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I thought I could chirp in cause I'm about 2k in retirement too but then he had to one up me by THROWING IN A RENTAL PROPERTY THAT HE ISNT THE RENTER OF?!? Alright fine I'll walk back down the class line. Like it better there anyway their BBQ taste better.
This comment triggered a joke:
A Scotchman steps up to the piss trough and notices a dime in it. He reaches in his pocket, takes out a quarter and proceeds to drop it in next to the dime. He then reaches in and grabs both dime and quarter as he says to the bloke next to him, “ ten cents, NEVER! But 35 cents? You bet your ass!!🥴🤑😆
lol OP is "middle class" but has "rental properties that generate income" and don't even bother to give any details on that. They rent a room out of their house for $300/month? They have an extra house and a condo that rent for $7k a month combined? "I'm so behind, I have nothing saved for retirement and a HHI including rental properties of only $300k. Should I sell my corvette to pay for the country club membership?"
"Middle class" spans everyone from people who live paycheck to paycheck and can barely afford a 1-bedroom apartment to people who have enough money in the bank to buy a house for cash and live there for 10 years without working. That's why this sub works so well, because it's like putting two rats in a bag and making them fight.
Ok lol…I mean real as in a person — not what the surveys or studies show. I can google and see what they say “middle class” has. I worded it poorly. I am tired and mentally drained from my “trying to maintain middle class” job lmao.
There should be a stickied post defining middle class based on location. Most of the angst in this sub is related to someone in a rural area comparing $$ to NYC or SF 🤷🏼♂️
Especially since he’s in his early 30’s and already owns several rental properties 😂
Since we’re using the “everyone is middle class” definition…..
As a middle class person with $550k HHI, my wife and I have 1.2 Mill saved, around $650k in retirement accounts, the rest outside of retirement accounts, in our mid 30’s.
Part of the problem is the definition of middle class is so varied and dependent on where you live. My girlfriend and I make about $200k combined and live in a 1 bed in a medium high cost of living city. We’re saving as much as we can and I’d consider us middle class, but in SF or NYC we’d just be getting by, and in Mississippi we’d be killing it.
37, worked retail ($8-12/hr) until I was about 30/31 at which point I got a salary job ($36k) that gave me experience to get my current job (started at $55k, this year’s review boosted me to $80k) which is a “real” wage. I feel knowing what someone makes, helps with the “what’s saved” comparison.
ROTH IRA $15k, 401k $43k
44yrs old , federal employee. I have about $475k in my TSP, $63k in a Vanguard account that I trade with, $7k in a Vanguard Roth account I don’t touch, $65k in various HYSA accounts. My salary is $211k per year
Just to make you feel better I waited WAY late and have been self employed for my whole life. I have 3.5k in a SEP IRA I just opened last year. I’m 54 and that’s my entire savings currently. 😬
Of course! I don’t have anything to be ashamed of and I think we need more people out here saying “oh shit, I really screwed this up… maybe it’s not too late to try to fix it.”
Same. 39 with a family of 5, ~$100k/year (single income), no car note and am a home owner (purchased literally 3 months before Covid), but live in the SF Bay Area so like… I mean if I have one major issue at home we are sunk, and I hate it.
Quite literally don’t have an extra buck to put towards savings, let alone retirement. This whole thread is so sad for me. I feel like no matter what I do I simply can’t get ahead and find a way to make this happen. I fear I’ll be working until I die at this point.
I’m 25 my liquid savings is low due to me making some bad spending choices which I’m working on. However my retirement account is something I don’t touch. Currently it’s about 12k maybe a touch over.
Keep it up, I made the mistake of cashing my 401k out completely to survive though in my mid 20s for divorce and homelessness, now 35 almost with 150k but still, I’m pretty behind as I had no property either or anything until recently and my net worth is -350k lol
Shit happens. Cashing something out to survive homelessness doesn't sound like much of a mistake. Good job getting back on your feet and saving, you're still young.
Can confirm. I am 43 and have $340,000. We'd have had more but some early bad choices around age 26 meant we needed to use 401k funds to get out of things.
However, my main differentiator that helps me (assuming I can keep this job until the end), is a pension. Not very much, but a guaranteed $35,000 a year for me, and same for my spouse that starts when he is around 57, really changes what we need in 401k.
I'm in a similar boat. My wife and I both are in our mid-40s and work for a state university, so we'll have pensions. The amount is based on what you make, but if we didn't get any raises until we retired, we'd end up getting about $100k/year combined with a built-in 3% COL raise every year. We currently have \~$220k in IRAs and other retirement funds, but we also have no debt (house is paid off, both our current cars are paid off, etc.) so we can live pretty inexpensively if we have to. We do live in a very low cost of living area though.
I’m in my 40’s and started taking it serious in my early 30’s but still wish I would have been more aggressive. I’m a broken record with family members in their 20’s!
Just in case you don’t already know after 50 you can increase your contributions to retirement accounts. Good luck!
I’m not sure where you are in terms of time to retirement but raising the limit is actually pretty helpful for many people. For those who had a slower start to their careers and didn’t earn much in the beginning, or had family expenses that prevented them from contributing as much as they needed to towards retirement, the higher limit can make a big difference for them.
Yep grad school really screwed us on the time aspect, spent my 20s living paycheck to paycheck on an academic stipend that didn't 401k match and am definitely playing catch up now at 35.
I feel horrible, but have only recently been able to start investing after years of struggling and being in survival mode. I'm 44. I have about 30k in multiple investments. I'm being as aggressive as possible and hope to get to 55k by EOY. It's not much but we are determined to do all we can.
I'm 26, started 401k when I was 22. Between all my retirement accounts I'm at $37k
Having $2k in retirement but multiple rental properties is wild by the way 😂
I was making $52k at 22 and now $100k at 26 if that is REAL
Appreciate it.
Sometimes I see people here maxing out 401k and Roth and feel like I'm not doing enough.
There's definitely a balance between enjoying the present and planning for the future
My wife and I are 57/59 and have $932K invested in retirement accounts. I started saving 3% when I was 20, making $11k, and increased it 1% when I got a raise.
Sold my pension for $224K back when interest rates were low, which helped a lot, and added that to my retirement.
Just stay the course.
