We also have a nice cabin at the lake. We live in a small town where things aren’t as expensive.

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nvboettcher@reddit

I hope you are paying taxes b/c the rest of us did not get so lucky and we all worked just as hard with vastly different outcomes. Choices are choices but some are luckier than others. I suppose my choice was to be a teacher and give back to my community and, oops, I have a bunch of student debt, rented forever due to moving from school to school, and so on.

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MothsConrad@reddit

It’s a bit more complex than that. He or she may have given back by hiring people and providing jobs. They also likely worked their asses off. However, the student debt is a direct result of terrible government policies to backstop any and all loans and the greed of third level institutions who took advantage of they backstop and raised tuition through the roof.

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nvboettcher@reddit

We all worked our asses off. And providing jobs is not a public good, it is how you profit from other people's work. Unless he shared the revenue of selling his company with his workers, or if he ran it as a co-op and shared in profits, then he didn't "provide jobs", he leached profits from their labor by positioning himself solely at the top of the business.

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MothsConrad@reddit

Proving employee is absolutely a public service because you are providing gainful employment and increasing the tax base. How else do you propose people should be paid and employed? And what? He didn’t leech off anything. I presume he provided a good or service that people wanted and grew his business accordingly. And he may have give shares or other equity to his employees, we don’t know but you have no basis in calling him a leech other than ignorance and jealousy. And feel free to leave teaching and work in the private sector. You make it sound so easy and with an attitude like yours, I’m sure you will succeed in a job that you can actually be fired from.

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nvboettcher@reddit

I do work in the private sector now and I make far more money than I ever did as a teacher and I work far fewer hours with less stress. It is very easy, comparatively. It's a job that has profit sharing and gives me just compensation for the work that I do. Also, it does little good for my community so I'm miserable but my teenagers have food on the table every night so I'm blessed to have my job. And by the way, I was fired more as a teacher than I have been in the private sector. I was given awards as a teacher but union rules meant that I was to be fired due to a lack of seniority. I was a young new teacher winning awards and got fired so a person a year away from retirement could realize their final payout. That happened more than once.

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MothsConrad@reddit

Not sure how to take your response, and I don’t mean that in a bad way, you’ve responded very honestly and positively so thank you for that. On reflection, I think my initial response to you was unnecessarily snarky and cynical. I do think though it’s wrong to demonize business owners. They risk capital and time and assume real debt. Indeed most don’t actually do that well but they still employ people and make their communities better. That’s hugely important and is as valuable as public service in my mind.

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nvboettcher@reddit

It would be a public service in my mind if it was done without the intention of reaping an individual profit. The goal of a for-profit business precludes it in my mind from being viewed that way. People getting paid for their time and labor is not wrong, but if your goal is to leverage capital for your own financial benefit then you are not providing a public service, you are running a business.

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MothsConrad@reddit

Without a profit motivation, societies stagnate and indeed regress. It doesn’t mean profit has to be the only motivation but a profit motive does create a lot of good including innovation. It’s not binary between being good and bad.

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nvboettcher@reddit

I disagree. I worked my ass off as a teacher with no profit motivation. Fortunately I got paid enough money to survive while doing it. Just not enough to thrive so I quit to make more money. People innovate because they are curious and creative. Capitalist may find a way to exploit it. A thing may have a good effect, but it only ever gets done if it is profitable. So in this world, unprofitable things that are good don't happen, and bad things that are profitable do happen. If we removed the profit motivation then I think that we may actually see more good than bad. I think a "good/bad motivation" would be better than a profit motivation. Maybe people could start making decisions based on what's good or bad. That would be an interesting way to organize our society...

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MothsConrad@reddit

Ultimately that will regard innovation as we have seen in Communist countries. You can argue that reachers should be paid more but that’s a different debate (many teachers have excellent benefits and pensions which should be factored into their overall compensation) but market based economies and societies are generally materially economically better and more free than non-market based economies.

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Separate_Sock_1696@reddit

Shut up, Commie.

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Xennials-ModTeam@reddit

Conversation must remain civil. Name calling and/or rudeness is not allowed.

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breastslesbiansbeer@reddit

Homie, you got a lot of hate in your heart. Starting a business isn’t leeching off others. You’re taking a big risk and can wind up in a lot of debt. Not every boss is an asshole. You know absolutely nothing about this person other than the short paragraph they posted and are assuming they’re a terrible person just because they’ve been successful. Try and be less selfish yourself before you point the finger at others.

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nvboettcher@reddit

No hate here. All I'm assuming is that he did not run his business as a cooperative and that he did not share the revenue from the business sale with all the people that worked to help create that business. I'm making that assumption based on the way in which the majority of companies are run, and bought and sold in our country. I never said he was an a****** or a terrible person. I just hoped that they pay their taxes on the wealth they were able to accumulate using our infrastructure.

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bendingtacos@reddit

Exactly. The people who get left behind get so jaded they make themselves to be a victim every single time. All things considered I know teachers work harder and longer hours than we give credit . I know they grade papers at night on the weekend and work over summer. But you know what. I went 7 years working 50 of 52 weekends a year. I don't apologize to anyone at this point for having sacrificed so much of my time to be younger and not have to work as hard anymore. I took risks and they paid off. When I bought houses and they went down in price that was fair. Now they are up in value and suddenly people I've never met think they should be partners in my success. GTFO

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bendingtacos@reddit

I personally very much appreciate the hard work you do and always vote on any prop to increase teacher pay. But your saying he was lucky where you are unlucky and in the previous sentence admit you made a choice to be a teacher. That all doesn't jive. When you graduated high school and enrolled in college , you knew your earning potential would be reduced while you worked as a teacher. Meaning that if you went to a state school for 4 years at 30k a year total student loan. Graduation owing 120k was daunting and would have had me looking at districts that will pay back a percentage of student loans in exchange for a few years of service. Or look for a district that would pay for my masters. Now, I feel bad you'll struggle a bit while working but your retirement plan and health care plans are top notch It is very likely after 20 years you'd be entitled to some retirement funds for the rest of your life possibly.

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nvboettcher@reddit

I never said that I was unlucky. I just said that he was lucky to have made good choices that ended up in a profitable business that he was able to sell. No hate. And I don't resent him but rather resent the systems we have for rewarding people for their work.

