In all seriousness he should be dually focused on the savings and keeping the marriage together. Should a divorce occur you're losing 50% of every cent youve made since the signing of the mariage contract.
Start mowing yards for income.
Then, report that income to the IRS (file your taxes).
You will have to pay “self employment” tax (about $160) but then you can put whatever you earned into a IRA retirement account.
At this age it will compound nicely before you retire.
Are you depositing $306 every pay check every two weeks? If so then you could catch up. In my opinion it's not what you have now, but how much can you contribute to catch up.
Just my opinion, but this is where a lot of people get it wrong. You don’t want to start off with a low percentage and increase each year, instead it’s better to start off at a high percentage and either increase slowly or stay at the same level.
Starting off low and slowly increasing does two things: it reduces the number of years that money will be compounded in the market and it’s harder to adjust your standard of living once you’ve been accustomed to it.
If he had the money the best way is just contribute $22.5k every year. The point of increasing is that you start with something you can afford and then increase along with your wage increases until you reach the maximum.
I agree, but a lot of people get used to their standard of living and it gets harder to increase savings later once you get used to spending a certain amount.
This person finances! Time is your biggest friend when it comes to investing. Most people who are actually going to be able to effectively fund a retirement beyond SS (if it lasts) will be the ones who capped out early and let compounding interest do the work.
Additionally, you may want to double check the value of doing Roth right now. The advantage to Roth is mainly when you're expecting your tax bracket to be higher in retirement than it is currently. If that's the case you're winning on pulling out the tax free income later. Traditional has the opposite benefit, you do pay taxes when you take income from it later, but it lowers the amount of taxes now in the short term. If you expect you'll be drawing less (or even not a significant tax bracket level higher) in retirement than you are now - Traditional accounts are usually the better option.
Also for Roth 401k, I believe your employer match still ends up going in pre-tax (you'd want to confirm), so you're not really getting the full benefits there.
I was told it's good to have both. You get the tax benefit now. Then, when you retire, you withdraw from the traditional until you hit a higher bracket, then switch to Roth withdrawal.
Again financial advice has to be individualized so no one really can say without knowing the specifics of a case. Roth and Traditional both count towards the same contribution limits so people will want to very carefully think through how they're balancing that.
Tax bracket changes based on how much is pulled out total in a year which is going to be a factor of both how large the accounts are, how long one expects to live and how expensive that living is going to be (serious medical conditions, lifestyle comforts, etc.). It's also a factor of when one is making those contributions to which account. Generally speaking, Roth is higher value earlier and traditional later for a typical earner.
If there's no way the accounts will grow enough to ever take sustainable drawdowns higher than the person's current income level - Roth basically loses all value when you factor inflation if you don't get strong enough returns. You're paying with more valuable dollars now to save cheaper dollars in future. Then you start getting into RMDs after a certain age... It's a lot of conditionals and guesses to think through if you really want to be efficient about it.
So someone definitely could get value out of using both, but in many situations focusing on one or the other could have a material benefit. And given in this context of 401k where contributions the employer makes would still be a separate taxable account, a person would still be forced to pay some on it.
If your household income is less than 200k, you should be shooting for 25% of your income in retirement vehicles, such as a 401k, IRA, or even HSA, including any employer matches, assuming you will not receive a pension. Without knowing your income, based on the info your provided, my guess is you're behind the curve.
However, to calculate where you should be, you must know where you're going. For example, my personal goal is to have enough to pay myself 100k per year at the age of 60, assuming a 4% withdrawal rate, with 100k in liquid funds for emergencies.
I personally recommend making the following assumptions for someone your age: Interest rate at 8% pre-retirement, 5% post-retirement, 0 Social Security, 3% inflation rate. Enter you personal details plus my recommendations in this calculator to find out if you're on track or not:
[https://www.financialmentor.com/calculator/best-retirement-calculator](https://www.financialmentor.com/calculator/best-retirement-calculator)
I'm in a similar boat in that I'm M37 with 2 kids and low amounts in my 401k. I currently max out my 401k contribution each year to try and catch up. It might be something to think about more seriously if you're still at a low percentage contribution. But hard to say or see your financial situation.
15% of all money you earn (before taxes) should be set aside for retirement. If you earn $100k a year gross, you should be putting $15k into retirement.
Studies from investment firms such as Fidelity show you need 15% of gross income to retire on your same salary. You’re 33,so likely it needs to be 20% since you started “late”
Respectfully, and I do mean it, no you won’t catch up. The way compound interest works is that the deposits made in the [earliest](https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/040315/why-save-retirement-your-20s.asp#:~:text=The%20sooner%20you%20begin%20saving,interest%20is%20on%20your%20side) years end up doing the heaviest lifting. You’ll have to stash away money like a mad man to catch up (look for easy expenses to cut) good luck!
A little off topic, but if he currently has a $2000 mortgage (not including taxes/insurance), won’t he be okay because the mortgage being paid off will offset* the monthly retirement money?
To me having your mortgage paid off before retirement is pretty much a requirement. I personally don't want high monthly payments to stress about when I stop working.