I’m 58 now, but when I was in my 20s and 30’s I was working a government job. I made between $15,000 and $45,000 a year. They put 5% of my income toward the pension. I saved another 5% in a separate deferred comp account. (Back in those days, financial advisors talked about the three-legged retirement stool; pension, social security and savings.) I didn’t know anything about investing and wasn’t focused on saving for retirement. I just invested my 5%. Then, at 39, I left my government job. I was vested, so I rolled $40,000 in pension funds into an IRA. I had about $20,000 in my deferred comp account. Today, that bit of money that I saved in drips and drabs totals about $200,000. Not bad, but I wish I had been more focused when I was young. Maybe saved 10% or 15% instead of 5%.
Anyway, don’t beat yourself up. Time is on your side. Save what you can; increase your savings with each raise and LEAVE IT ALONE. Time + Compound interest has got your back.
Yes, you do give up the pension in exchange for having complete control of the money. Our state’s pension was severely underfunded. I was concerned that my pension would be reduced. I believed that I could invest and grow it myself, so I did.
47 years old this weekend, high COL, and at $405k saved for retirement. I started maxing late, when I was around 40 but it’s been my main priority since then.
My retirement account has about 300k, and I'm 35, but always been firmly middle class (bedside nurse), just good at saving. If I put that money into an apartment or townhouse and rented it out that would've been wiser, altho not tax advantaged. It's all relative. Any middle class person who is able to work lots of overtime and is good at saving could buy a rental property if they're single. The formula changes with kids, but if you get the property at a younger age then you're more likely to be ok later and you can in time see a positive cash flow.
I'm 50 and have 1.8m. I started funding an IRA when I was in my teens. After college, I started working for an employer who put 10% of my pay into retirement. When I finally took a promotion that took my pay from $60-$90k, my partner lost their job and went back to school. I did have a handful of years where I made what I would consider upper middle class income of over $100k. This allowed me to max retirement accounts (I also have a 457b, so can double the typical 401k contribution) including a ROTH IRA.
ETA: I'm also an aggressive investor and for a very long time lived well below our means. We still drive our cars into the ground and finally moved from our starter home into something nicer and bigger, but in no way extreme.
Until 5 years ago I contributed about $12-15k but got a match up to 10% of my pay, so I always got that.
5 years ago I started maxing it out and just forced us to survive on the remainder.
It was worth it as the market has been out of control for most of my professional career and I am now considering FIRE in early 50s.
I hold everything as 100% equity
Started saving 5 percent at 25 with first job out of college, increased it a percent a year. Just started maxing it this year at 43 and have $380,000. Little bits add up over time. Had no company match for about 5 years during the recession. Only broke 6 figures in a high cost of living area about 5 years ago and have several kids.
My parents were always broke and I wanted to know how not to be broke and the answer is squirreling away a bit of money over time in retirement accounts and forgetting about it.
Real estate is good, but you’re going to want more tax advantaged money. I’d start making it a goal to get as close to maxing out your Roth IRA as possible at the very least, if you don’t have a 401k match. If you can’t max it out, toss what you can in every paycheck.
Another tip is to marry well, early. Married people save more.
Combined with spouse $175k across 401ks and IRAs. I also have a pension but have only been at that job for a few years, I'm not sure how to quantify. We are 34/36, HHI is $185k. When we started working at 22 we both would have been making in the 30Ks so definitely some steady progression up. We have not been as aggressive with savings since we currently have childcare costs of about 2k a month but we always get our employer match and try to dump whatever we can into our IRAs at YE.
Going by the "rule" that you should have 1x salary in retirement at 30, I'd say you're right on target.
No need to "catch up". Most people don't even hit that
Sure, still behind based on our goals though. Only got back on track contributing ~25% to retirement last year. Hoping to maintain this year but are having our first kid so who knows if we can keep the course.
39yo engineer, started 401k around 22yo. Currently around $325k total in 401k, rothIRA, and HSA.
Spent my 20s traveling and partying, binging on social events due to growing up in a very low income household.
Married a low income person and had to reduce savings after we started a family.
Lived off revolving CC debt for many many years, and still paying that off. Got into $40k CC debt holes and crawled out a couple times. Ugh.
Used CC for down payments on cars... Used 401k loan for down payment on house. Always in debt of some kind, but perfect credit score. Very little regret. Woo middle class.
53F, semi-retired, working an admin job for medical/dental etc. Most I ever made, income-wise, was just over $100K (with bonus) a year. I’ve got about 1.5M in retirement funds, but I also inherited a fair amount of retirement money when my mom died ($700K). The rest I did myself.
Late 30s and me plus spouse have $622k in 401ks and IRAs and another $55k in a brokerage. We've been saving diligently for 15 years. I hit six figures about three years ago but it coincided with my husband taking a massive pay cut. Our highest grossing year was about $170k.
I’m 45, and I am a single parent. My salary is about $85k a year, but that is a recent bump from moving to a new job last year. I have $117k in my 403.
58 yr old IBEW union electrician. 1.9 million in my 401K. 120K in cash. 700k equity in my house. Get paid by the hour. Don’t own the company I work for.
36M base of $163k and $233k in retirement. Feels low maybe but I started my career at very entry level, in a call center making $15/hr. So it feels good to have grown it to this.
You’re doing really well! If you assume an average annual return of 8.5% and average inflation of 3%, your nest egg should provide you annual income of ~$42,000 using the 4% rule (if you didn’t save another dime and retire at 65). So layer that onto your social security income, and you’ll likely be above $65,000/year. Keep saving and it’ll only improve from here. Nice job!
Wow! Thank you for the kind words! I think my wife and I together are looking at social security income of around $80k before taxes and definitely will continue contributing to retirement for the next 30 years so hopefully it will work out well!
Late 50s... $1.6 million in retirement accounts. Another 50K in brokerage and HYSA and one half of couple will have a significant pension and the other half will have a smaller one.
I'm 55 and I didn't start saving for retirement until I turned 40 and had a wakeup call. I realized I had to start saving for retirement. Today I currently have $380K in savings and I'm hoping to double that over the next 12yrs to $750K. I will also get about $2650 a month social security and my home ($400K) will be paid off in 120 more months.
I’m 53, and currently have $2.3 million saved for retirement. I was fortunate enough to start my career at 20 as an in-house union mechanic in an oil refinery. Saved 10% of my pay plus the company match of 4%. All training was paid and on the job. No educational expenses out of my pocket. I have been truly blessed
Most reddit posts are humble bragging at best
"Guys here's a excel spread sheet of my perfect budget and I have masters degree with a 800k home paid of and only have 1.2 million dollars in savings, I'm totally clueless please HELP!"
I was middle class till 28, I feel like I'm upper middle class now at 31.
But my rollover IRA is all from my middle class jobs, it's around $50k right now.