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bendingtacos@reddit

If someone posts about being grateful to have started and sold a business that allowed them to reduce their working in the future and your first response is you are lucky we all work hard and I hope you paid taxes you have a lot of hate and misguided frustration in your head about how life works 1. Hard work has nothing to do with it. You might have had to work hard to do well in school, someone else could have been on auto pilot. I can not grasp math for the life of me. All the hard work in the world I would not be able to pass the math classes to get an engineering degree. I can very easily get a degree in history though. 2. If he did work harder than you, perhaps he sacrificed a lot in high school, in college going to an amazing ivy League school but studying on the weekends while you did not, how is that somehow his fault and lucky when you simply didn't put the same effort in? 3. Most business transactions require a certain with holding or pre payment of certain fees or even a form that gets sent to the IRS immediately alerting them of the transaction. Not paying taxes isn't really an option. There's tips and tricks along the way to lower your tax basis for sure, but to respond with I hope you paid your taxes in a snarky way just shows your ignorance to the subject . You really think anyone who makes more than you is rolling around scrooge McDuck style in coins going hahahaha thank God we didn't file taxes this year.

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nvboettcher@reddit

You're absolutely right, and I want to acknowledge that my frustration got the better of me in my previous comment. Let's both try to steer clear of assumptions about each other and approach this conversation with an open mind. In response to your points: 1. It's frustrating how some skills seem more valued than others, and it often feels like people get rewarded for behaving unethically in the business world. It's not just something we hear about in the news; many of us have seen it firsthand. So much of this behavior has become normalized, which is really disheartening. I want to make it clear that I'm not accusing you or anyone else of being unethical, but rather pointing out how our system sometimes rewards such behavior, making it hard to differentiate between those who've earned their success honestly and those who've taken advantage of others within the bounds of legality. 2. I sense an assumption that I didn't put in extra time on weekends or that the effort I put in doesn't deserve economic recognition. I did invest countless weekends and long hours to educate the next generation without expecting significant financial gain. This isn't meant to belittle someone's hard work for their earnings, but rather to criticize a system that values profit-driven ventures more than education. It's about questioning why someone's effort in education is valued less than someone else's in providing goods and services for profit. Our society's actions in how we reward these roles makes this disparity an undeniable truth, whether we like it or not. 3. I understand a fair bit of investment management practices, though I'm far from an expert. Ideally, I hope people vote for leaders who commit to raising taxes on higher income brackets. This would support our economy, ensuring we have well-educated workers and solid infrastructure beyond just the next decade.

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bendingtacos@reddit

I promise I'm not arguing with you, I just really want to show you the divide. You went into education. A very low paying and low reward gig. Meaning you probably jumped thru hoops for certifications and such and follow guidelines that do not benefit the students or you. It's low reward because of what I think would be shitty students (thank the parents) higher risk than ever be it violence from students against teachers, or school shootings. 20 years ago it was probably very rewarding. I along with anyone else can understand that. Sadly most blame the administration for that, much like it's ignorant to assume that the rich are simply not paying taxes it's probably the same to simply say your problems are as a result of your unions and principal etc. There are things you could have done to minimize your upfront cost, like spend the first 2 years of your degree at community college. Summer jobs, teach summer school etc. Again not perfect scenarios but also not doomsday either. Now, your struggles will be rewarded if you stick with this I'm yet to meet a teacher who doesn't retire well ahead of the curve. Lastly - everyone is frustrated with tax rules. Warren buffet famously said that his secretary pays more percentage wise of her income than he does in taxes. But once you make it to the highest bracket you also don't see the return. If a rich person pays 100k in taxes they don't get a say in how it's spent. You or your students might not see 1 additional penny and it's not like there's fair transparency on how the money paid into the system is spent. Most people would gladly pay 1 additional dollar or x amount monthly or weekly to support more services but there is never really any offer from city state or federal nonprofit providers. Never once have I been offered an additional tip option on my taxes for the unhoused, mentally ill, veterans affairs etc. By in large though the high tax places are losing people paying into the tax basis as a revolt of this mismanagement.

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nvboettcher@reddit

I think the goal of taxes is that we all pay in based on how much benefit we are able to receive from the society our taxes help provide. If you pay more money, it's because you've realized more benefit from the marketplace. That doesn't mean you get to have more say in what that money does. A democracy exists so that we all have equal say though we may not all have equal benefit from the system. FYI, I did spend the first 2 years at a community college and then paid my way through college to get my undergraduate while working nights. My debt stems from a graduate degree. That was my way to realize a little bit more economic benefit in the teacher salary scale at the time. I worked summers when I was a teacher to make extra money. It was enough to pay rent and food for my children. I decided to retire from teaching because my certification suddenly became one too many hoops for me to jump through as a newly divorced single dad at an upstart charter school. I've moved to the private sector where I'm making more money that I ever did as a teacher and working fewer hours with less stress. I'm also working hard as an employee betting on the success with some profit sharing, hopefully. It's all a crap shoot!

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bendingtacos@reddit

You said everything in the first sentence. You think taxes should be based upon benefit to the society,, so if you are a doctor providing a needed service . You buy a house in a great area. No kids. Your property taxes are high . Goes to a school district. You see 0 benefit of it. You pay a high state and federal income tax. You live 5 minutes from work. You are not getting the benefit of that federal interstate highway. You didn't drive on 100k worth of roads to get to work. There's a diminishing return, what happens when that doctor doesn't play the game anymore and decides to retire to a cheaper cost of living state. The Er suffers. Someone dies in the waiting room because he didn't go to work he took his ball and went home.

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nvboettcher@reddit

I think you misinterpreted my first sentence. "I think the goal of taxes is that we all pay in based on how much benefit we are able to receive from the society our taxes help provide." The benefit I'm talking about is the amount of income we're able to earn. I'm not talking about how much we benefit from the things our taxes pay for. Overall, the doctor benefits from a stable society with a healthcare system. His benefit is realized in a high salary. He has a higher quality of life because of that salary, and he should have to pay a higher rate as he is overall getting more benefit from life in the country. More stress, sure. But more money, more lavish vacations, he realizes more benefit from his life. He gets to live that life because of all the things taxes pay for, safe air travel, for example. Personally, if I don't get to fly on planes that much, should my taxes should pay for the TSA? It would be absurd for me to make that demand. We all get to have a country to live in because of taxes. We are all safe and we are all living on the land and breathing the air that is protected by our regulatory bodies. We all are safe from crime and fire because of the police departments and fire departments we fund. The fact that one would look at taxes and think that they deserved an individual benefit equal to the amount paid in taxes is absurd. You pay taxes because you want a good society to continue to exist, and then you vote to ensure that the government officials in charge of our taxes maintain that stability. Of course, all of that is me speaking about the ideal and we are so far from that in our current political environment so f*** it all I guess, eh?