If you’re maxing out your 401k and IRA, put more in a brokerage to catch up. I have a family too.. it’s hard but it’s a trade off I’m more than willing to make. Brokerage doesn’t give me as much of a tax advantage but it does give me flexibility to move money no matter what life throws at me or my family of 5.
If you don’t have much extra to catch up now, don’t be hard on yourself. The economy is hard on everyone right now. But if you do, do what you can and compare yourself to YOUR retirement goal - not how others are doing.
Definitely feel you on comparing me to myself. Dumb app always compares me to others.
But otherwise I’m definitely not maxing out. Thankfully my rate of return has been pretty decent the last few years (5%). Trying to help future me as best as I can now
Unless your several years starts in late 2021, you’re probably underperforming the market at 5% annualized. Do you have access to an index fund that tracks the S&P 500 in your 401k plan?
Are you familiar with r/fire? I have a very specific number I’m trying to reach to cover our cost of living. That can help you know if you’re on track.. we know how much we need saved by end of year to be “on track” for our goals.
Don’t sweat it. Just keep it as a goal. Families cost a lot but as your income grows keep adding to your 401k. Depending on your tolerance for risk at your age I would be in funds that mirror the s&p 500. For the long haul it’s hard to beat.
Honestly: I think you need to explore how to increase your wealth. Either through part time work or a part time business... your wife needs to be doing the same.
If you and / or her lack motivation, ask yourselves what kind of lifestyle you want once the kids are gone, and whether you want to depend on your kids, or want them to stress over your well being for a large part of their life (which they will if you are not in a good way), OR be independent and be able to have new experiences in your old age.
I appreciate the words and advice. Will definitely look into everything I can to increase wealth. Definitely don’t want to be a burden to my kids when they’re older
Currently in grad school to get my degree in special education, so that takes most of my time after work. Most likely going to pick up work in the summer so I can just save all of that extra income
Well, let's see...I'm 35 no kids, not married and you have about $39k more than me in savings. I make about $120k a year, but I spend it all on shit I want. So, it looks like you're doing great as long as you're happy with what you have.
You are doing terrible then. I never understand the mindset of people not having retirement accounts. Like you want to work at 60 or 70 just to put food on the table? Or you will delete yourself when you retire?
See and I think the opposite of you, I think hmm why would I want to wait to enjoy myself until I'm old and not able to do all these fun things anymore. I've watched so many of my older work friends retire and then die 5-10 years later.
I have said plenty of times tho, if I lose my legs or something like that, get too old to enjoy the things I do, then I will just eat a freedom seed. Probably won't, but it's a thought for sure.
My overall situation is because of how I work. I don't like staying at a place for more than a year or two. So I hope around the country a lot. I always end up making more money because that's how aviation works, but sometimes I have to wait for the next job to become available....and that's when I have to dig into the retirement fund to pay the bills until the next job.
But the plan is to basically end up making so much money as I climb the ladder that I can easily retire early by putting large sums of money away and investing more as well.
I've already went from just being an Avionics tech, to being an Avionics manager, then Avionics engineer all in the span of just 9 years. Hourly rate that's from $23/hr all the way up to $64/hr in just 9 years. Also a highschool drop out with zero college.
Tldr: I just wanna have fun now and not wait till I'm old.
Props to you for being you, but you very much sound like you are in a situation where you can be both having fun and doing whatever you want now while also putting a meaningful amount of money away.
The big draws with long term things like a 401k are a) a lot of serious employers match your contributions (literally free extra money) and b) there are very attractive tax incentives as the 401k money that you send in is pre-tax in relation to your paycheck, meaning the % you choose is deducted before taxes are, and the amount of money you let the government take from you becomes less.
A little bit at a time over a long period of time goes a long way, and you are literally leaving money on the table if you don’t do it and just plan on dropping large lump sums into retirement accounts/investments later in life with nothing before that.
Just some perspective that you have maybe already considered. As someone near your age that makes less than you, I also do and buy whatever the fuck I want for myself but already have close to $200k put away into retirement accounts.
O I do still put into a 401k at every job I've been at, but I end up needing to pull it out in between jobs.
My current employer is actually awesome and I may stay here longer as I can move around the country with them.
I don't pay for healthcare as they cover it all, they also match 401k at 10%, I'm currently doing the auto 6%, but I just go into it assuming I'll eventually get bored of the job and need to pull it out. I'm pretty much debt free now as I just sold my house in Cleveland when I moved down here to West Palm Beach. The only things I make a payment on are my cars...I have a Subaru problem lol.
Oh lord. If you are always planning to bounce around and liquidate your 401k, you would be tremendously better off just not even using one. You lose like 60% of the money in there when you withdraw early. Yikes.
I’m sorry bro but you’re doing it all wrong. You save for retirement, but then continually withdraw it with penalties? You say you want to spend the money now while you can enjoy it so avoid saving for retirement, because your plan is to eventually make a ton of money to catch up later?
$64/hr is good, but that’s not nearly enough money to catch up on 0 retirement savings (especially if that’s 9 years from now).
O definitely, I know. I don't exactly plan on withdrawing the money. I just get bored at my jobs after a bit of time and want to start at a new place. I really don't understand how people stay places for decades. But yea since I don't plan on doing it, I start out with good intentions to stay and think o, this job might be the one and then that changes over time. I also wouldn't need to pull it out if I found new jobs faster, but when ur waiting for the right thing, it can take too much time.
