Turning 30, not as exciting as I thought

2PiR · May 10, 2020

I am grateful of what I have, friends, family, good health and decent job but I came across this picture and doesn't feel that good. And just reminds me how far behind I am financially and career wise.

Already way off the first two milestones, other seems unreachable for now lol Do you guys agree with these milestones? are they realistic for majority?

jeelybeans · May 10, 2020

When someone says having the equivalent of your salary saved...should that be in 401k? In savings accounts? Across all accounts? Asset related (aka value in your home...?)

Also happy birthday!

Deleted member 13188 · May 10, 2020

I imagine this graphic holds true for 10% of people in the West. Must be nice for them.

I kinda feel like it's propaganda, cynical or true?

2PiR · May 10, 2020

jeelybeans said:
When someone says having the equivalent of your salary saved...should that be in 401k? In savings accounts? Across all accounts? Asset related (aka value in your home...?)

Also happy birthday!

I am guessing total worth, which seems more realistic to be at least lol

TaySan · May 10, 2020

Happy birthday! Im 4 years away from being able to say the same and im no where near having my salary saved. I dont think most people will be able to reach that. :/

Deleted member 8752 · May 10, 2020

This chart is a loose guideline. I wouldn't place much stock in it.

Like... if you went to medical school, there's no way you'd have the equivalent of a year's salary saved by 30. You'd just start to earn an attending's salary by then and could still have like 200k in debt.

It's not very broadly applicable. Like in your mid-40s, why would a person necessarily need additional sources of income like it states in the chart? That's a bizarre kind of milestone to strive for.

Take it with a grain of salt.

The point is just save, save, save and cut down on expenses wherever possible.

bombermouse · May 10, 2020

Late 40s, get a new job lol. Good luck with that. For most companies you are garbage when you hit 40.

Mar Tuuk · May 10, 2020

I'm turning 30 in September OP we all have different paces so I wouldn't put too much thought into that chart. I was planning to do a big get together for mine, I never really celebrate my birthday but wanted to celebrate the big 30. Guess I have to wait with the covid situation.

Kieli · May 10, 2020

I can't imagine retiring in my late 60s. I probably won't even live that long. I'm personally aiming for mid 50s or earlier.

Alanood · May 10, 2020

Mid 20s, already hate my life because of responsibilities. Can only imagine my 30s to be worse.

Incite · May 10, 2020

That graphic is hilarious

DriftingSpirit · May 10, 2020

lol at that graphic

Just do what you can. The idea that people need to have certain things accomplished by certain ages is nonsensical.

sfedai0 · May 10, 2020

That chart basically:

1-Be wealthy
2-Dont be not wealthy

Chivalry · May 10, 2020

Turned 30 a month ago. Feels like I'm only just starting to live. Really behind on all these milestones, though.

Xando · May 10, 2020

Who decided on the metrics? Seem kinda arbitrary. I'm 28 and already above the late 30s milestone.

julia crawford · May 10, 2020

Wow that picture just bummed me the fuck out

Deleted member 23850 · May 10, 2020

2PiR said:
I am grateful of what I have, friends, family, good health and decent job but I came across this picture and doesn't feel that good. And just reminds me how far behind I am financially and career wise.

Already way off the first two milestones, other seems unreachable for now lol Do you guys agree with these milestones? are they realistic for majority?

I AM SO FUCKED.

Clefargle · May 10, 2020

So this is how youth ends

not with a bang, but a whimper

M. Wallace · May 10, 2020

Lol, savings

Quantum Leap · May 10, 2020

The equivalent of my salary? Bruh I have $400 in my savings account

WillyFive · May 10, 2020

What's a 401k and how do you get one?

Muu · May 10, 2020

Happy birthday. The 30s zoom by you, I got 2yrs till I hit 40 myself.

As for the money stuff, do what you can and don't kill yourself over it.

StarStorm · May 10, 2020

That graphic doesn't mention IRA or a Roth IRA. Or other ways to invest into mutual fund, index fund or an ETF. That milestone for late 40's for additional income, I would put into the first milestone. Why start that milestone that late anyway?

I would take it with a grain of salt. Save what you can and cut unnecessary expenses.

BionicHippo · May 10, 2020

Kieli said:
I can't imagine retiring in my late 60s. I probably won't even live that long. I'm personally aiming for mid 50s or earlier.

When you reach that age you probably won't want to die.

Kieli · May 10, 2020

BionicHippo said:
When you reach that age you probably won't want to die.

I mean, I don't want to die right now. But I'm being realistic given my family history and my own personal medical history.

arimanius · May 10, 2020

Alanood said:
Mid 20s, already hate my life because of responsibilities. Can only imagine my 30s to be worse.

Only gets worse if you get married and have some kids or some unforeseen circumstance.

metalfearsolid · May 10, 2020

I was talking to a buddy about this I don't think it is possible to do everything : pay off students loans, start a family, save for retirement and buy a property in a big city for late millennials and gen z.

Serpico99 · May 10, 2020

Wanna feel old? Look at your lack of savings.

Shit is fucked.

Deleted member 21411 · May 10, 2020

Hahaha, savings.... what a concept! now excuse me I'm fucked

Gabriel · May 10, 2020

That chart is silly. For example, 1x salary saved at 30? I didn't have a job that even HAD a 401k until I was 27, so theres no way. It doesn't matter tho as I have 5x salary saved *now* at 48. So clearly you don't have to hit the targets it claims you have to hit.

BuckRogers · May 10, 2020

Alanood said:
Mid 20s, already hate my life because of responsibilities. Can only imagine my 30s to be worse.

Don't count on it. There's a fair amount of research that indicates people generally get happier as they age.

Messofanego · May 10, 2020

Isn't 401k a fake kind of pension by companies to dodge taxes and to distract from an actual pension fund? Doesn't seem worth investing in.