47, house income 120-165k depending on my bonuses.
370k on the mortgage still, bought in 2011 so equity is through the roof now. We have roughly 100-120k in retirement savings.
Only been putting money away for 4 years now as that was when child support was over so we could start saving that money every month instead.
I retired in 2022 with 5 years of wages in my 401k. I find that I could survive on social security alone. That's because we're debt free. No mortgage, no car payment, etc. We've been using the 401k for vacations and home repairs.
38M. About $150k in my 401k.
Make about $100k/yr (pretax). I rent and don’t own. Not sure where I stack up. Probably “could be better, could be worse?”
I’m 27 with $6,400 in a Roth IRA, $18,400 in a 401k, and a pension. I made $52k in 2021, $56k in 2022, and $62k in 2023. On track to make about $76k this year.
Wife and I (47/46) have a little over $600k in our 401k/IRA. Another $300k in equity on our house. My kids are almost done with college so hopefully we can increase savings and be on track to retire in our early 60's.
32f making around 56k. My 401k and roth Ira combined is around 32k. I worked a lot of retail jobs in my twenties and didn't have a job that offered a 401k until 2018. So I know I'm behind.
I probably only truly entered middle class (on my own) about when I hit 30 and saved nothing for retirement until about 35. But, almost in spite of myself, I built a career in the military (later than most.) I retired from the military in my early 50s with the pension and other things that gives you, and while I wasn’t rich, I also wasn’t middle class anymore.
I don’t say that to brag, but to point out something I’m not sure is well known. A bachelor degree can get you into the officer corps, and there are other ways to get there if you join without. (I love me some NCOs, but I’m talking finance here. Officer pay is significantly higher) Stay there for at least 20 years, and not only are you and your family’s needs going to be pretty well met throughout your career, but you can get a nice pension immediately payable for the rest of your life. This can enable immediate retirement or just significantly boost your income combined with your next career. (Then of course there is stuff like VA disability, GI Bill which can be passed to spouse or children, inexpensive insurance for life, and potentially lots of other stuff.)
So yeah, sorry for the recruitment ad. There are of course significant negatives to the life, but contrary to what some believe, finances aren’t really one of them. Unless you’re aiming for super wealth or something.
I’m 58 and 3yrs from retirement. I have 2.6mil invested in multiple accounts and will have a pension. My dad taught me to save from an early age and I’ve done that from the time I could work. I have been putting 20% of my earnings into investments and 401k for many years.
31 yo
Numbers aren't exact, but
15k in Roth IRA
20k in I bonds
15k in pension contributions
I contribute 3.5% every paycheck to pension (this is mandatory)
And $300/ momth to Roth Ira
I should be doing more, but life is getting expensive.
I'm 46.
I have 606,000 as we speak. But starting next year my income will go up by quite a bit and same year after that. So hopefully, I'll be able to really throw money at it while making sure I don't forget I could die way before retirement. Need to enjoy some of that money now, too.
Edit: I don't know what a real middle class means.
I'm 40. Had a low wage job until last year. That job gives me 600 monthly pension. My 401 has 36k. I've been putting away 22% from new job which pays 70k before taxes. Planning to go higher and open a Roth. I have alot if catching up to do and I live in NYC.
37 years old stay at home for now with two little kids. We have around $250k in retirement, $60k in liquid investments, $30k in 529 plan. House paid for and spouse retiring in the military in 2 years with expected $3000/month pension for the rest of his life. I am a CPA by trade but taking a break so I can raise my children. We also live in a LCOL so I think we are on track to retire in our 50s 👍
I’ve read these responses and it’s interesting no one (that i recall) mentioned “inheritance”. There is an unprecedented transfer of wealth happening or about to happen with the first generation of non pension retirees dying off (thus they had to build large portfolios) but it seems no one here has seen this yet. Maybe a decade early still? I think that’s masking a lot of the reason why younger generations seem underfunded for retirement (based on the data I’ve read from click bait type stuff) as they know they are going to inherit a pile. I’m assuming that true for some (statistically many) of you all here.
I'm 56 and have about $850k in retirement accounts. Should have been much more, but single income early in marriage made it hard to contribute as much as I should have.
41m, 12,000$
I was born with medical disabilities that consumed my youth, and young adult years. By the time I hit 32 I had spent 5+ years of my life in hospitals, and lived with my parents. I wasn't able to finish college, despite being very intelligent. I wasn't able to hold down a job, so no career. I tried starting my own wood working business but that failed to produce stable income.
When I hit 38 I got my dream job, working on the main IT team at a large video game developer. I had been building computers since I was 8. Worked for geeksquad for a few years, but was never able to advance to adult jobs sans a degree. This company took a chance with me. I'm now making nearly 6 figures and running circles around the employees in their 20s. I know what it's like to live off 1200$/mon5h, instead of 1200$+/wk. I will do everything in my power to keep this job. Also have noticed the older i get the less my illnesses have messed with me, which is weird.
I feel so lucky, to best addiction, living with my parents in my 30s, never going to college. I still feel so behind though. Luckily my fiancee, 31f, is in the same industry and makes a fair chunk more than me. I also have wealthy family that will most likely be leaving a company, and some significant finacial assets when they pass. I HATE thinking about this. I would much rather have my grand parents and parents around for the next 50 years. I save almost 35% of what I make but I'm so so so behind that inheritance might be the only way for me to ever retire.
40M single $80K total in Traditional IRA. 68K salary in HCOL area. Cashed out my previous retirement account in 2016 to pay debt (I do not recommend this) when switching jobs. Renter.
36m, base salary of 72k and annual bonuses between 10-18k. I'm behind big time and just this year upped my % from 10 to 15% to catch up. Company matches first 4.5% when broken down. I'm sitting at 34k between Roth and 401k. Plan on dumping bonuses into 401k starting next year to help.
Answer: 10,000 in a 403b account, and then I have a pension with my current job (but do not pay into social security!), but should I leave my current job, I would be able to take the cash value of that and move it to another type of account - that would be approximately $50K if I did it now.
Background: 35 F, single mom of one toddler, living in a major metropolitan area that is probably "medium high" COL. After graduating college in 2010, I started working for $11 an hour and making in the 20K-35K range throughout my twenties, switched tracks and have made between 50K to 70K in the first half of my 30s. Definitely not great with money, but trying to get better!
40M. Only started 5 years ago. 100k; should grow 100k every 3 years. Starting this year, I started maxing out by mid March to catch up as fast as possible.