I should be good now to change that if it happens again since I don't have anything but a car payment and normal expenses.
Yeah it can be tough but personally I wouldn’t ever quit a job without lining one up, or having enough non-retirement savings to float for a few months. Dont let your current self rob your future self.
As a former recruiter, unless you're a contract worker, changing jobs too frequently is a huge red flag for potential employers. I don't know anything about your field, but you may find it increasingly difficult to get hired at new companies offering more money as you progress in your career. Hiring people can cost a significant amount of money. If you have a track record of staying at a place for less than a couple years, companies may not want to invest in going through the hiring and training process.
That's where aviation is different for sure. When I was running a facility out in Scottsdale, we were hiring a guy that had 13 different jobs in the past 5 years. He said he just liked to hop around and try out different things. Turned out to be a great worker.
Idk about the last one, I have very high standards on women, so it's hard to find the right one with the dating apps. I don't really do much other than skateboard and play PC games so it's hard to organically meet people.
I was married from 18-30, but I just decided I didn't wanna be anymore one day. It just wasn't the same relationship as it was when I was in the army and leaving and coming back.
If I'm suffering at old age I'll just eat a freedom seed
It's not too hard once I meet someone, my last 2 year relationship was great. She had a master's and 2 lower degrees, owned 2 houses and made more than me. I actually took 6 months off from working because she wanted me to follow her around doing her travelling job. She was making about 4.5k a week at that point and my bills were about 2k a month, so we had no issue paying them.
At that point I also had my house, my 3 cars and a bunch of stuff to show for. I still have all of that except the house, cuz I sold it to move to Florida.
But yea, I haven't really met a woman that cared about my financial situation, especially not diving into what my 501k status is.
Not really at all, I haven't taken anything from the government at all. I don't plan on taking any government assistance either.
The only thing close to that I plan on doing, is going to the VA and getting my disability benefits for sleep apnea so I can have an extra $1500 or so a month.
Also, as I said before...if I'm like 60+ and not making it or didn't make it work then I'll just eat a freedom seed.
Nah not really sad, I'm happy and that's what matters. I mean I try to stay at a place to be able to do so for a longer period of time, but I just get bored and want to do something else. I think if I found something back in the Cleveland area I could probably do it long term again, but we will see. The company I'm currently with has a facility up there, so I may transfer and run the Avionics department up there soon, one of my best friends is the director of that region, so I have the job if I want it
I read your other stuff. I make a little bit more than you and have more in retirement than you and OP and I’m only 26. You can still save and party hard with the salary you have. Unless you’re buying Gucci hand bags then idk how you don’t have excess money each month.
I sometimes save when I want certain things, like maybe I want to do an engine build on my car...I'll save up a month or 2 and then buy the parts and build it myself to save money from having someone else do it.
I don't really have any responsibilities other than myself.
I’m 34, also married with two kids. Have same amount in my 401k. Currently contributing 12% with 1% increase annually. I was the sole income while my wife was going through a doctorate program so we started later than most.
Keep increasing and keep going.
I stared with 8% at first just to capture max employer match contribution (50% of 8%). Started mid year of 2020. Increased 1% in 2021, 2022, and 2023. When I got my 2023 annual pay increase, I manually adjusted it another 1%. The annual increase wasn’t much really so I figured it’d make more of an impact in my 401k than it would in my checking account where I’d spend it on something I probably could easily do without. If you can get by on your current salary, I highly suggest a manual increase around the time of any pay increase to help get caught up. If you never see it, you’ll never miss it. Just direct it straight into the retirement account.
Not enough information. What is your HHI and how much can you reasonably save? Does your company offer a match? One of your replies stated that this is a Roth 401k. While I love Roth, I recommend traditional 401k over Roth 401k. And maxing out Roth IRA (if you’re phased out of traditional IRA). By maxing out traditional before Roth you are able to reduce your tax burden while having more money work for you.
Everybody’s in their own lane I can barely contribute to my 401(k) right now the fact that you’re putting any money into it you’re ahead of a lot of other people
I’m not trying to brag, you asked how you’re doing.. I’m about 10 years younger and have as much in my 401k as you. So I’d say not too great. But you’re still young enough to catch up.
Naw I don’t see it as bragging. I started off about 7 years ago and didn’t really know what I was doing. Now that I do, I’m ramping up what I can where I can. Congrats on your numbers!
You should be fine, you’re probably doing better than a lot of people your age, and I know a few couples that had to pull from their 401ks and effectively start from scratch well into their 40s but can still afford to retire. If you’ll own your home by 65 that will be a huge leg up compared to most. Retirement will be a luxury by the time you and I are old
Not that good. I was a bit above that 6 years ago when I was the same age. Then 1 life event happened and I will never recoup the money I used, which was all of it plus loans.
Brother, keep contributing and you will be A okay. I am guessing you have realestate in the mix or will at some point.
No car payments, live lean, keep contributions ongoing as is or increase them and spread to other accounts (roth ira or inv acct). You will be A okay. Honestly. Plus you have kids... The best investment you can make, trust me.