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nvboettcher@reddit

Instead of just saying "I hope you pay your taxes," I wanted to share something a bit different: I hope you ran your business like a team effort, making sure everyone who helped build it got their fair share. It's awesome when business owners value their employees as much as the profit they make. I agree that one perspective is that you provided jobs and income for them, and I would propose an equally valid perspective, that they provided you the opportunity to create a business and realize wealth. Also, I hope you're excited about being part of a community that supported you along the way. The roads, the rules, the whole setup - they all played a role in your success. It's cool to think about the generations before us who laid the groundwork. Feeling proud of how your business pumped life into our economy is a big deal. Taxes go back into the community, making it even better. So, kudos for making sure your contribution keeps things rolling for generations to come! Congrats on your success! 🎉

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jachildress25@reddit

Why wouldn’t I be paying taxes?

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nvboettcher@reddit

If your aim while investing is to make as much money as possible then you are likely having an accountant making legal decisions with your money that helps you avoid certain taxes. Despite the folks on here that think I'm mad at you or think you're a bad person, I think you are smart, care for your family and community, and work hard. You got lucky with your business decisions which deserves congratulations since not all business owners do. I hope you don't take my statements personally (I don't know you!). My frustration is not with you! It's with our system that relies on the goodness of the capitalists to share with their workers a piece of any business profit. Wealth and value comes from somewhere and if someone made off with hundreds of times more money than their employees then they should be able to justify how your work and initiative is worth that much more than theirs. IMHO, our system has allowed that calculation to get out of balance. CEOs should not be making hundreds of times more than employees (not saying that you did).

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teatsqueezer@reddit

Same here, did well in our 30’s and invested smart, sold a business, pulled up stakes and moved to a small community. Both of us semi retired, working seasonally. No kids though, which I know for sure contributes to us being able to take a step back and do what we want with life. I feel deep gratitude every day, but I know it wasn’t luck that got us here.

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MorganBest181@reddit

I am 44 and have a house with lots of equity. I am single, no kids. Have some other debt. I will not work till I am 80. Hope to retire by 55-60. My retirement plan is to find an opium den and live out my remaining years there. Could be 10 years, most likely less. So I am doing pretty great too.

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Left-Landscape-3890@reddit

I didn't get my shit together until 41. 4 years ago this month. I found Dave Ramsey, Money Guys, YNAB and haven't looked back. I went from 50k in debt to over now 600k net worth. No debt except solar panel loan (allows for no power bill) and mortgage. Plan to retire at 55

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ultradav24@reddit

It took me four decades but I have a very high paying job. But.. also six figures of student loan debt. So we’ll see how this turns out lol

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chrisacip@reddit

Not a flex, but have I mentioned that I’m rich?

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meizhong@reddit

Have nothing saved. Recently broke my arm and quit paying all my credit cards because I couldn't work. Back at work now, caught up on my mortgage (they were threatening me with various upcoming actions, of course they got paid first, I'm not losing my house!). Had to go back to work before my arm was fully healed to save my house. It hurt! Bad! Knowing that I could absolutely lose everything because of one accident scares the shit out of me. I barely scraped by this one. When my kids get out of high school I'm going to sell the house and take all the money (maybe 100k?) and buy a sail boat. Since I won't have any mortgage on it, I won't have to worry about some bank thinking they can take it. That plus not having any mortgage payments will remove most of the stress in my life. Then I'm going to sail with my wife for 5 years or so and call that my retirement. Then after that, I'll sell it and buy another house (if that's still a thing people can do then I America) and go back to work, sigh, until I die. That's my plan.

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DifferentShip4293@reddit

I took advantage of my 20's because I knew I'd never be able to retire. And that's okay with me, because I lived the life I wanted when I was young. I had to build my own life from the ground up and I'm proud of the little life I've achieved. I'm grateful every day for what I have. Even though I will be working when I'm 80.

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DreiKatzenVater@reddit

I’m doing pretty well also, but I already know I’ll be working until I’m 70-75. I full expect the retirement age to be raised right when I’m between 55 and 60

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jelloslug@reddit

People that are doing OK don't make posts about it.

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_GabbySolis@reddit

Agreed. I was just talking about that somewhere else where they were voicing the problem with American insurance and medical billing. You just don’t hear from the people with insurance that actually covers us well.

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eatsleepdive@reddit (OP)

I don't think that's true at all.

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jelloslug@reddit

OK

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sweetnsaltyanxiety@reddit

Well, they do. It’s just over in Poverty Finance.

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ColoradoSprings82@reddit

Exactly. "Not a flex" my ass.

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humanessinmoderation@reddit

**Am I doing well on paper?** Yes. **Am I doing well in the big picture?** Absolutely not. **Why do I say this?** Well, I make around $350k (first job was $38k), and I have $1.4m in savings, retirement accounts, etc. I just turned 40 (elder Millennial). I am not doing well in the big picture because though my financial planner says I need to have $3.5m by retirement, I am projecting a much higher number due to inflation and the fact that the cost of produce and food due to climate change nor the inevitable strikes attributable to conditions climate change will produce are considered in financial models. I anticipate $9 lettuce, $11 cups of coffee, crazy energy costs, increased cost of car/home insurance, increased rate of home and car repair costs due to environmental changes. I think anyone without $10m in the bank by the time they are 60 will face financial ruin if they live in the United States — this presumes you turn 60 around or after 2050. We're all doomed. The difference is going to be like someone drowning in 10 ft of water versus a 100 ft water. But drowning is drowning. Culturally, we haven't gotten the idea that the person drowning in 10 ft of water and the person downing in 100 ft of water should get proportional assistance. But no... We must have billionaires and kill the planet — because *reasons.*

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eatsleepdive@reddit (OP)

Very few people will have $10m by 60 years old. I'm doing what I consider to be pretty well and might have half that at best. So in spite of a handful of us doing well, will the fact that so many people weren't able to save bring the system crashing down? Are we all screwed?