Fulminator · May 10, 2020

I don't think im ever going to be able to retire but I'm kinda ok with it at this point

also happy birthday op

bombermouse said:
Late 40s, get a new job lol. Good luck with that. For most companies you are garbage when you hit 40.

anecdotal but my dad got a new job in his early 50s that is better paying than the one he had before

Poimandres · May 10, 2020

I dunno. I'm 35 now and things are slowing down (first baby). We don't have a huge amount in savings, but had some amazing overseas trips over the last few years. Now that it looks like affordable overseas travel is going to be a thing of the past for several years, I feel like we made the right choice of prioritising life experience > hardcore saving.

Life is about choices. I know people who have done well financially, but their social life is in the gutter or they've developed some bad traits that will take years to reverse. It's hard to maintain perfect balance, something is usually neglected to a certain extent. So instead of fixating on where you are at in terms of career and financially, try and look at your life as a whole and how happy you are with it. Sounds like you're doing alright OP!

Rendering... · May 10, 2020

I've grown indifferent to the whole concept of birthday milestones. It only makes sense to evaluate and chart out your life that way if you've got good things going for you, or if you want to make yourself feel bad with comparisons to the thousands of people who seem to be doing better for themselves.

You're on your own path no matter what. If comparisons and age-based expectations aren't useful, ditch them.

Josh5890 · May 10, 2020

Just hit 30 Friday. I don't have quite a year's salary in my 401K but I don't have a dime in student loan debt so Ill take that

thewienke · May 10, 2020

I feel like a lot of retirement savings plans really depend on someone graduating college at 22 or 23, getting a job immediately, and then being able to achieve progressive promotions and experience in that same field without deviating too much for at least 10-15 years. I wonder how many people follow that exact template in life?

brinstar · May 10, 2020

I might as well just end myself now and save myself the trouble I guess

Fallen Hero · May 11, 2020

I turned 30 as well. I feel both young but old at the same time.

Septimus Prime · May 11, 2020

Mid-30s is when Death starts creeping around your friends and family. Like, in your 20s, you'd see a high school acquaintance on Facebook and be like, oh what's he up to. Mid-30s is when some of those start to turn into funeral announcements.

Tochtli79 · May 11, 2020

I turned 30 in February with plans for personal, professional, financial growth this year, that's all in the shitter now, not even sure how much of said plans will be doable after this pandemic or how I'll have to adjust expectations. Can I just go back to my 20s, thanks.

Deleted member 60295 · May 11, 2020

Bamm_Bamm said:
I imagine this graphic holds true for 10% of people in the West. Must be nice for them.

I kinda feel like it's propaganda, cynical or true?

It is indeed capitalist propaganda. Nobody should feel bad that they aren't meeting financial milestones that wouldn't be realistic for the majority of americans even IF we hadn't suffered 2 massive economic recessions within the span of just over a decade. Plus, in the long run, shit like IRA's and 401Ks is meaningless, since under our existing consumption-driven economic system, anthropogenic climate change will make a happy retirement impossible for us all long before we reach our 60s.

The entire chart in the OP is just a carrot on a stick trying to lead people away from supporting the fundamental structural changes our entire society needs to survive. The capitalist class wants us all to believe that we're failures if we don't meet these milestones, so we wallow in self-hatred instead of directing anger at an economic system that is fundamentally rigged against most of us. Do not fall for their lies. Your value as a human being has nothing to do with your net worth, and you need not feel shame for failing to win at the fundamentally bullshit game that is late capitalism.

FaceHugger · May 11, 2020

I didn't save much in my 20's, had to get serious when I turned 30. I'm OK now, but I should still be saving more. I really need to stop buying new cars every three years. But I love cars. Oh, the agony.

CreepingFear · May 11, 2020

I just turned 38. It only gets worse.

Macam · May 11, 2020

That graphic is nonsense and shouldn't be anything you should feel unaccomplished for not having achieved. It's wholly unrealistic.

The average US savings rate is less than 6% (and that's an average, not a median rate).

Macam · May 11, 2020

Messofanego said:
Isn't 401k a fake kind of pension by companies to dodge taxes and to distract from an actual pension fund? Doesn't seem worth investing in.

Basically. Previously, defined benefit pensions were the standard (you retire and get some set amount or percentage of your salary). But that become a huge liability for companies in an era of globalization (cheaper labor overseas), as Americans lived longer and got unhealthier, and our medical system continued to be a runaway train of high costs and waste.

So now most companies have shifted to defined contribution systems, which is where 401ks come in. Now, the employers have externally managed programs for employees and will typically provided "matching" percentages up to some point, as an incentive for employees to save for their own retirement. So if your employer matches up to 4%, you can take out 4% of your pay and your employer will match it with another 4%. Anything over that is all your own money.

Is it worth investing in? Generally, yes, if you can afford to and if your employer provides some matching. Your alternative is to have nothing or to save on your own (and not every job has 401ks or some similar equivalent).

Deleted member 19533 · May 11, 2020

Bamm_Bamm said:
I imagine this graphic holds true for 10% of people in the West. Must be nice for them.

I kinda feel like it's propaganda, cynical or true?

Imagine making enough money to put 15% away every week to retirement and put a lot in your regular savings as well. Must be real nice to have all that extra cash.

OP, your typical person isn't hitting anywhere near this stuff.

deimosmasque · May 11, 2020

Just wait till you turn 40

KingM · May 11, 2020

This month is some old bullshit social media hustler chart. Unless you lucked out or started earning high 5-low 6 figures in a cheap town in your early 20s this isn't happening.

Azuran · May 11, 2020

lmao that graphic

You're a millenial. There's no such thing as savings for us.

Turning 30, not as exciting as I thought

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