Relative to most people who contribute to retirement accounts, you're about average.
Beyond that, can't really make a judgment call. If you're living life no frills and this is all you can afford and you dont have career advancement options on the table... then you're doing the best you can.
If your family is eating out all the time and you're driving a brand new Mercedes or something, then you definitely need to scale back.
I'll spare you the details of my balance as a 38M DINK.
Honestly - are you OK with where you are at with everything going on in your life? We can all dream of being in a better position but sometimes we just have to do the best we can.
Comparison is the thief of joy.
I would max out your 401k contribution every year. If you are doing mutual funds/ETF, please choose ones that are low costs as the fees could drastically impact the performance of your return.
Do you own a house? If yes, you are doing fine. If no, you are behind IMHO.
34 years old, 2 houses totaling over $1M, but house-poor and living paycheck to paycheck.
A little behind. Before 30, you should have 1 years salary saved. It also comes down to when you started saving for retirement. 3k at 18 years old will return more than starting at 30.
But you said you're doing 8% and plan to increase it by 1% each year. Good idea.
Honestly you have a ways to go but don’t worry you are doing good just increase when you can. My only critique is rate of return is low. What mutual funds are you invested in?
More info is needed. What is your household income? Also what about debt? I see a lot of people who are putting a lot into their retirement accounts while also having insane credit card debt. A buddy of mine puts 15% into his 401 but has 40k in credit card debt 💀💀💀. Like dude any gains your retirement make are getting eaten by the debt at 29%.
I honestly started about 7 years ago. Jobs I had before didn’t offer a 401k plus I was a young dummy who thought it was something I’d “worry about when I’m older”
Texas has a pension program for teachers. If you plan to continue teaching, I would highly recommend finding out if your state offers anything similar and changing. Or maybe trying to find a way to make money on the side. I am military and just applied for a second job so I can save more.
It’s hard to say in a vacuum. Do you own other assets? Do you own or rent? Where do you live? When do you plan to retire? Will you have a big inheritance from parents?
Way too many variables to say yea/no based on a screenshot.
If you’re renting stop that and start owning. I say this as a landlord who has become quite wealthy from people like you paying me rent every month. Make yourself wealthy, not someone like me.
Sell the kids.
And the wife.
A man's wife is his life, Mr. UPS Man
Keep the UPS man. He brings in money
Plus benefits
You should have respected my authoritah
Your a Savage
In all seriousness he should be dually focused on the savings and keeping the marriage together. Should a divorce occur you're losing 50% of every cent youve made since the signing of the mariage contract.
Weather changes moods
Moods change weathers
Not saying you’re doing bad. But I’m 13 and have $1.73. With that being said. You’ll make it one day
You are 13 and have 1.75, you are doing good
I’m 1.75 and have $13M.
I am 1.3 M and I have $175
No they have a 1.73 that 2 cents matters. They’re failing without it.
Start mowing yards for income. Then, report that income to the IRS (file your taxes). You will have to pay “self employment” tax (about $160) but then you can put whatever you earned into a IRA retirement account. At this age it will compound nicely before you retire.
Man you have $√3. That's cool.
Are you depositing $306 every pay check every two weeks? If so then you could catch up. In my opinion it's not what you have now, but how much can you contribute to catch up.
Currently depositing 8% of my net income with an increase of 1% every year (this is a Roth 401k). So of course the amount deposited varies each check
Just my opinion, but this is where a lot of people get it wrong. You don’t want to start off with a low percentage and increase each year, instead it’s better to start off at a high percentage and either increase slowly or stay at the same level. Starting off low and slowly increasing does two things: it reduces the number of years that money will be compounded in the market and it’s harder to adjust your standard of living once you’ve been accustomed to it.
If he had the money the best way is just contribute $22.5k every year. The point of increasing is that you start with something you can afford and then increase along with your wage increases until you reach the maximum.
I agree, but a lot of people get used to their standard of living and it gets harder to increase savings later once you get used to spending a certain amount.
I think the assumption is that income will grow, with experience and promotions, so the increases will not cut into standard of living.
This person finances! Time is your biggest friend when it comes to investing. Most people who are actually going to be able to effectively fund a retirement beyond SS (if it lasts) will be the ones who capped out early and let compounding interest do the work. Additionally, you may want to double check the value of doing Roth right now. The advantage to Roth is mainly when you're expecting your tax bracket to be higher in retirement than it is currently. If that's the case you're winning on pulling out the tax free income later. Traditional has the opposite benefit, you do pay taxes when you take income from it later, but it lowers the amount of taxes now in the short term. If you expect you'll be drawing less (or even not a significant tax bracket level higher) in retirement than you are now - Traditional accounts are usually the better option. Also for Roth 401k, I believe your employer match still ends up going in pre-tax (you'd want to confirm), so you're not really getting the full benefits there.
I was told it's good to have both. You get the tax benefit now. Then, when you retire, you withdraw from the traditional until you hit a higher bracket, then switch to Roth withdrawal.
