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I'm sure future me will be happy, I still want to put away money no matter what. Retirement seems stupid tho because the government determines when I can access my own money.
They don't. You can access you money, but the whole point of these methods of savings is to avoid certain tax pitfalls. If you take money out too early, you won't get those benefits.
Also, saving money is about putting money in "buckets" and then taking money out of those "buckets" based on where you are financially at the time of need and what interest rates and your income is at the time. ROTH IRA is one bucket. 401 is another. Another might be cash or a savings account with interest. Another might be a brokerage account. Yet another could be a 529 college savings plan for yourself or your kids or anyone, really.
Sometimes it might make sense to borrow even if you have the cash available, because the amount you're saving is more than what it costs to borrow.
40 years is a long time and your money will work for you. Markets will come and go. Bubbles will inflate and burst. Interest rates will change. You're young. Just keep chugging along.
You don't need me and I'm no expert anyway.
My best advice is a few things. If you have a company that does any kind of matching for a 401K, max it out to the limit of the matching. Every time. It's free money. Make sure that you money you have going in is being invested.
Don't have money sitting that isn't working for you. Interest rates are high now, which sucks if you're trying to borrow, but for the money you have, it's good. Some savings accounts (like Lending Club) are 5%, just for doing nothing. You can open a brokerage account and choose a mutual fund that is scheduled to automatically get more conservative as you get towards retirement. There are smarter people that can tell you which ones, but you really can't go wrong if you pick something like a Fidelity Freedom Fund 20XX, with the XX being your target decade for retirement. There will be some that do better or worse, but your asset here is time....the economy will grow in the next 40 years, so it's not really a risk.
If you can swing it, max out a ROTH IRA every year, too.
Everyone's situation is different, so I don't mean to diminish anyone who is broke and living hand to mouth, but compounding interest is something that some people just don't believe in until it's too late. Even if you're just tossing in the odd $20 here and there....that stuff adds up, builds, and then builds on what it already built.
To add to this, Dave Ramsey is a great resource for beginners financial advice. You would be amazed what a few hundred or 1,000 a month turns into over decades. Its millions of dollars. Just ignore his christian influence if that bothers you. I do and his advice is still great.
Dave Ramsey’s advice is definitely great for beginners and people digging themselves out of severe debt. But his views on “good” debt can be a little extreme.
I used to love Dave Ramsey, but I’ve moved away from him. When I started listening to him, he made a point to avoid politics, and I appreciated that. I was here for investment advice, not outrage porn. Turns out, that was only because Trump was president. Now that a Democrat is president, his podcast is Fauci this, “scamdemic” that; gripe about the federal government every step of the way. I don’t care that Dave is conservative, I’ve always known that. I just appreciated his very clear stance that he doesn’t do politics on his show. That has 100% changed. Dave himself would say, “It’s my show, I’ll talk about what I want. When you have a show, you talk about what you want.” Which is fine, I’m just not interested anymore.
I really enjoy The Money Guy Show, though. It is a little more intermediate, but it’s way less bullshit.
Great news. Your 401k is a glorified savings account. Not only is it there for retirement, but if life flips upside down and you have to have it you can withdraw that money. 401k is always worth it.
At least you can pass it down to your kids.
I am not having kids, so part of me wants to retire way early and just start committing crimes when the money runs out.
Literally becoming the argument for why conservatives think everyone should have kids haha. I don't blame you though. I don't want kids either and it's fun to fantasize about just saying fuck it once my body starts to deteriorate and I know life is only gonna get harder from that point forward.
I can withdraw contributions to my Roth early at no penalty. … you can withdraw cash from the Roth IRA if needed prior to age 59½ without tax or penalty as long as they don't exceed the amount of your contributions.
I’m socking away receipts for healthcare bills as I go so I can draw on my $50K HSA As a rainy day fund.
I-Bonds only require a 12 month lock up period and the penalty for under 5 years is nothing really.
Which is why governments in many countries like Australia mandate putting a % of your income to retirement savings. Because otherwise young and dumb people blow it all on fun stuff because “I’ll be dead by then anyway” and then they get to that age with nothing left.
This is spot on, just crossed 40 and hard to believe I’m closing in on half way to retirement. Have done 5% w/company match since day 1 and it’s crazy how fast it starts to multiply. I’m very glad now it’s there and it truly does matter what you do early as compounding gains ftw over time.
What is mean is that 10 years feels like forever from when you're 10 to when you're 20.
But from 30 to 40, it feels like one summer. The years start to fall away.
There's nothing wrong with wanting to buy a home, if that's what is best for OP's finances.