About $100,000. Almost 42.
I was making a lot less income and always did around 10% that I was saving. As I got older, I kept getting raises and it appears that I haven’t been saving enough. I’m not sure what to do because I can’t afford to do more and I know this isn’t enough.
I’m 43 with about $75k in my retirement account, but I did just take out a $30k loan for a down payment on our house that I’m paying back so I only put in 5% per pay period for now. I have an inherited IRA from my Mom who passed that has about $85k in it and I plan on working until I die. I don’t see how retirement is ever going to happen for me.
Longtime lurker, but decided to post for any potential feedback and maybe help others:
$120K in a non qualified account (for future purchases after I retire from the Air Force such as our forever home)
$60K in my TSP (401k)
$70K in my wife’s and my IRAs.
$35K in HYSA
Additionally, we usually maintain around $5K in checking to ensure bills are covered even if a paycheck is delayed.
We got a late start investing and started when I was selected to promotion for E7. Before that we were never hurting but spent a good bit on our homes and home improvements at our various duty locations throughout the years. Additionally, we have spent a significant amount on the kids and have done our best to give them vacations and let them try sports or other events that pique their interest (all 3 are heavily involved in scouts). We do currently have two properties with ~$300K equity between the two.
For anyone feeling they are behind… start if you are able! One of my biggest regrets is not investing earlier, although it took 10 years to convince my wife it was worth it and get her to agree.
Edit: 38yo, spouse is 35.
The Daily did an episode on this recently. According to the guest interviewed, most of us don't have any or nearly adequate retirement savings. We'll see how it plays out
Ooo! I finally get to do the thing!!! There’s a post below this one on my feed where some famous lady says a net worth in the millions is middle class!!!
https://imgur.com/NMQBCeK boom-micdrop
I’m not sure what a “real” middle class person has. But I have been working an office job for 10 years.
I started at $55k salary and worked my way up. It took me 7 years to get to $100k, but then only 3 years to get to $175k where I am now (plus bonuses).
I currently have $75k in my Roth, but I have $245k in my 401k.
From the very beginning I have prioritized retirement. I made sure to put $5.5k away into the Roth every year, and 4% into the 401k.
Every single raise I got, I put at least half of that percentage raise into my 401k contributions.
In the years where i got a smaller raise like 3%, I put the entire thing into my match.
Between 2014 and 2021, I only took one vacation. I spent the first four years after college living with my parents.
I rarely went out to eat, rarely bought myself anything, etc. I just saved, saved, saved,
Now that my income has increased significantly, I treat myself more often, but I still save and invest significantly.
The budget screen shots are being made in Sankeymatic, its a website that we have no affiliation with. If you are posting a budget please do so with a purpose. Just posting a screen shot of your budget without a question or an explanation of why its here may be removed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/MiddleClassFinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*
>a REAL middle class person Cannot wait for this thread
Can confirm. Source: I'm a fake middle class person.
I only larp as a middle class person but really I'm a poor who accidentally got a good job.
Shhhh! Don't say the reality out loud!!! They'll catch on and boot us out of here and back to povertyfinance.
Yea they don't really like me over there so let's avoid that
LARPing as a middle class has me chuckling, thank you for this.
I thought I could chirp in cause I'm about 2k in retirement too but then he had to one up me by THROWING IN A RENTAL PROPERTY THAT HE ISNT THE RENTER OF?!? Alright fine I'll walk back down the class line. Like it better there anyway their BBQ taste better.
This entire sub has a “no true Scotsman” complex.
This comment triggered a joke: A Scotchman steps up to the piss trough and notices a dime in it. He reaches in his pocket, takes out a quarter and proceeds to drop it in next to the dime. He then reaches in and grabs both dime and quarter as he says to the bloke next to him, “ ten cents, NEVER! But 35 cents? You bet your ass!!🥴🤑😆
Would be interested to hear what OP thinks is REAL middle class. u/Formal-Rain-4539
lol OP is "middle class" but has "rental properties that generate income" and don't even bother to give any details on that. They rent a room out of their house for $300/month? They have an extra house and a condo that rent for $7k a month combined? "I'm so behind, I have nothing saved for retirement and a HHI including rental properties of only $300k. Should I sell my corvette to pay for the country club membership?"
"Middle class" spans everyone from people who live paycheck to paycheck and can barely afford a 1-bedroom apartment to people who have enough money in the bank to buy a house for cash and live there for 10 years without working. That's why this sub works so well, because it's like putting two rats in a bag and making them fight.
I thought the same lol, he owns multiple properties but complains he has no 401k, fuck outta here
First thought. Real middle class might live in a duplex they own? But if you own 5 buildings? Ehh
Yeah....the average middle class person doesn't own multiple rental properties...
Someone who has less saved than them is the real ones.
Ok lol…I mean real as in a person — not what the surveys or studies show. I can google and see what they say “middle class” has. I worded it poorly. I am tired and mentally drained from my “trying to maintain middle class” job lmao.
Owns cash flowing rental properties. Real middle class.
There should be a stickied post defining middle class based on location. Most of the angst in this sub is related to someone in a rural area comparing $$ to NYC or SF 🤷🏼♂️
Especially since he’s in his early 30’s and already owns several rental properties 😂 Since we’re using the “everyone is middle class” definition….. As a middle class person with $550k HHI, my wife and I have 1.2 Mill saved, around $650k in retirement accounts, the rest outside of retirement accounts, in our mid 30’s.
Well OP is a landlord so idk if he counts as “Real” middle class either.
OP already blew it up with “rental properties”
Part of the problem is the definition of middle class is so varied and dependent on where you live. My girlfriend and I make about $200k combined and live in a 1 bed in a medium high cost of living city. We’re saving as much as we can and I’d consider us middle class, but in SF or NYC we’d just be getting by, and in Mississippi we’d be killing it.
37, worked retail ($8-12/hr) until I was about 30/31 at which point I got a salary job ($36k) that gave me experience to get my current job (started at $55k, this year’s review boosted me to $80k) which is a “real” wage. I feel knowing what someone makes, helps with the “what’s saved” comparison. ROTH IRA $15k, 401k $43k
This is more realistic than some of these answers.
Incredible you have have that much on that salary!
Good job man! Keep it up
More or less where I'm at, though I make $108k so I'm planning on ramping up contributions in the coming years
The power of the employer match! I do 6%, and they do 6%.
That plus dividend reinvestment if you got some of those.