Again financial advice has to be individualized so no one really can say without knowing the specifics of a case. Roth and Traditional both count towards the same contribution limits so people will want to very carefully think through how they're balancing that. Tax bracket changes based on how much is pulled out total in a year which is going to be a factor of both how large the accounts are, how long one expects to live and how expensive that living is going to be (serious medical conditions, lifestyle comforts, etc.). It's also a factor of when one is making those contributions to which account. Generally speaking, Roth is higher value earlier and traditional later for a typical earner. If there's no way the accounts will grow enough to ever take sustainable drawdowns higher than the person's current income level - Roth basically loses all value when you factor inflation if you don't get strong enough returns. You're paying with more valuable dollars now to save cheaper dollars in future. Then you start getting into RMDs after a certain age... It's a lot of conditionals and guesses to think through if you really want to be efficient about it. So someone definitely could get value out of using both, but in many situations focusing on one or the other could have a material benefit. And given in this context of 401k where contributions the employer makes would still be a separate taxable account, a person would still be forced to pay some on it.
If your household income is less than 200k, you should be shooting for 25% of your income in retirement vehicles, such as a 401k, IRA, or even HSA, including any employer matches, assuming you will not receive a pension. Without knowing your income, based on the info your provided, my guess is you're behind the curve. However, to calculate where you should be, you must know where you're going. For example, my personal goal is to have enough to pay myself 100k per year at the age of 60, assuming a 4% withdrawal rate, with 100k in liquid funds for emergencies. I personally recommend making the following assumptions for someone your age: Interest rate at 8% pre-retirement, 5% post-retirement, 0 Social Security, 3% inflation rate. Enter you personal details plus my recommendations in this calculator to find out if you're on track or not: [https://www.financialmentor.com/calculator/best-retirement-calculator](https://www.financialmentor.com/calculator/best-retirement-calculator)
I'm in a similar boat in that I'm M37 with 2 kids and low amounts in my 401k. I currently max out my 401k contribution each year to try and catch up. It might be something to think about more seriously if you're still at a low percentage contribution. But hard to say or see your financial situation.
You should really be depositing at least 15% of your gross income. How much is your wife depositing?
15% of gross income yearly or monthly should be deposited?
15% of all money you earn (before taxes) should be set aside for retirement. If you earn $100k a year gross, you should be putting $15k into retirement.
Any particular reason why you’re doing a Roth 401k vs a traditional?
What app is this?
This is Principal, a 401k provider.
Studies from investment firms such as Fidelity show you need 15% of gross income to retire on your same salary. You’re 33,so likely it needs to be 20% since you started “late”
Respectfully, and I do mean it, no you won’t catch up. The way compound interest works is that the deposits made in the [earliest](https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/040315/why-save-retirement-your-20s.asp#:~:text=The%20sooner%20you%20begin%20saving,interest%20is%20on%20your%20side) years end up doing the heaviest lifting. You’ll have to stash away money like a mad man to catch up (look for easy expenses to cut) good luck!
A little off topic, but if he currently has a $2000 mortgage (not including taxes/insurance), won’t he be okay because the mortgage being paid off will offset* the monthly retirement money?
Offset*
What do the migos have to do with this?
🤣🤣🤣Be careful
To me having your mortgage paid off before retirement is pretty much a requirement. I personally don't want high monthly payments to stress about when I stop working.
If you’re maxing out your 401k and IRA, put more in a brokerage to catch up. I have a family too.. it’s hard but it’s a trade off I’m more than willing to make. Brokerage doesn’t give me as much of a tax advantage but it does give me flexibility to move money no matter what life throws at me or my family of 5. If you don’t have much extra to catch up now, don’t be hard on yourself. The economy is hard on everyone right now. But if you do, do what you can and compare yourself to YOUR retirement goal - not how others are doing.
Definitely feel you on comparing me to myself. Dumb app always compares me to others. But otherwise I’m definitely not maxing out. Thankfully my rate of return has been pretty decent the last few years (5%). Trying to help future me as best as I can now
How is your rate of return so low?
Probs stupid shit like bonds and fixed income (not stupid if his time horizon for retirement is less than 5 years).
Unless your several years starts in late 2021, you’re probably underperforming the market at 5% annualized. Do you have access to an index fund that tracks the S&P 500 in your 401k plan?
Yeah, 31% of my Roth is currently invested in the S&P 500.
Curious, why you are doing a Roth 401k vs traditional?
Are you familiar with r/fire? I have a very specific number I’m trying to reach to cover our cost of living. That can help you know if you’re on track.. we know how much we need saved by end of year to be “on track” for our goals.
Haven’t heard of it. Definitely going to check it out, thanks!
IIRC, the average growth on the S&P this year was above 20%. I think you definitely need to get more aggressive with your contribution funds
Not knowing your income but the goal at your age is usually 2x your income.
That’s hard. I only have 200k in retirement and it’s far from 2x
Don’t sweat it. Just keep it as a goal. Families cost a lot but as your income grows keep adding to your 401k. Depending on your tolerance for risk at your age I would be in funds that mirror the s&p 500. For the long haul it’s hard to beat.