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humanessinmoderation@reddit

I’m saying that’s what people will need. *Yes*, I think the overall trajectory is that we’re all screwed. Everyone below the 1 to 0.5% mark.

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TrustAffectionate966@reddit

I have already made my peace that I will drop dead without ever retiring: No money to get married, let alone have kids, or to buy a place. I barely make enough to scrape by - can't keep up with the "inflation" (i.e., price g0uging by the 0ligarchy). I even put some cash into the gambling den known as st0nkz or "the stock market." That is also pure, hot garbage. None of my "investments" have actually paid off in the last decade hahah. Nowadays, I invest in spending more time with family and friends. 🐔👌🏽

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revelrebels@reddit

Thanks for your concern, no we are not ok

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justkeeptreading@reddit

i moved into my own place july 1st with a $900 bed and $5 in my savings im happy to say almost 2 months in ive got more money to myself than i ever have in the last 10 years. maybe im NOT the problem??

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DifficultCoach69@reddit

At least you are not negative! Right?…

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Idontknowthosewords@reddit

This is the answer.

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PooOnUrShoe@reddit

Ditto.

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No-Championship-8677@reddit

Lol exactly

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Free-Cherry-4254@reddit

Definitely not ok

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NewsgramLady@reddit

I'm about to turn 40 and I'm doing great! I have $5,000 saved up! *cries in millennial*

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DadHunter22@reddit

About the same here! Some of those are even _invested_!

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jolie-renee@reddit

You are doing great!

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Good_Apollo_@reddit

Scrub. I have at least $25k in five different 401ks. Total. My retirement plan is either bank robbery or winning the lotto and I don’t much care which, at least prison comes with free medical and dental.

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Fit-Departure-7844@reddit

So what are you going to do with this information? Sit back and be smug?

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eatsleepdive@reddit (OP)

Not smug at all, I'm worried. I don't have a solution. I wish it were better. It feels like our generation worked really hard for most of our lives and we're generally barely scraping by. It shouldn't be that way.

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MothmansLegalCouncil@reddit

I’ll die at work.

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Okeeme1977@reddit

I'm not in that boat, not yet. I can finally say that at 45 I'm debt free, and STARTING to get some money saved up. Will I have enough ? Probably not, but I know many people who are much worse off than me.

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eatsleepdive@reddit (OP)

No mortgage?

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Okeeme1977@reddit

Correct.

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jolie-renee@reddit

Just curious, do you own a home?

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jolie-renee@reddit

Same, no debt (accept house), but no retirement either. Also just turned 45!

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SockGnome@reddit

Debt free is such a great feeling.

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Deazul@reddit

At 45 youre gen X

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jolie-renee@reddit

I have run through all my 401k retirement to start a business 5 years ago, so I feel really behind sometimes. On the other hand, I own a house in California that I didn’t pay a shit ton for. That’s the only aspect that makes me feel like we are financially ok. I hate seeing my peak Millennial friends give up on ever owning a home.

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minibini@reddit

Doing ok compared to most (in between middle/upper-middle class.) I’m actually shocked myself as I live in a high CoL area. I had a 401k set up 23 yrs ago, but not really sure if it’ll be worth anything by the time I cash out 🤷🏻‍♀️

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JosephJohnPEEPS@reddit

Totally. If you look around at a random sample of people in their early 40’s who cared about money and picked careers based on it - blue or white collar - they’re largely where they expected to be.

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eatsleepdive@reddit (OP)

This may be true on paper but I suspect most people would say they *aren't* where they expected to be. I'd be curious to see those results.

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bendingtacos@reddit

The ones that got left behind seem to share a few traits. They were not on a track to success after high school. I'm 41. I grew up middle class in an upper middle class area. I had working stiff parents, my class mates parents were upper middle class managers, engineers, doctor's and such. Because college was forced on us, they went on to good schools and good careers. The ones that wanted to be the exception to the rule, and not attend college honestly it didn't work out for them. They seemed to bounce from job to job with not a lot of direction. They were always the new guy at every job so it was no seniority bad shifts no vacation time etc. The intangible benefits and advantages that the higher income parents provided turbo charged their kids success They had college paid for by parents , so now you have a kid out in the real world who is college educated with no student debt, parents were able to help with down payments on first house and pay for lavish family vacations and such. I didn't have that so I had to do stuff like that on my own. That help even paved the way for networking for careers and allowed them save even more money in their retirement accounts. The kids who didn't make it, still have some chance even though they didn't do well career wise at this point in their lives , I've had some describe to me they are hoping when they boomer parents pass they will inherit a house that's paid off that they can then sell to do as they please with the money. Thats kinda sad but at least they have an understanding of what their reality is.

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manyuska85@reddit

I do not say this with any hint of sarcasm, I really hope I die before I'm 70. I'm 37 and already have serious issues with joints and chronic pain. I have less than $300 in savings and that wouldn't be enough to cover anything important. Google how hard it is for the elderly to find jobs, there's no way my husband and I would be able to support ourselves in our old age. Neither of us can afford insurance either, so hopefully whatever health issue kills us isn't long and drawn out.

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Jolly-Sandwich-3345@reddit

I've got 16 years into my government pension (that is pension, not retirement account) and my union came through with a 13% raise for me this year so I am doing fine.

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AtTheLeftThere@reddit

I literally have no idea how some of my friends make it. I'm doing okay but wow it's rough out there. Feels like I'm seeing more of them posting GoFundMe links. 🙁

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theultimaterage@reddit

I'm 36 and haven't had a "real" job since graduating college in 2009. I haven't had a job since the pandemic of 2020, even after paying out of pocket for a Google IT certification. I hate life......