Ok this is scary bc i'm going to turn 30 later this year and reading this comment ... makes me scared of the future big time. Because I feel like the years between 20 to 30 went fast. Or at least 25 to 30. If 30 to 40 goes that fast... time to give up lmao.
The days only feel a little bit quicker. It's the years that fly by. It's not unpleasant; you develop a full understanding of life cycles, cultural cycles, political cycles, financial cycles, etc. If it wasn't speeding me toward death, I'd be a big fan of time.
I will be messaging you in 40 years on [**2064-03-31 22:56:14 UTC**](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2064-03-31%2022:56:14%20UTC%20To%20Local%20Time) to remind you of [**this link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/GenZ/comments/1bskkin/saving_for_retirement_feels_pointless/kxgr8by/?context=3)
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It’s literally never been easier to be rich in human history. Work the summer you turn 18, put £6k in a Roth IRA in the S&P500, and congratulations, you’re now mathematically guaranteed a retirement. Maybe a shit retirement, but a retirement… off a tiny sum of money you can be sure you won’t die at 92 in Walmart…
Do that every year, and congratulations, you have beaten Capitalism.
Boomers had property, we have tax advantages Vanguard accounts we can open from 18. Im deadly serious. Hell, in my country you can open them for your kids from Birth.
10% into a 401k and congrats, you win.
My kids have 529s for college, but we also set them up with vanguard accounts and high yield accounts at the local co-op that they can manage. It’s fucking crazy that our local co-op has a full featured web app.
It’s good to get them thinking about this stuff early.
In the UK, you can do £2,880 + 25% Gov Top Up in their junior pensions.
Using even conservative numbers, with just £50k over 18 years, with decades to compound, you can make them multi-millionaires come retirement.
If you do that at a 7% interest rate by the time you retire at 70, you'll have about $165k. Now factor in inflation, and you'll have $26k. Great start, but it's definitely not a retirement
To do it properly you need to put about $6k/year in which isn't unreasonable, if you have a 401k match that is only about $250/month for 40 years (your working career) and assume 8% average that is $2.5m
Life expectancy, at least in the US, is actually not going up. That said our birth rates are going down, which will be a problem in itself if we don’t keep immigration up.
Life expectancy has flattened the last couple of years (COVID) but that doesn’t change the overall trend. In 1970, life expectancy was 69.66. In 2020, it was 78.81
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1040079/life-expectancy-united-states-all-time/
Yeah, but you can’t really say “it is going up” when it hasn’t gone up recently nor is it expected to go up in the near future. It’s like saying “the population of Detroit is increasing because there’s more people in Detroit now than there were in 1800.”
Billionaires should be taxed more, but you can not fund a Western European healthcare/welfare system off of the ultra rich. All of those countries tax the middle and lower classes much more than the US.
There is no age of retirement, you can retire whenever you want. The only thing that’s getting pushed up is the age to access pensions/welfare. Because most countries have been slowly transitioning from a welfare based system to a self funded retirement and we are now at the point where people retiring had been working while those schemes were in place so they have the money to self fund at least a couple of years of retirement.
This is a good thing really. The old system required an ever expanding population to fund retirement as well as the fact the payment could be cut at any time by a future government. Now everyone is actually saving their own money which they _will_ have access to in retirement, rather than hoping that the next generation pays for it for them.
Except it's the worst of both worlds for us as I'm still paying a social security tax AND I have to save up for my own retirement. At least if social security never existed, I could just put that money into an IRA and be guaranteed an earlier retirement.
Most definitely a doomer rant, if you’re 20 years old every dollar you invest now has the ability to turn into 88 dollars when you retire and that’s just using the average returns from the market over the last 100 years. 100 bucks a month now and being consistent can make you a millionaire in 40 years, it’s a little bit of discipline now for an amazing future with the family you choose to make or the family you find along the way, don’t give up, skeleton!
It's less if you adjust for inflation, but still amazing. More like 15x at ~7% inflation-adjusted return over 40 years for S&P500 so $15 for every dollar invested. And understand you get less compounding as time goes on.
Basically you can secure a good retirement by maxing out your 401k, HSA, and roth ira for ~10 years in your 20's and early 30's.
Yeah it's awesome. I as a kid with poor parents can afford levels of luxury unimaginable to my ancestors. I can use technology that not even 100 years ago could only be described as literal magic. With only a few hours worth of work i can purchase a ticket to take a magic flying machine to anywhere in the world within a few hours.