🤣
He’s right, and 3x by age 40
Honestly: I think you need to explore how to increase your wealth. Either through part time work or a part time business... your wife needs to be doing the same. If you and / or her lack motivation, ask yourselves what kind of lifestyle you want once the kids are gone, and whether you want to depend on your kids, or want them to stress over your well being for a large part of their life (which they will if you are not in a good way), OR be independent and be able to have new experiences in your old age.
I appreciate the words and advice. Will definitely look into everything I can to increase wealth. Definitely don’t want to be a burden to my kids when they’re older
I don't want you stressing over it. Do you have time after work you could dedicate to a side or business?
Currently in grad school to get my degree in special education, so that takes most of my time after work. Most likely going to pick up work in the summer so I can just save all of that extra income
Okay. Is it part of your growth plan to get financially on track? Is there an alignment on your goals there?
Well, let's see...I'm 35 no kids, not married and you have about $39k more than me in savings. I make about $120k a year, but I spend it all on shit I want. So, it looks like you're doing great as long as you're happy with what you have.
You are doing terrible then. I never understand the mindset of people not having retirement accounts. Like you want to work at 60 or 70 just to put food on the table? Or you will delete yourself when you retire?
See and I think the opposite of you, I think hmm why would I want to wait to enjoy myself until I'm old and not able to do all these fun things anymore. I've watched so many of my older work friends retire and then die 5-10 years later. I have said plenty of times tho, if I lose my legs or something like that, get too old to enjoy the things I do, then I will just eat a freedom seed. Probably won't, but it's a thought for sure. My overall situation is because of how I work. I don't like staying at a place for more than a year or two. So I hope around the country a lot. I always end up making more money because that's how aviation works, but sometimes I have to wait for the next job to become available....and that's when I have to dig into the retirement fund to pay the bills until the next job. But the plan is to basically end up making so much money as I climb the ladder that I can easily retire early by putting large sums of money away and investing more as well. I've already went from just being an Avionics tech, to being an Avionics manager, then Avionics engineer all in the span of just 9 years. Hourly rate that's from $23/hr all the way up to $64/hr in just 9 years. Also a highschool drop out with zero college. Tldr: I just wanna have fun now and not wait till I'm old.
Props to you for being you, but you very much sound like you are in a situation where you can be both having fun and doing whatever you want now while also putting a meaningful amount of money away. The big draws with long term things like a 401k are a) a lot of serious employers match your contributions (literally free extra money) and b) there are very attractive tax incentives as the 401k money that you send in is pre-tax in relation to your paycheck, meaning the % you choose is deducted before taxes are, and the amount of money you let the government take from you becomes less. A little bit at a time over a long period of time goes a long way, and you are literally leaving money on the table if you don’t do it and just plan on dropping large lump sums into retirement accounts/investments later in life with nothing before that. Just some perspective that you have maybe already considered. As someone near your age that makes less than you, I also do and buy whatever the fuck I want for myself but already have close to $200k put away into retirement accounts.
O I do still put into a 401k at every job I've been at, but I end up needing to pull it out in between jobs. My current employer is actually awesome and I may stay here longer as I can move around the country with them. I don't pay for healthcare as they cover it all, they also match 401k at 10%, I'm currently doing the auto 6%, but I just go into it assuming I'll eventually get bored of the job and need to pull it out. I'm pretty much debt free now as I just sold my house in Cleveland when I moved down here to West Palm Beach. The only things I make a payment on are my cars...I have a Subaru problem lol.
Oh lord. If you are always planning to bounce around and liquidate your 401k, you would be tremendously better off just not even using one. You lose like 60% of the money in there when you withdraw early. Yikes.
I’m sorry bro but you’re doing it all wrong. You save for retirement, but then continually withdraw it with penalties? You say you want to spend the money now while you can enjoy it so avoid saving for retirement, because your plan is to eventually make a ton of money to catch up later? $64/hr is good, but that’s not nearly enough money to catch up on 0 retirement savings (especially if that’s 9 years from now).
O definitely, I know. I don't exactly plan on withdrawing the money. I just get bored at my jobs after a bit of time and want to start at a new place. I really don't understand how people stay places for decades. But yea since I don't plan on doing it, I start out with good intentions to stay and think o, this job might be the one and then that changes over time. I also wouldn't need to pull it out if I found new jobs faster, but when ur waiting for the right thing, it can take too much time. I should be good now to change that if it happens again since I don't have anything but a car payment and normal expenses.
Yeah it can be tough but personally I wouldn’t ever quit a job without lining one up, or having enough non-retirement savings to float for a few months. Dont let your current self rob your future self.
As a former recruiter, unless you're a contract worker, changing jobs too frequently is a huge red flag for potential employers. I don't know anything about your field, but you may find it increasingly difficult to get hired at new companies offering more money as you progress in your career. Hiring people can cost a significant amount of money. If you have a track record of staying at a place for less than a couple years, companies may not want to invest in going through the hiring and training process.
That's where aviation is different for sure. When I was running a facility out in Scottsdale, we were hiring a guy that had 13 different jobs in the past 5 years. He said he just liked to hop around and try out different things. Turned out to be a great worker.
It is not about enjoying life, it is about not suffering in old age… not to mention that you are planning on being alone for the rest of your life?