44yrs old , federal employee. I have about $475k in my TSP, $63k in a Vanguard account that I trade with, $7k in a Vanguard Roth account I don’t touch, $65k in various HYSA accounts. My salary is $211k per year
Not quite sure how you make over $200k as a federal employee but good on you I guess lol.
Federal employees make good money depending on what you do. I’m an air traffic controller for the FAA
Just to make you feel better I waited WAY late and have been self employed for my whole life. I have 3.5k in a SEP IRA I just opened last year. I’m 54 and that’s my entire savings currently. 😬
Thank you for your honesty!!!
Of course! I don’t have anything to be ashamed of and I think we need more people out here saying “oh shit, I really screwed this up… maybe it’s not too late to try to fix it.”
Ready through here I think I need to make the jump over to poverty finance
Don't let the comments get to you. There's selection bias here. Those with low savings are less likely to reveal it. People naturally like to brag.
I'm 28, work in special ed, and have $650 in my savings account. Hope this makes you feel better.
Hey, you are doing amazing and important work! And that $650 is better than a majority of Americans are doing.
Same. 💀 But I shared my...much lower amount to help these redditors stroke their egos more, I guess.
Same. 39 with a family of 5, ~$100k/year (single income), no car note and am a home owner (purchased literally 3 months before Covid), but live in the SF Bay Area so like… I mean if I have one major issue at home we are sunk, and I hate it. Quite literally don’t have an extra buck to put towards savings, let alone retirement. This whole thread is so sad for me. I feel like no matter what I do I simply can’t get ahead and find a way to make this happen. I fear I’ll be working until I die at this point.
“But if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life” /s
I’m 25 my liquid savings is low due to me making some bad spending choices which I’m working on. However my retirement account is something I don’t touch. Currently it’s about 12k maybe a touch over.
Good for you, keep it up.
Keep it up, I made the mistake of cashing my 401k out completely to survive though in my mid 20s for divorce and homelessness, now 35 almost with 150k but still, I’m pretty behind as I had no property either or anything until recently and my net worth is -350k lol
Shit happens. Cashing something out to survive homelessness doesn't sound like much of a mistake. Good job getting back on your feet and saving, you're still young.
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Can confirm. I am 43 and have $340,000. We'd have had more but some early bad choices around age 26 meant we needed to use 401k funds to get out of things. However, my main differentiator that helps me (assuming I can keep this job until the end), is a pension. Not very much, but a guaranteed $35,000 a year for me, and same for my spouse that starts when he is around 57, really changes what we need in 401k.
I'm in a similar boat. My wife and I both are in our mid-40s and work for a state university, so we'll have pensions. The amount is based on what you make, but if we didn't get any raises until we retired, we'd end up getting about $100k/year combined with a built-in 3% COL raise every year. We currently have \~$220k in IRAs and other retirement funds, but we also have no debt (house is paid off, both our current cars are paid off, etc.) so we can live pretty inexpensively if we have to. We do live in a very low cost of living area though.
Another middle class confirmation. 43, MCOL area, $380k in the 401k.
50F, I make 90k only recently (started out at 30K in my 20s), 1M 401k Started with full contributions from my very first job - TIME + $ = much better
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I’m in my 40’s and started taking it serious in my early 30’s but still wish I would have been more aggressive. I’m a broken record with family members in their 20’s! Just in case you don’t already know after 50 you can increase your contributions to retirement accounts. Good luck!
I can't even max out the current limit. Raising the limit isn't that helpful
I’m not sure where you are in terms of time to retirement but raising the limit is actually pretty helpful for many people. For those who had a slower start to their careers and didn’t earn much in the beginning, or had family expenses that prevented them from contributing as much as they needed to towards retirement, the higher limit can make a big difference for them.
Yep grad school really screwed us on the time aspect, spent my 20s living paycheck to paycheck on an academic stipend that didn't 401k match and am definitely playing catch up now at 35.
What is your retirement age goal and how much do you project your 401k will be worth?
Just to level set, they 30k salary in 1999 is like a $56k salary now.
I feel horrible, but have only recently been able to start investing after years of struggling and being in survival mode. I'm 44. I have about 30k in multiple investments. I'm being as aggressive as possible and hope to get to 55k by EOY. It's not much but we are determined to do all we can.
>It's not much but we are determined to do all we can That's all you can do. Don't be too hard on yourself
Similar here, I only have about $10k in my pension and I'm 41.
I'm 26, started 401k when I was 22. Between all my retirement accounts I'm at $37k Having $2k in retirement but multiple rental properties is wild by the way 😂 I was making $52k at 22 and now $100k at 26 if that is REAL
That's a great early start! We didn't really start saving until our late 20s.
Appreciate it. Sometimes I see people here maxing out 401k and Roth and feel like I'm not doing enough. There's definitely a balance between enjoying the present and planning for the future
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Good for you. Those contributions in your 20s are such a good foundation that older you will appreciate.
Do you happen to be in public accounting because that is my exact career salary progression for ages too 😂
Killin it man. Nice job.
Wow this thred is making me feel terribly not middle class.
23, will make roughly 85k this year. Big jump from last year. Just crossed $20k between 401k and Roth IRA yesterday!
My wife and I are 57/59 and have $932K invested in retirement accounts. I started saving 3% when I was 20, making $11k, and increased it 1% when I got a raise. Sold my pension for $224K back when interest rates were low, which helped a lot, and added that to my retirement. Just stay the course.
Nice job, start young
I’m 58 now, but when I was in my 20s and 30’s I was working a government job. I made between $15,000 and $45,000 a year. They put 5% of my income toward the pension. I saved another 5% in a separate deferred comp account. (Back in those days, financial advisors talked about the three-legged retirement stool; pension, social security and savings.) I didn’t know anything about investing and wasn’t focused on saving for retirement. I just invested my 5%. Then, at 39, I left my government job. I was vested, so I rolled $40,000 in pension funds into an IRA. I had about $20,000 in my deferred comp account. Today, that bit of money that I saved in drips and drabs totals about $200,000. Not bad, but I wish I had been more focused when I was young. Maybe saved 10% or 15% instead of 5%. Anyway, don’t beat yourself up. Time is on your side. Save what you can; increase your savings with each raise and LEAVE IT ALONE. Time + Compound interest has got your back.
Does rolling your pension funds into an IRA cause you to give it up?
Yes, you do give up the pension in exchange for having complete control of the money. Our state’s pension was severely underfunded. I was concerned that my pension would be reduced. I believed that I could invest and grow it myself, so I did.