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bendingtacos@reddit

It's bad for a lot of people for a lot of reasons. I'll start with some observations: First not enough people migrated to lower cost of living cities wanting to rent in expensive cities and maybe being priced out of owning in them and have been for longer than they want to admit. What does that mean? You are 40 today, are you taking out a 30 year loan tomorrow and paying it till your 70? Or are you not buying at all and your entire social security check goes back to rent when you retire which means, well no retirement. Second I saw a general mistrust in even putting a little bit aside in retirement plans 401k or IRA. I meet a lot of people who are not just behind with low insignificant balances , but nothing at all. 3 student loans with litte understanding of how much they are, sacrificing to pay them off etc. I know someone at 39 that took out 18k to go to school which I thought was dirt cheap. They still owe about 5k. I could not understand how they managed after 15 years to still have a balance but it was a lot of pauses and breaks. On the surface you gotta be able to pay back that type of amount in say 3 or 4 years not 15. Had they just worked at Starbucks for a year they could have a 0 balance by now. That almost falls as much as poor time management than it does financial help. It's frustrating because I want everyone to succeed but I know there's lot of broke boomers ready to retire and a large wave right behind them that have the same problems if not worse.

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mtsterling@reddit

Doing good here. Sorry to hear so many are struggling.

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eatsleepdive@reddit (OP)

Yeah this sucks. I didn't expect so many "I'm just getting by" responses. I've managed to go from 0 to seven figures and by all accounts am doing pretty well. There have been very few responses along these lines.

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Woodrow_F_Call_0106@reddit

I’m 40. 5 kids. Own a house with 15 acres we built ourselves. Only thing we owe on is a car. I’d like to have more savings. Other than that we are doing good.

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MarqNiffler@reddit

I have a verrrrrrry modest amount in a 401k. Not even a year’s expenses if I immediately liquidated it. Aside from that I’m paycheck to paycheck with about 3k in cash. I destroyed my savings when I was unemployed for a while so not I’m stable but not growing. I’m in my mid forties, and I’ll probably have to work until I physically cannot. When my parents die I’ll get a portion of their estate but it’s unlikely to make a significant difference in my future.

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Neon_1984@reddit

I’m doing well and have a good amount of savings. My method was to work 60 hours a week in sales for 15 years while my parents got older and eventually passed away during the pandemic before i could spend the quality time with them i kept kicking the can on. I wasn’t in one place long enough to prioritize finding a wife and I’m now 40 and at best in a situationship (as the kids say). I quit my job when my parents passed, nearly drank myself to death over a one year period, and needed a few months of professional help to escape it. I’m over a year sober now and don’t really dwell on it, but i would trade all of my savings for one more hour with my parents and have so much guilt and shame.

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sweetnsaltyanxiety@reddit

I have a 401k and a pension but they won’t be enough to fully retire in at this rate of inflation have seen in the past few years so I fully expect to work up until lunch on the day I’m to be cremated. But hey, at least I’ll finally be warm for once. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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LemurCat04@reddit

Same! Seriously though, I’m 10 years into my mortgage, I have a 401k with money in it but probably not nearly enough. Student loans are paid off. I can’t imagine being retired. Like I can’t bend my mind to even think about it.

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eatsleepdive@reddit (OP)

Enjoy those few seconds of warmth.

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mtsterling@reddit

I’m doing good, it’s all about choicesz

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Hockey_socks@reddit

Death will be our retirement.

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Abidarthegreat@reddit

I do worry about my retirement, but I'm the type to over worry. I have about 100k in my retirement at 42. It's not great but it's better than most. I'm working on getting my fiancee secured. Finally got her to open a 401k at work last year. She only has 16k in it now but it's a start and she's only 35, which, again, isn't great but it's better than most. My next step is to get her to open an IRA as a backup. I'm hoping that if she and I can both save plus any social security (if we can keep the Republicans from completely destroying it) we'll have a decent retirement.

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UnderDog_1983@reddit

I’ll be more or less ok. I live very modest. 3 bd 1 bath brick ranch. It will be paid off in full in no time. I don’t want bigger houses, or the newest car. My 2015 car is paid in full and looks and runs great. My company allows for early retirement, so at 55 I’m cashing out my pension. I’ll have my 401k. At 62 social security Yeah I live very modest, I don’t keep up with the Jones at all, the Jones are in debt up to their eyeballs . I’m debt free other than what I owe on my house

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LYMI20@reddit

You want to take a hit on your SS to start collecting early?

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UnderDog_1983@reddit

Damn right, I’ll have my pension and 401k. I won’t be working past 55, life is too short

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LYMI20@reddit

I was curious why you’d take it early, since you’re set up enough with your pension and 401k to retire at 55. It was a question, not a judgment.

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KoiCyclist@reddit

What jobs now still have pensions? Government?

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ColoradoSprings82@reddit

Could be non-US or union. Plenty of European jobs that wouldn't even have retirement plans in the US have pension plans. Thanks unfettered Capitalism! 😕

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MothsConrad@reddit

Pensions in the US weren’t as commonplace as you might think. Moreover, they often restricted an employees’ ability to move jobs and reduced their wages (you’re getting it in a pension). Also SS is better than many EU pensions.

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UnderDog_1983@reddit

My company in union, so we get the pension. As far as moving jobs go, I wouldn’t ever want too. Our wages are a good bit higher than the non union plants. Not to mention the excellent health insurance the union provides. 400 dollar out of pocket max. After 400 bucks is spent in a year, everything is covered 100 percent

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UnderDog_1983@reddit

It’s actually manufacturing, it’s a union plant, so we have the pension

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Infamous_Rhubarb2542@reddit

I also meant to say, I have a vagina so naturally they just pay me less

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Infamous_Rhubarb2542@reddit

Fuck you dude lol

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Big-Menu3218@reddit

Wife is a mastermind of financial planning and frugal as hell (compliment). With her planning everything out and me just being the worker grunt we’ve been able to capitalize on everything. Bought our house as a foreclosure in the 2011 crash. Refinanced to 2.7% on a 15 year when rates dropped. Max out 401k annually and max both Roth IRAs annually. Investments seem to be conservative but very stable growth. Both kids 529’s have $250 each monthly. Last calculation I “could” retire at 54- but I think I’d go insane with boredom. While I am a high wage worker, I really feel like my home schooling wife is the real MVP. High school sweethearts and haven’t really ever regretted it.

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CEEngineerThrowAway@reddit

My wife got us on track with getting frugal in our late 20’s, which really helped through our 30’s. MrMoneyMustache was a big motivator early on and kept me steadily bike commuting allowing us to be a 1 car family for most of the last 20 years She was rockstar and did the same thing to the mortgage. I think we’ll be okay, but glad we waited till the last couple year to 40 indulge in the lifestyle creep. I’m an engineer and in a field of other folks that should be on track to retire in their 50’s or 60’s, but unfortunately many think putting in 3% to get their max company match is maxing their 401k and I see a lot of expensive new Subaru’s and tricked out ForeRunner’s than new grad should have.