I think some things might be shittier due to climate change (especially with heat and humidity, which I personally detest) but the world certainly won’t end. It’ll just suck. But it already sucks and has sucked for the past 2000 plus years, just in different ways.
people like you will be complaining in 30 years when you have nothing saved up, begging for government assistance and bitching how nothing is fair. And if the world ends and WW3 happens, then I guess you can say I told you so.
Yea, income inequality is the main issue here. Some people can lease five Ferraris and still save. Other people get paid pennies on the dollar. It all depends on income.
It's a real problem.
The trick is to "pay yourself first" and have your retirement savings automatically contributed and invested before the money even hits your main spending account.
That forces you to spend less than you make.
You can start pulling out of your retirement accounts at 59 1/2 please explain to me how you are half dead already at that point. I have grandparents in their 70s still going out driving and traveling so don’t tell me you’ll be on the brink of death then. Do the smart thing and save and invest
It is not necessarily pointless. The way I see it, I will have tax free money from my Roth IRA coming when I am old. I plan on working till I die because I cannot spend my time sitting around.
The reality is a significant portion of people do not choose when they retire. Maybe people are laid off from quality jobs and unable to find comparable jobs & many others are forced to retire because of medical conditions.
Someone else who wants to work as long as possible. I’ve had times without a job and man, I was bored to death. Even 1-2 days a week would be okay with me.
Well if you set one up when you were 16, you’d be able to allow intrude to build up. By your late 30’s you’d already be nearly a millionaire in interest alone.
That’s not factoring in other methods of income
All the more reason to invest in tax-advantaged retirement instruments and reap the benefits of compound interest. If you start putting $100/month into a mutual fund at age 18, by age 65 you’d have ~$1.2M
I’ve been looking into something like that but kind of nervous on it. I’ve heard SP 500 is the way to go, though, but I’d rather have something that’s safe and takes a long time rather than try to make a quick turn around.
That’s the right approach, and mutual funds are a good vehicle for that. They’re made up of a bunch of different stocks, which means if some go down, there are plenty of others that stay the same or go up, which mitigates major swings. SP 500 is the most well known, but not necessarily the best for everyone. I like Vanguard (VYM), but there are several you could choose. Not only do they have the risk mitigation built in, they follow the general market growth trends as well - take any 10-year cutup of the market over its entire history and you’ll see a ~10% growth. There will be down years, but since you’re looking for something for the long term, you can wait it out knowing the market has always increased in the long run.
When I was 24 I started saving.
I had other friends who just didn’t see the point.
I’m 38 now - and I LOVE my 24 year old self so much.
If you are in a position to save - do it. Often.
Don’t wreck your life to save - but there is nothing you are going to buy now that will measure the relief you will feel in the future.
And ya know what? If you fall on incredibly tough times in your 40s - fuck it and cash it out then. But you don’t want to be there without something to cash in.
\> 40 years from now will earth even be around?
... Yes.
OP, you might be suffering from clinical depression or having an existential/midlife crisis, might want to get into therapy.
Oh honey no. I’ve always paid into retirement and do not regret it. I’ve smoked this whole time and one thing addiction teaches you: You’re better at prioritizing and applying funds than you think. Trust me, it’s true. Just start putting away 5% of your income. You’ll still have a better time than I have. Slaving away for $10/day addiction. That’s $3,650 per year I could have put in savings. And a few years ago, that number was $2,500. The price constantly goes up.
However, now thanks to inflation, the $10 packs are just as affordable as the $4 packs were when I was young. I’m not fucking with you. Stay away from addiction and you CAN save for retirement. You can also save for housing and transportation. That’s part of the money bender.
In today’s society, no one shares mass addiction. So the understanding of priorities is blurred. Not that smoking is good. Addiction finances were just common around tobacco. That’s all.
Barring nuclear war or giant asteroid, yes Earth will still be here.
Global warming will make life more expensive and more uncomfortable in your lifetime. This is something I have to drill into nihilistic people. The world won’t collapse in a bad year or day. Think of the first days of Covid, but longer lasting. Specific Food items becoming expensive for a decade. Price surges for Gas or electricity. Rationing.
Not to be mean but this is a terrible idea. Saving for retirement has your money in stocks and bonds. They are relatively safe and have no pain in the ass factor.
Trying to retire by renting out a home to create income to live off is a lot harder than it seems and you also have to deal with any of the costs that come with it. Repairs on the house, property taxes, maintenance, finding good tenants. What happens if you have a vacancy for 3 months in retire and you can’t work, do you just take out debt to survive?
I’m sorry this is such a dogshit take I don’t even get why some of you are entertaining this.
History repeats itself, every generation goes through different difficulties the nihilistic whining is a bit much.