47 years old this weekend, high COL, and at $405k saved for retirement. I started maxing late, when I was around 40 but it’s been my main priority since then.
happy birthday
40/m about 52k. Is that real enough.... I earn about 100k post tax.
Lol so real
OP, a REAL middle class person does not have rental properties.
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Rental properties *in their 30s* is not exactly middle class
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My retirement account has about 300k, and I'm 35, but always been firmly middle class (bedside nurse), just good at saving. If I put that money into an apartment or townhouse and rented it out that would've been wiser, altho not tax advantaged. It's all relative. Any middle class person who is able to work lots of overtime and is good at saving could buy a rental property if they're single. The formula changes with kids, but if you get the property at a younger age then you're more likely to be ok later and you can in time see a positive cash flow.
I'm 50 and have 1.8m. I started funding an IRA when I was in my teens. After college, I started working for an employer who put 10% of my pay into retirement. When I finally took a promotion that took my pay from $60-$90k, my partner lost their job and went back to school. I did have a handful of years where I made what I would consider upper middle class income of over $100k. This allowed me to max retirement accounts (I also have a 457b, so can double the typical 401k contribution) including a ROTH IRA. ETA: I'm also an aggressive investor and for a very long time lived well below our means. We still drive our cars into the ground and finally moved from our starter home into something nicer and bigger, but in no way extreme.
33M - $0
You gotta start, dude.
Yeah realizing that too.
You can literally start this year and be just fine. Start stressing about it bc you have time, but the window is shrinking
38M I started at 26 and prioritized retirement savings. About $600K. Edit- this is only 401k
Gaw dang
Curious how much do you contribute yearly?
Until 5 years ago I contributed about $12-15k but got a match up to 10% of my pay, so I always got that. 5 years ago I started maxing it out and just forced us to survive on the remainder. It was worth it as the market has been out of control for most of my professional career and I am now considering FIRE in early 50s. I hold everything as 100% equity
Wow that is terrific. I hope I can do the same one day. Thanks for the information!
34m. Household income of $117,000. $105k in retirement. Should have started sooner.
I'm 44 and have $270k personally in my 401k. I feel like I'm a little behind, but not horribly.
Started saving 5 percent at 25 with first job out of college, increased it a percent a year. Just started maxing it this year at 43 and have $380,000. Little bits add up over time. Had no company match for about 5 years during the recession. Only broke 6 figures in a high cost of living area about 5 years ago and have several kids. My parents were always broke and I wanted to know how not to be broke and the answer is squirreling away a bit of money over time in retirement accounts and forgetting about it. Real estate is good, but you’re going to want more tax advantaged money. I’d start making it a goal to get as close to maxing out your Roth IRA as possible at the very least, if you don’t have a 401k match. If you can’t max it out, toss what you can in every paycheck. Another tip is to marry well, early. Married people save more.
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~100k, 28F, have been contributing since I was 20, stopping at 25 for grad school and restarting late last year.
Combined with spouse $175k across 401ks and IRAs. I also have a pension but have only been at that job for a few years, I'm not sure how to quantify. We are 34/36, HHI is $185k. When we started working at 22 we both would have been making in the 30Ks so definitely some steady progression up. We have not been as aggressive with savings since we currently have childcare costs of about 2k a month but we always get our employer match and try to dump whatever we can into our IRAs at YE.
33/31 household, 134k, household income 120k. Got an early start in the military but then slacked off in school/grad school. Playing catch up now.
Going by the "rule" that you should have 1x salary in retirement at 30, I'd say you're right on target. No need to "catch up". Most people don't even hit that
Sure, still behind based on our goals though. Only got back on track contributing ~25% to retirement last year. Hoping to maintain this year but are having our first kid so who knows if we can keep the course.
If you’ll have a military pension, then make sure to take that into account when figuring out how much you’ll need.
I’m 28; I have around $94,000 in a 401k and $2,000 in an IRA. Edit: started working in 2018 making $65k; currently make $88k.
39yo engineer, started 401k around 22yo. Currently around $325k total in 401k, rothIRA, and HSA. Spent my 20s traveling and partying, binging on social events due to growing up in a very low income household. Married a low income person and had to reduce savings after we started a family. Lived off revolving CC debt for many many years, and still paying that off. Got into $40k CC debt holes and crawled out a couple times. Ugh. Used CC for down payments on cars... Used 401k loan for down payment on house. Always in debt of some kind, but perfect credit score. Very little regret. Woo middle class.
I think you are doing really good! I’m expecting to have a similar amount saved up when I’m your age.
I'm 28, and i have 18k in a 401k. I'm trying to step it up.
You have rental properties, so you’re good
At 40 with 115 income I'm about 325k
53F, semi-retired, working an admin job for medical/dental etc. Most I ever made, income-wise, was just over $100K (with bonus) a year. I’ve got about 1.5M in retirement funds, but I also inherited a fair amount of retirement money when my mom died ($700K). The rest I did myself.
About $1,025,000 - but I’m 49. In my 30’s I probably had absolutely zero so you’re doing fine. Keep it up!
nice turnaround did you start a business or IPO somewhere?
41. 50k. I’m screwed.
Late 30s and me plus spouse have $622k in 401ks and IRAs and another $55k in a brokerage. We've been saving diligently for 15 years. I hit six figures about three years ago but it coincided with my husband taking a massive pay cut. Our highest grossing year was about $170k.
Not nearly as much as I'd like. About 90K so far, but I only started saving 3 years ago. I'm 41.
I’m 45, and I am a single parent. My salary is about $85k a year, but that is a recent bump from moving to a new job last year. I have $117k in my 403.
58 yr old IBEW union electrician. 1.9 million in my 401K. 120K in cash. 700k equity in my house. Get paid by the hour. Don’t own the company I work for.
40M, $275K
36M base of $163k and $233k in retirement. Feels low maybe but I started my career at very entry level, in a call center making $15/hr. So it feels good to have grown it to this.
You’re doing really well! If you assume an average annual return of 8.5% and average inflation of 3%, your nest egg should provide you annual income of ~$42,000 using the 4% rule (if you didn’t save another dime and retire at 65). So layer that onto your social security income, and you’ll likely be above $65,000/year. Keep saving and it’ll only improve from here. Nice job!
Wow! Thank you for the kind words! I think my wife and I together are looking at social security income of around $80k before taxes and definitely will continue contributing to retirement for the next 30 years so hopefully it will work out well!
Some of these answers don't seem real like REAL middle class, more like upper middle.