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Temporary_Calendar95@reddit

I mean, I’m guessing I’ll be working till I’m at least 65, but I’m doing decently over here. I bought my first house a few months ago, I’m close to student loans being paid off (finally), I have been saving for retirement for several years and I have 3-4 months of an emergency savings fund. I enjoy life and have traveled a bunch, lived abroad in my 20s, and I’m in good health. I also have a career I enjoy and am in my prime. I expect my financial situation will also improve in the near future. I’m doing better than a lot of people, but by no means rich. I’m grateful.

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WordySpark@reddit

LOL The only way I'll retire by 60 (or 80) is to die.

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adamroadmusic@reddit

40k college debt. 20k credit card debt. No assets, no kids, no savings, no future. I was born a street rat, I'll die a street rat, and only my fleas will mourn me.

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Siferatu@reddit

Long term maybe, depends on inflation. 10% in company retirement for 14 years. Roughly $6k/mo estimate. Add union pension, her ESOP, and both of our SS. We should be ok. Short term, no so much. I was broke and in debt the entire 2010s. Finally paid off everything in 2020 (Covid was great for us) and put together some money for a down payment, but the market took a huge shit. Everything we would have been able to afford in '21 is out of reach. Everything in reach is a wreck or being bought up by investment firms.

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XennialEyeRoll@reddit

I am fortunate. Paid off student debt at the age of 30 and could only then really think about saving and purchasing a home. Got lucky with my home when a speculator that purchased a handful of properties in my estate saw interest rates outstrip rent and had to sell. About 25% of my income goes towards pension fund and other investment vehicles. I started out with nothing, coming from a working class family. My parents don't have the money to retire and are both in their 70s. I can look after myself just fine, but I fear the day I will be responsible for their care financially.

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catratcatdog@reddit

39 and basically paycheck to paycheck. I could probably get a $3k if I sold everything I own. It’s all good.

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wtgriffi@reddit

So is this your way of offering us a loan?

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Potential_Shelter624@reddit

Nah. Got one kid in college, 2 to go. Had to start a business when hubby’s job died during Covid. Doing Ok to mid, but that’s just because we brought our house with our tax check when houses were virtually free in 2008…. But, we’re stuck here. My retirement plan is ⚰️

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Martyisruling@reddit

I'm fine. But, I'm a blue collar working class guy. There's always work. Computer shit, office work, that always changes. I have a retirement plan. The cost of everything jumping and my car dying shot my savings down, but, that's what it was there for. I'll build it back up again. I had the benefit of not being able to stop working during the pandemic. I think that helped. I never became dependent on the Government. Never had the ability to be tempted into it.

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Ambitious-Guava-895@reddit

Not ok. Was kinda ok and then divorce decimated my finances. Hey but I'm only 43...we can work till we are like 75 right?! It sucks.

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AreaAtheist@reddit

Don't worry, you'll work till you're dead, just like all of us.

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Itchy_Smile4022@reddit

No.

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gullyfoyle777@reddit

40 yes old. No savings. ☹️

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481126@reddit

Nope. Took us 7 years to repair our credit & buy a home which is amazing. I'm so glad we were able to do that. Then our kid got sick and our finances will never recover. When kiddo got sick, husband got downsized & what little 401k he had helped cover the bills until he got another job. At one point when the helicopter ambulance company called I told them they can't repossess the kid - so we're at the point of quoting Matilda's Dad.

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919_919@reddit

Want my venmo info?

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Texas_Crazy_Curls@reddit

No shit right. What in the humble brag he’ll is this post

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RangeLife79@reddit

I guess I have a different way of looking at it. In 20 years, I don't expect society to look anything like it does now. To me, wealth is family and friends you can trust. Land will help in near future, in the instance you'll need to grow your own food. Im not say there is NO future for the youngsters or us, it will just look different from what we might imagine it to be due climate change, amongst other things.

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GaracaiusCanadensis@reddit

I think I'm at the bottom of the top third of my social circle, we're doing well enough, making some progress on debts but if something were to happen to me or my wife in terms of income, we'd only be okay for maybe two months before we're hooped. We were lucky and bought a crappy house in a great neighbourhood back in 2015.

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lmapidly@reddit

I'm 42 and doing really OK. Don't have nearly as much saved for retirement as I'm supposed to...I think there's about $40k in my 401k. But my cost of living is low because we got lucky buying a house in a relatively rural area 7 years ago before prices got super crazy, and my spouse and I each make pretty good money. I feel SUPER lucky to be living what my parents consider to be a firmly middle class living. What a weird timeline.

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nuttyninny2@reddit

Sadly I still am just renting my home, I would love a place to plant a flowering bush of some kind. Maybe, someday. Gotta have goals, right?

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mrnesbittteaparty@reddit

Doing ok. Will probably have to see out my time to 65 so another 20 years but by then mortgage would be gone , pension is excellent and should have a few 100k in the bank unless there’s some kind of black swan event.

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RangeLife79@reddit

Looking at way climate change is affecting the earth, I'd say a black swan event is likely.

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Starwarsandbacon@reddit

I have no debt and a little in savings, but I would not begin to say I'm doing okay for 41.

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LittleJessiePaper@reddit

Pffffffffft, no.

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MrBayaud@reddit

I’m paycheck to paycheck friend.

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ElectricalSausage@reddit

Im 28, so im a baby millennial, but im not in that position just yet, but i have good prospects to be. I work in the trades, make about $80k/yr, less than $4000 in credit card debt, on track to pay off my home by 34, $25k in my 401k, decent stock portfolio.

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eatsleepdive@reddit (OP)

That's okay, I appreciate the perspective. As someone about 20 years older than you, my advice would be to invest as much as you can as earlier as you can. Time is on your side right now. Take advantage of it!

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Expensive-Day-3551@reddit

I didn’t start savings until my mid 30s. That being said I’ve been putting almost the max into 401k since then, as well as almost maxing out an IRA. So I have some catching up to do but it doesn’t feel as dire as it did before.