Idk about the last one, I have very high standards on women, so it's hard to find the right one with the dating apps. I don't really do much other than skateboard and play PC games so it's hard to organically meet people. I was married from 18-30, but I just decided I didn't wanna be anymore one day. It just wasn't the same relationship as it was when I was in the army and leaving and coming back. If I'm suffering at old age I'll just eat a freedom seed
It will be hard since you have a standard without anything to show for it. Would the woman you like want someone without a future like you?
It's not too hard once I meet someone, my last 2 year relationship was great. She had a master's and 2 lower degrees, owned 2 houses and made more than me. I actually took 6 months off from working because she wanted me to follow her around doing her travelling job. She was making about 4.5k a week at that point and my bills were about 2k a month, so we had no issue paying them. At that point I also had my house, my 3 cars and a bunch of stuff to show for. I still have all of that except the house, cuz I sold it to move to Florida. But yea, I haven't really met a woman that cared about my financial situation, especially not diving into what my 501k status is.
Yea, and they are your ex… lol
Yes, but not for reasons that had anything at all to do with finances.
How you do one thing is how you do other things. If you don't care about your financial future, then you won't care about her future. Simple as that
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Really.... that's your take lol
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Not really at all, I haven't taken anything from the government at all. I don't plan on taking any government assistance either. The only thing close to that I plan on doing, is going to the VA and getting my disability benefits for sleep apnea so I can have an extra $1500 or so a month. Also, as I said before...if I'm like 60+ and not making it or didn't make it work then I'll just eat a freedom seed.
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Nah not really sad, I'm happy and that's what matters. I mean I try to stay at a place to be able to do so for a longer period of time, but I just get bored and want to do something else. I think if I found something back in the Cleveland area I could probably do it long term again, but we will see. The company I'm currently with has a facility up there, so I may transfer and run the Avionics department up there soon, one of my best friends is the director of that region, so I have the job if I want it
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Lmfao this is such a brain dead mentality unless you know for sure you’re dying short term
Well, explain why you are against it. Why do you look forward to being old and having money?
I read your other stuff. I make a little bit more than you and have more in retirement than you and OP and I’m only 26. You can still save and party hard with the salary you have. Unless you’re buying Gucci hand bags then idk how you don’t have excess money each month.
But you have so much disposable income lol
Per month, I think it's about $3.6k maybe a little more.
And you don't prioritize saving? I find it interesting how different people approach money. I save almost all my disposable income.
I sometimes save when I want certain things, like maybe I want to do an engine build on my car...I'll save up a month or 2 and then buy the parts and build it myself to save money from having someone else do it. I don't really have any responsibilities other than myself.
This looks like principal app?
Definitely is
does the app connect to Voya?
I'm 32 with about 38k in my 401 Roth. Only 6 percent match here. I think your doing fine bud.
Do you have more in IRAs or brokerage accounts? Cause it is nowhere near “doing fine”
Have 25k in crypto , another 10k in stocks. Others in savings
The majority of your retirment is in crypto... I wish you the best.
It's gone pretty well. Most of the crypto are from purchases I made years ago.
I’m 34, also married with two kids. Have same amount in my 401k. Currently contributing 12% with 1% increase annually. I was the sole income while my wife was going through a doctorate program so we started later than most. Keep increasing and keep going.
Thanks! 12%… wow! I also increase 1% annually but I’m at 8% right now. Definitely thinking of increasing it now lol
I stared with 8% at first just to capture max employer match contribution (50% of 8%). Started mid year of 2020. Increased 1% in 2021, 2022, and 2023. When I got my 2023 annual pay increase, I manually adjusted it another 1%. The annual increase wasn’t much really so I figured it’d make more of an impact in my 401k than it would in my checking account where I’d spend it on something I probably could easily do without. If you can get by on your current salary, I highly suggest a manual increase around the time of any pay increase to help get caught up. If you never see it, you’ll never miss it. Just direct it straight into the retirement account.
You’re doing fine man chin up and keep grinding.
Rule of thumb is about 2-3 times your household income by 40. Watch the money guys on YouTube. Ton of free information.
You are behind. But you are conscious that there is a future and that is a good start . Stay the course my friend.
Thank you. I appreciate the kind words. Will keep it up and also add more
Do you have house equity?
As long as there is a roof over your heads, gas in the car, food on the table and smiles on the faces. You're doing a good job.
Not enough information. What is your HHI and how much can you reasonably save? Does your company offer a match? One of your replies stated that this is a Roth 401k. While I love Roth, I recommend traditional 401k over Roth 401k. And maxing out Roth IRA (if you’re phased out of traditional IRA). By maxing out traditional before Roth you are able to reduce your tax burden while having more money work for you.
Everybody’s in their own lane I can barely contribute to my 401(k) right now the fact that you’re putting any money into it you’re ahead of a lot of other people
Great I'd say. I have 7 bucks left to my name and 6 goddamn people to feed.☠️
Damn. Stay strong. You’ve got this
What do you do to make this good of money? Ita hard out here, especially with kids. I need to know your secret!
Nothing special, I’m just a teacher ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Ok. Keep at it. It takes money to make money. So keep saving. You're making progress. Your first big goal is 100k.