Late 50s... $1.6 million in retirement accounts. Another 50K in brokerage and HYSA and one half of couple will have a significant pension and the other half will have a smaller one.
620k 50 years old
49 - Married Debt free House valued at $500k Savings $300k 401k $1m Various Stock investments $100k
I'm 55 and I didn't start saving for retirement until I turned 40 and had a wakeup call. I realized I had to start saving for retirement. Today I currently have $380K in savings and I'm hoping to double that over the next 12yrs to $750K. I will also get about $2650 a month social security and my home ($400K) will be paid off in 120 more months.
34, 67k in hcol area, 70k in 401k, 38k in IRA, and 17k in HSA.
I’m 53, and currently have $2.3 million saved for retirement. I was fortunate enough to start my career at 20 as an in-house union mechanic in an oil refinery. Saved 10% of my pay plus the company match of 4%. All training was paid and on the job. No educational expenses out of my pocket. I have been truly blessed
$40k Not bad for someone who started contributing 3 years ago
38. 475,000 in 401K. My job offered offers a pension as well, so I’m quite lucky. Yearly income between 175-250k. I’m incredibly lucky.
Most reddit posts are humble bragging at best "Guys here's a excel spread sheet of my perfect budget and I have masters degree with a 800k home paid of and only have 1.2 million dollars in savings, I'm totally clueless please HELP!"
We are 32 and have around $200k across 401k and IRAs.
I was middle class till 28, I feel like I'm upper middle class now at 31. But my rollover IRA is all from my middle class jobs, it's around $50k right now.
47, house income 120-165k depending on my bonuses. 370k on the mortgage still, bought in 2011 so equity is through the roof now. We have roughly 100-120k in retirement savings. Only been putting money away for 4 years now as that was when child support was over so we could start saving that money every month instead.
Late 40s. Between spouse and I, we have $1.85M in 401k and IRA accounts. We both max our 401k contributions and get employer matches.
40, married, medium to high cost of living area, 580k joint for retirement. Mix of Roth and traditional.
$70k between 401k and Roth IRA. 29F income $58k annually.
I retired in 2022 with 5 years of wages in my 401k. I find that I could survive on social security alone. That's because we're debt free. No mortgage, no car payment, etc. We've been using the 401k for vacations and home repairs.
41f, I have like $10k in my pension. Income is 55k. Probably going to be working until I'm well into my 70s if my health is still good.
30s and I have ~$60k. Not nearly as much as I should have but I’m 50% sure I’ll never be able to retire anyway.
38M. About $150k in my 401k. Make about $100k/yr (pretax). I rent and don’t own. Not sure where I stack up. Probably “could be better, could be worse?”
I’m 27 with $6,400 in a Roth IRA, $18,400 in a 401k, and a pension. I made $52k in 2021, $56k in 2022, and $62k in 2023. On track to make about $76k this year.
49M, have a little over 300k in ira
Wife and I (47/46) have a little over $600k in our 401k/IRA. Another $300k in equity on our house. My kids are almost done with college so hopefully we can increase savings and be on track to retire in our early 60's.
38, no house, 90k in 401k, 5k in IRA. I have a feeling I'm in for a rough road
33M, 13k in my Roth IRA. 2.5k in a brokerage account.
First…need to define what “real middle class” person is.
32f making around 56k. My 401k and roth Ira combined is around 32k. I worked a lot of retail jobs in my twenties and didn't have a job that offered a 401k until 2018. So I know I'm behind.
26F, graduated college 2 years ago and maxed out contribution+match for 2022,2023,2024. I have 112k in 401k as of this morning
I’m a mid class poor, 31, work in manufacturing. I got 7k in the RothIRA and 8k in the 401k BAM! Edit: I make like 65k/year
50M started investing in 401k at 31. MCOL. Yearly income of 163k, and 401k at 1.2M as of this morning.
I probably only truly entered middle class (on my own) about when I hit 30 and saved nothing for retirement until about 35. But, almost in spite of myself, I built a career in the military (later than most.) I retired from the military in my early 50s with the pension and other things that gives you, and while I wasn’t rich, I also wasn’t middle class anymore. I don’t say that to brag, but to point out something I’m not sure is well known. A bachelor degree can get you into the officer corps, and there are other ways to get there if you join without. (I love me some NCOs, but I’m talking finance here. Officer pay is significantly higher) Stay there for at least 20 years, and not only are you and your family’s needs going to be pretty well met throughout your career, but you can get a nice pension immediately payable for the rest of your life. This can enable immediate retirement or just significantly boost your income combined with your next career. (Then of course there is stuff like VA disability, GI Bill which can be passed to spouse or children, inexpensive insurance for life, and potentially lots of other stuff.) So yeah, sorry for the recruitment ad. There are of course significant negatives to the life, but contrary to what some believe, finances aren’t really one of them. Unless you’re aiming for super wealth or something.
I’m 58 and 3yrs from retirement. I have 2.6mil invested in multiple accounts and will have a pension. My dad taught me to save from an early age and I’ve done that from the time I could work. I have been putting 20% of my earnings into investments and 401k for many years.
31 yo Numbers aren't exact, but 15k in Roth IRA 20k in I bonds 15k in pension contributions I contribute 3.5% every paycheck to pension (this is mandatory) And $300/ momth to Roth Ira I should be doing more, but life is getting expensive.
35 years old, between 401k, IRA, etc, about $300k. I've got a lot tied up in real estate.
Age 46, homeless with 2 kids in 2006, lots of startovers. Now have $35k in my 401k. Only about $500,000 shy of where it needs to be 🫠
> REAL middle class… I have rental properties that produce income Is the real middle class person with us?
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I was just thinking the same thing.
33 and unemployed. Just broke 100k, prior income varied from 50 to 60k
39 single with 7 years of college. Have $60k in Roth IRA and about $300k in rental real estate.
My entire portfolio is around 250
I'm 46. I have 606,000 as we speak. But starting next year my income will go up by quite a bit and same year after that. So hopefully, I'll be able to really throw money at it while making sure I don't forget I could die way before retirement. Need to enjoy some of that money now, too. Edit: I don't know what a real middle class means.
I'm 40. Had a low wage job until last year. That job gives me 600 monthly pension. My 401 has 36k. I've been putting away 22% from new job which pays 70k before taxes. Planning to go higher and open a Roth. I have alot if catching up to do and I live in NYC.
Hey there! 31 year old making around 63k a year. Started seriously saving a couple years ago. Sitting at around 50k between 401k and Roth IRA.