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Less_Likely@reddit

I have $16k in my 401k at 45. No bueno. But I do own a home that should be paid off by the time I’m 65, so that *might* allow me to retire.

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advancedescapism@reddit

Doing pretty great, in spite of myself. Until the 2008 financial crisis I lived like a bohemian, with very little care that - financially speaking - I was barely surviving. That was a pretty good life, too, just not sustainable. The crisis finally got me motivated enough to learn about personal finance, for the first time - in my late twenties - looking into tracking expenses, investments, taxes, and pensions. It became a kind of game, to no longer have red numbers and to see the right numbers go up. I moved to where the jobs are, initially in bad living conditions. Then an actually stable career replaced joyful chaos, clever financial decisions replaced a disdain for money, and many years later I'm quite comfortable. If I retired today, I could survive for 10 years without reducing expenses. By age 60, I would hope that's 30 years.

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s0lace@reddit

The crisis did the same thing for me except I was in my late 30s. Still, better late than never!

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BottomBounce@reddit

I’m fine. I’ll retire from the military after 26 years with an income from retirement and will find a job with the experience I have. Inflation has made the yearly income I have not go as far but I’m also far from not being able to make ends meet. My wife has a good job and my daughter is using my 9-11 bill to go through college. It has not been easy and I gave up my adult life of doing whatever people do to make this happen and gave up being home for normal people stuff. In the end we all love each other and are on a path to achieve our goals.

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stataryus@reddit

Maybe. I gotta process the numbers. It prolly won’t be pretty, but we might be ok.

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Old_Benefit1238@reddit

I hope to retire at 59.5 yrs old with no mortgage. I’m not rich and never will be, but that’s ok.

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Old_Benefit1238@reddit

I hope to retire at 59.5 yrs old with no mortgage. I’m not rich and never will be, but that’s ok.

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pismobeachdisaster@reddit

I'm not wealthy, but I grew up working class so I'm doing amazing compared to my parents. I own a house, have a pension, 403b, and 529 for the kid. American Dream over here.

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Starr-Bugg@reddit

I saved money by being Childfree. If I had the standard set of 2-3 kids, I’d be in serious debt right now. As for “who will take care of you when you are elderly?” the answer is In-home care insurance for caregivers.

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liveonarrival@reddit

43 with incurable cancer and zero savings 🤙

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cire4@reddit

I’m doing ok but would be doing better if I didn’t live in one of the most expensive North American cities …but if I didn’t I wouldn’t be doing as ok. It’s a vicious cycle.

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gemmath@reddit

Not really ok. The future is not bright.

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JamieC1610@reddit

Was doing okay pre-divorce, but 2 years post-divorce meh. I kept the house and have the kids like 99% of the time and houses and kids are expensive. (We had just bought the house a couple years before and didn't have a lot of equity so it wasn't that big of a win, but it's an old, but decent house in a great neighborhood and I wouldn't find anywhere as good at the same price. We were lucky when we bought it.) My ex pays child support, but it's not a lot. My oldest has a decent college savings from when we were making good money, I feel awful that the younger one doesn't really. I'm debating taking part of his to fund hers a little. (He's five years older, so hopefully, I'll be back in a place to start putting money aside before they go to college.) I'm not really thinking to the point of retirement right now. I'll have social security and a little bit of a military pension. The house should be paid off by then and if I sell it and move to someplace smaller, that should give me a bit of a cushion.

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13dot1then420@reddit

I've got a pension and a good job. I own a home in a desirable area.

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catforbrains@reddit

I lived and worked in NYC as a city worker for 10 years. Got a pension out of it. It would be more if I could've made the 25 years, but my husband and I just couldn't deal with the HCOL in the area. I tried to get him to move elsewhere in NY so I could stay a state employee, but the snow was too much for him. So now we're in the South. Our savings are looking good. We might be able to buy a house, but prices and rates are insane. My husband is the big financial planner between us. He's been saving for retirement like crazy. Hopefully, that will make up for the fact I couldn't afford to put anything aside in a 403b when I was single.

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Draxtonsmitz@reddit

My wife is a few years older than I am and is on track to retire in her early 60s. I do a small business 3D printing that I’ll probably keep doing as long as there is a market for it.

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GlitteryFab@reddit

Lol I have some savings but not enough. I try to set aside a small amount each paycheck.

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EternalSunshineClem@reddit

Yeah I'm doing okay. I started saving for retirement when I was 19 and now I'm 42 with 125k in a Roth. I bought a house in the pandemic with 5% down and low interest. I'm not wealthy and I don't have any inheritance coming my way, I just hustle and work too much, which I'm trying to reduce soon. I live in California and I'll never be able to retire here on what I have saved and what I earn, but I'll probably cash out at some point and go to another country. I hope to be working part time by 60 and retire fully by 65 but we shall see.

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Somandyjo@reddit

My FIL just moved to the Philippines with his wife from there. He can be comfortable on social security there, but we may never see him again. (He’s fairly estranged from his family so he thinks he’ll be fine)

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fossilreef@reddit

38 here, in debt up to my eyeballs thanks to medical issues. I do have a fairly good pension fund, but it's not helping me in the interim.

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Somandyjo@reddit

This is where I’m at. My retirement looks amazing due to some great advice I received at 25, but I’m in debt up to my eyeballs and sometimes I wonder if it really matters if I keep making the payments, because I really don’t see a way out while my kids still live at home.

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beahdawn@reddit

We’re 42 and doing ok. My husband has done all the savings. Stocks and 401k and all that stuff I don’t understand … he wants to retire early and work contracts after that. We’ll sale our house and take contract jobs to places we’ve never been. Sounds fun to me.

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ProfessorOfLies@reddit

I was well on the track to being a top programmer on wall street. But damn. I just couldn't do it. I didn't want the sum total of my life to be having helped rich assholes get richer. So I went back to academia and took a massive (1/3) pay cut to teach instead. I'm not wealthy now, but my wife and I are comfortable and my career is still growing. Much more satisfied with my life now. Helping hundreds of kids every year.... Go on to help rich assholes richer.