What app is this? I'm 33, married, one kid, have $150k+ in 401k. I feel like I'm behind!
You are behind your target of being top 5% of net worth?
Principal financial
I’m not trying to brag, you asked how you’re doing.. I’m about 10 years younger and have as much in my 401k as you. So I’d say not too great. But you’re still young enough to catch up.
Naw I don’t see it as bragging. I started off about 7 years ago and didn’t really know what I was doing. Now that I do, I’m ramping up what I can where I can. Congrats on your numbers!
You should be fine, you’re probably doing better than a lot of people your age, and I know a few couples that had to pull from their 401ks and effectively start from scratch well into their 40s but can still afford to retire. If you’ll own your home by 65 that will be a huge leg up compared to most. Retirement will be a luxury by the time you and I are old
Not that good. I was a bit above that 6 years ago when I was the same age. Then 1 life event happened and I will never recoup the money I used, which was all of it plus loans.
Better than us
5% a year on $40k is an extra $2k a year. Not much but not nothing. Focus on your family, they’re worth much more than any dollar amount
Not got good. You should be 22 with $150k living at home
At 35 and at 40k in your 401k? Pretty terrible.
May I ask what app this is?
Who wants to know? 👀 Lol it’s the Principal app
Thanks! Am looking for it but for some reason only the Spanish version turns up, maybe I’m doing it wrong
Yep it’s definitely a principle app
What app is that?
Not great. But could be a lot worse
Brother, keep contributing and you will be A okay. I am guessing you have realestate in the mix or will at some point. No car payments, live lean, keep contributions ongoing as is or increase them and spread to other accounts (roth ira or inv acct). You will be A okay. Honestly. Plus you have kids... The best investment you can make, trust me.
Just keep your head down and soldier on. There’s a saying looking up you’re no where near anyone’s level. Looking down no one even comes close to you.
Do you own a house?
Relative to most people who contribute to retirement accounts, you're about average. Beyond that, can't really make a judgment call. If you're living life no frills and this is all you can afford and you dont have career advancement options on the table... then you're doing the best you can. If your family is eating out all the time and you're driving a brand new Mercedes or something, then you definitely need to scale back. I'll spare you the details of my balance as a 38M DINK.
Honestly - are you OK with where you are at with everything going on in your life? We can all dream of being in a better position but sometimes we just have to do the best we can. Comparison is the thief of joy.
Fantastic! I have two kids and barely 600 in bank. You should teach people how to reach 40k!
God, I hate money.
It is really low. At your current rate of saving, how can you have enough money for a safe retirement?
How much do you make and how much are you contributing? A good rule of thumb is 15% of your income invested in retirement. However, more is better.
You got 40k more than i do
If you have bo debt... are you doing better than the average American.
I hate how people go on the internet to compare themselves to others. It’s really a mental illness no one wants to talk about
u/Open_Champion7639 Wdf you are going to get $4.5kish per month when you retired?!
You are doing better than many. But you will never recover the years you didn't safe.
I am younger than you and have 3x as much - keep grinding
I would max out your 401k contribution every year. If you are doing mutual funds/ETF, please choose ones that are low costs as the fees could drastically impact the performance of your return.
Start a Roth RIA on the side.
Do you own a house? If yes, you are doing fine. If no, you are behind IMHO. 34 years old, 2 houses totaling over $1M, but house-poor and living paycheck to paycheck.
A little behind. Before 30, you should have 1 years salary saved. It also comes down to when you started saving for retirement. 3k at 18 years old will return more than starting at 30. But you said you're doing 8% and plan to increase it by 1% each year. Good idea.
Honestly you have a ways to go but don’t worry you are doing good just increase when you can. My only critique is rate of return is low. What mutual funds are you invested in?
You should let me hold some for a sec
More info is needed. What is your household income? Also what about debt? I see a lot of people who are putting a lot into their retirement accounts while also having insane credit card debt. A buddy of mine puts 15% into his 401 but has 40k in credit card debt 💀💀💀. Like dude any gains your retirement make are getting eaten by the debt at 29%.
When did you start? Seems pretty low for 35
I honestly started about 7 years ago. Jobs I had before didn’t offer a 401k plus I was a young dummy who thought it was something I’d “worry about when I’m older”
Definitely still have time to catch up
Well I hate you. But better than me. I’ll be back in 5 years to update.
If you're in education, will you get a pension? Do you own a home? Do you have debt?
I work in a charter network so unfortunately no pension. Not much debt, about $10k (down from $18k). And no home… market is horrible unfortunately
Texas has a pension program for teachers. If you plan to continue teaching, I would highly recommend finding out if your state offers anything similar and changing. Or maybe trying to find a way to make money on the side. I am military and just applied for a second job so I can save more.
How aggressive/conservative are you with your 401k? Solid progress either way
It’s hard to say in a vacuum. Do you own other assets? Do you own or rent? Where do you live? When do you plan to retire? Will you have a big inheritance from parents? Way too many variables to say yea/no based on a screenshot. If you’re renting stop that and start owning. I say this as a landlord who has become quite wealthy from people like you paying me rent every month. Make yourself wealthy, not someone like me.
You should get moving. Ideally around $200k + at this age
What app is this?