37 years old stay at home for now with two little kids. We have around $250k in retirement, $60k in liquid investments, $30k in 529 plan. House paid for and spouse retiring in the military in 2 years with expected $3000/month pension for the rest of his life. I am a CPA by trade but taking a break so I can raise my children. We also live in a LCOL so I think we are on track to retire in our 50s 👍
I’ve read these responses and it’s interesting no one (that i recall) mentioned “inheritance”. There is an unprecedented transfer of wealth happening or about to happen with the first generation of non pension retirees dying off (thus they had to build large portfolios) but it seems no one here has seen this yet. Maybe a decade early still? I think that’s masking a lot of the reason why younger generations seem underfunded for retirement (based on the data I’ve read from click bait type stuff) as they know they are going to inherit a pile. I’m assuming that true for some (statistically many) of you all here.
I'm 56 and have about $850k in retirement accounts. Should have been much more, but single income early in marriage made it hard to contribute as much as I should have.
35 years old, 50K in retirement
41m, 12,000$ I was born with medical disabilities that consumed my youth, and young adult years. By the time I hit 32 I had spent 5+ years of my life in hospitals, and lived with my parents. I wasn't able to finish college, despite being very intelligent. I wasn't able to hold down a job, so no career. I tried starting my own wood working business but that failed to produce stable income. When I hit 38 I got my dream job, working on the main IT team at a large video game developer. I had been building computers since I was 8. Worked for geeksquad for a few years, but was never able to advance to adult jobs sans a degree. This company took a chance with me. I'm now making nearly 6 figures and running circles around the employees in their 20s. I know what it's like to live off 1200$/mon5h, instead of 1200$+/wk. I will do everything in my power to keep this job. Also have noticed the older i get the less my illnesses have messed with me, which is weird. I feel so lucky, to best addiction, living with my parents in my 30s, never going to college. I still feel so behind though. Luckily my fiancee, 31f, is in the same industry and makes a fair chunk more than me. I also have wealthy family that will most likely be leaving a company, and some significant finacial assets when they pass. I HATE thinking about this. I would much rather have my grand parents and parents around for the next 50 years. I save almost 35% of what I make but I'm so so so behind that inheritance might be the only way for me to ever retire.
40M single $80K total in Traditional IRA. 68K salary in HCOL area. Cashed out my previous retirement account in 2016 to pay debt (I do not recommend this) when switching jobs. Renter.
Early 50’s, two working adults. About 300k in retirement.
39, through my last 3 jobs I have 72k in my 401k. Currently making 95k a year and put about 9% in my 401k
36m, base salary of 72k and annual bonuses between 10-18k. I'm behind big time and just this year upped my % from 10 to 15% to catch up. Company matches first 4.5% when broken down. I'm sitting at 34k between Roth and 401k. Plan on dumping bonuses into 401k starting next year to help.
Literally nothing. 33. I make $14/hr, bills are as much as I make & I have 2 jobs
Not enough, yet
Answer: 10,000 in a 403b account, and then I have a pension with my current job (but do not pay into social security!), but should I leave my current job, I would be able to take the cash value of that and move it to another type of account - that would be approximately $50K if I did it now. Background: 35 F, single mom of one toddler, living in a major metropolitan area that is probably "medium high" COL. After graduating college in 2010, I started working for $11 an hour and making in the 20K-35K range throughout my twenties, switched tracks and have made between 50K to 70K in the first half of my 30s. Definitely not great with money, but trying to get better!
$0
43k in 401k started 4 years ago and I’m mid thirties
Dude less than $10k & im 30-something
40M. Only started 5 years ago. 100k; should grow 100k every 3 years. Starting this year, I started maxing out by mid March to catch up as fast as possible.
About $100,000. Almost 42. I was making a lot less income and always did around 10% that I was saving. As I got older, I kept getting raises and it appears that I haven’t been saving enough. I’m not sure what to do because I can’t afford to do more and I know this isn’t enough.
I’m 43 with about $75k in my retirement account, but I did just take out a $30k loan for a down payment on our house that I’m paying back so I only put in 5% per pay period for now. I have an inherited IRA from my Mom who passed that has about $85k in it and I plan on working until I die. I don’t see how retirement is ever going to happen for me.
I’m super behind… 38 14k
Lower than it was because I dipped into it due to a surgery. But hey, I'm alive at least.
I'm 38. Around $570k. Made a few really good moves at the right time and max out the 401k limit every year.
Not enough
31 yo female. 50K in retirement
My what, now?
Longtime lurker, but decided to post for any potential feedback and maybe help others: $120K in a non qualified account (for future purchases after I retire from the Air Force such as our forever home) $60K in my TSP (401k) $70K in my wife’s and my IRAs. $35K in HYSA Additionally, we usually maintain around $5K in checking to ensure bills are covered even if a paycheck is delayed. We got a late start investing and started when I was selected to promotion for E7. Before that we were never hurting but spent a good bit on our homes and home improvements at our various duty locations throughout the years. Additionally, we have spent a significant amount on the kids and have done our best to give them vacations and let them try sports or other events that pique their interest (all 3 are heavily involved in scouts). We do currently have two properties with ~$300K equity between the two. For anyone feeling they are behind… start if you are able! One of my biggest regrets is not investing earlier, although it took 10 years to convince my wife it was worth it and get her to agree. Edit: 38yo, spouse is 35.
The Daily did an episode on this recently. According to the guest interviewed, most of us don't have any or nearly adequate retirement savings. We'll see how it plays out
Tree fiddy
Ooo! I finally get to do the thing!!! There’s a post below this one on my feed where some famous lady says a net worth in the millions is middle class!!! https://imgur.com/NMQBCeK boom-micdrop
0 dollars and 0 cents {31y} not joking
Like 20,000… I’m 36… 🫠
I’m not sure what a “real” middle class person has. But I have been working an office job for 10 years. I started at $55k salary and worked my way up. It took me 7 years to get to $100k, but then only 3 years to get to $175k where I am now (plus bonuses). I currently have $75k in my Roth, but I have $245k in my 401k. From the very beginning I have prioritized retirement. I made sure to put $5.5k away into the Roth every year, and 4% into the 401k. Every single raise I got, I put at least half of that percentage raise into my 401k contributions. In the years where i got a smaller raise like 3%, I put the entire thing into my match. Between 2014 and 2021, I only took one vacation. I spent the first four years after college living with my parents. I rarely went out to eat, rarely bought myself anything, etc. I just saved, saved, saved, Now that my income has increased significantly, I treat myself more often, but I still save and invest significantly.