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Crowedsource@reddit

I suppose compared with the majority of Americans we're doing ok, but I feel completely behind on savings and we don't own a home yet. Combined income of $100k in MCOL area (rural Northern California), have about $20k saved for a down payment and also an emergency fund. I also have another $9k in an old 403b, which is hardly anything, but I'm a teacher so I will get a pension when the time comes. My issue was that I chose to live and study abroad for 13 years in my 20s-30s, so I missed out on a lot of career development time and savings time. I also got divorced about 5 years ago so that was another financial hit. I still think we'll be ok for retirement, somehow. My husband does not earn a lot, but he is going to inherit property and money from his mom at some point (hopefully not for a long time, cause she's great). I may also end up inheriting something from my dad, who has an amazing house. I don't know exactly what he has in mind, but I know he wants to help us out in his will. I wish we earned more money, but a teacher and a carpenter just don't make that much around here. I mean, it's double the median household income here, but still not enough to buy a house these days. I suppose it's the price we pay for living in an incredibly beautiful area. Of course, my husband could earn more in a different job or even in a different place (the city), but he loves his job and doesn't want to travel for work or move away from the mountains.

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Tommythecat_@reddit

Yup, just you I’m afraid.

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lady_wildes_banshee@reddit

Not me. I feel okayish the past couple years as my second husband makes like, literally 5x more money than I do as a teacher, so I’ve been able to put more into retirement/buy some years back from the pension system. I’m hoping to be able to buy it to 65 years old in the next five or so. But that’s because my money almost doesn’t matter to the household. He lived the same before I was in the picture. I get to be the COO of the house, I’m fine with it.

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PuzzledKumquat@reddit

I was doing just fine until I was fully laid off and husband was partially laid off. I had to deplete my 401k to keep us from losing our house. That was back in 2016 and I still only have around $6k saved up for retirement due to the fact that I worked as a contractor for years with no retirement savings option. Thankfully husband's retirement fund is completely untouchable until either he retires or dies, whichever comes first. It's quite hefty.

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EastTXJosh@reddit

I have a pretty good salary and I'm on a great career path; however, my wife and I both have considerable debt, 98% of which is student loan related. As such, we have not been able to put a lot towards retirement.

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Asthmatic_Gym_Bro@reddit

I’m 44 and have no debt except for my mortgage which is very affordable (I got insanely lucky on my house 🙏🏻) and I’ve got about $70k in my retirement fund.

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Mantorok_@reddit

Bought a house when the market was good in 2009. Paid off now. In early 40s pumping retirement funds and education savings for my kids. I should be alright, in theory. My house isn't big, and I don't live a lavish life, but I have no debt, a job that pays the lifestyle I want for my kids, and I'm hoping to retire a little earlier than 65.

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krystyana420@reddit

My husband and I are 42. We bought a house at 21 that we sat on until 2 years ago and were able to sell it for enough to buy another house outright so we don't have a mortgage. That is nice. Our car is paid off, but it is getting to a point we likely need to get a newer one. We are paying off my student loans, all of our bills are paid, and we each have a retirement savings account from our jobs, but we can't touch them without penalties before a certain age. We have maybe $7k in liquid savings. We also don't have homeowners insurance because the house needs work to get it insurable, so if anything serious happens, we will have to take out a loan to fix it, which we are trying to avoid. We are comfortable, but precarious since if either of us loses our job, we will be pretty screwed in terms of paying off our debts.

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NeedledickInTheHay@reddit

The kids aren’t alright

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East_Kaleidoscope995@reddit

We’re good. Our only debt is the mortgage, which will be paid off in another 8 years. Decent retirement savings. But we started adulthood on easy mode - no college loans and we’re childfree, so not supporting any kids.

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JediBeagle1@reddit

It’s not easy. My husband and I make around $100,000, and own our home, but factoring in monthly HOA fees, random repairs, insurance, utilities, HEALTHCARE, general costs of living, we’re barely getting by when we should be living well.

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BrewItYourself@reddit

If I didn’t have kids or a wife I’d likely have a nice pile of money. As it is, I don’t know…getting by like the average idiot. It’s worth it though. I do quite like the wife and kids.

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TK1129@reddit

I’m doing alright nothing to complain about. I’m 39 with a union job and a pension since I graduated college at 22. Do I have debt? Yes. Do I have savings? A little. I got a good mortgage rate and a good deal on a house in one of the highest cost of living areas in the US 10 years ago. Sure sometimes things get a little tight but me, my wife and our kids have a roof over our heads and food in the kitchen.

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BlackHeartedXenial@reddit

I’m okay. Started a 403B at my first job when I was 21. Been contributing since. Only debt is the house we built on a chunk of property we own.

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SockGnome@reddit

Doing okay? Yes. I own a condo but I’m stuck in it until interest rates drop down to a less insane level. I earn enough to get by, but I’m on tight margins as a single person. I’m fortunate in a lot of ways, is I’m thankful I’m where I am at but I’m still behind the goals I set for myself. I’d like to throw more into my 401k and general savings account (so I can sell my condo and afford a small single family) but that may require a second job and at 40, doing such a thing sounds exhausting but sadly may be necessary.

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abernathym@reddit

I'm doing better than I thought I would be, and better than my parents did at my age. I would say I am quite blessed overall.

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UnusualSignature8558@reddit

Remember the tale of the ant and the grasshopper. They will try to take from you to make up for the others, likely through taxes.

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penetronn@reddit

Several downvotes in here for people sharing their success stories. That's pretty sad. I thought Xennials were less petty and spiteful than Millennials.

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penetronn@reddit

Yes, pretty good. Every month I put $1,500 into my 401(k) and $500 in the kids' 529 plans. I'll still probably need the sale of my home to round out my retirement in 20 years, but I'm largely on track.

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lovepeacefakepiano@reddit

Eh. Still renting and while I’m paying into a pension, I know it’s nowhere near enough yet. No debt or mortgage though.

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Zustiur@reddit

Currently my finances look great... Mortgage paid off, 1000s in the bank... But that's largely because the housing market here is nuts. I want to buy a bigger house at which point I'll be in debt again. Haven't found the right one and been top bidder yet.

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michaelJfoxsnake@reddit

Nope I have zero savings

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spookyhellkitten@reddit

I'm okay. I'm not great. But it's not because of me or my choices. My ex joined the Army Oct 2001. We divorced Aug 2018. I was entitled to a portion of his retirement based on how long we had been married. I opted for less of what I was entitled to because I didn't work for it, but it is still enough to make me "okay." The benefit began last year. So that is nice as well.

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