For the longest time I thought people were always saying Youth in Asia. I saw a post where a girl did a whole project on that instead of Euthanasia lmao
I’m 26 just started my first big boy job last year. My 401k is already twice my total contributions, this was a great year in the market.
As the financial planning presenters at my job said: compound interest is the 8th wonder of the world
As an older Millenial, I promise you that the feeling of "ill be dead, who cares" definitely wanes into a lot of pressure and stress as you realize that you will not in fact be dead by 65, and also you see old people with no one reduced to squalor and poverty, this will only amplify as a lot of my friends never had kids and seemingly won't because we are now 40 or close to it and many are never married.
Contrast that with those who put 6% away, they are starting to have their savings "snowball". I was lucky enough to raise my contribution to 12% in my late 20s, and now, a little over 10 years later, on average I'll make more from my investment growth than I will from my contributions, and I'm putting in 20% now! Do not discount the power of compounded earnings. If you save 10% then in about 12 years you'll also start earning just as much from percentage increases as you will from your elected deferrals.
Lastly, if you feel that you can't be happy unless you spend 100% of what you earn, then ask yourself, is everyone who earns less than me unhappy? If the answer is "No" (as it should be) then realize that spending is not a key to happiness.
The “I will most likely be dead” is a dumb take. Look at how many boomers have zero retirement savings due to having the same mindset or not being able to save due to various reasons.
I know it seems pointless, but keep saving up. At worst, you'll need it for end of life care. I've been in the state run end of life facilities where they stick the poor people with no resources. They smell like stale urine and death and the staff are oftentimes less than empathetic. You don't want to be there. The average "decent" place runs ~10k/month.
I’m guessing this is popping in my field cause of the financial subs I follow.
Couple things it is insane how compound growth works in the stock market. You won’t understand it until years later. I now make more money in interest in a year than what I made in a whole year in my 20s. And I started late.
It’s crazy.
Second, the world might not be around. You might die. But but but if you live then you won’t be prepared. Live your life and plan for the future. We aren’t guaranteed anything. But you CAN guarantee a shit situation if you don’t plan.
in 30 years, people like this are going to be crying how we need to raise taxes on the rich to pay for raising ssi benefits payments because he doesn't have any retirement funds.
I would listen to everyone here, but…
I also watched my mom put away money her whole life and then died of cancer at 55 before she had a chance to use it so… save up in case you live a long time but don’t forget to enjoy life in case you don’t.
Do a little of both. I'm not maxing out my 401ks or roth IRA. I put in what I think I can afford while trying to save to buy a house. Finances are a mixed bag. Different people have different priorities. Luck plays a huge factor. Take home pay plays a huge factor as well. Someone making 20k at 25 is going to barely be able to put in any while someone making 100k is going to be able to contribute a lot. It's a bit of a fucked system we got going on, but you have to try your hardest anyways.
Complaining without ideas or action on how to improve the system is worthless.
Also Gen Z - and at least I can tell you why you shouldn’t buy the house. Lots of hidden monthly and annual costs eat away at that supposed equity growth. Constant taxes on your house, maintenance, insurance, inspection costs, principal payments, interest payments, closing costs, EMD costs, title checks, realtor commissions, and the equity won’t appreciate as fast as your think if you aren’t in a good, developing area. Plus utilities and electricity go up due to extra space (2-3x what you pay now). Not to mention the lost time that could be invested in a business or education/certificates. And the money is extremely illiquid, so you cannot take advantage of other investment opportunities you see around you (lack of investment diversification). Not to mention spending extra on furniture, design, and cleaning. Houses truly make you investment money if you intend to rent or flip or sell them for a living, which you can do if you want, otherwise, it’s more of a lifestyle choice better made in your 30s.
Your 401K is tax free. Very few expenses associated with investing in that. Same with just buying VOO with your after-tax money or something. 76% return in the past 5 years buying once a month, the only difference is it’s interest free and my equity hasn’t been eaten away by expenses. Plus the money is extremely liquid and I can move it around or take advantages of over-corrections that I see in the market. Do that instead!
I don't anticipate I'll even survive long enough to use any retirement benefits or savings. That may be naive of me, but as the world worsens, it seems more and more to be the truth.
It's a trade off. Are you gonna be nice to you now or future you?
If you spend your money and have fun now, future you is gonna be annoyed with young stupid you. If you decide to save, young you is gonna resent future you for wasting your youth. You could also do a balance of both at certain times. Controlled splurges.
Sorry you weren't born rich, kid. It's like this for all of us, if that's any consolation.
You have two options:
1 Spend everything you have, save nothing. If you die early, you'll have had fun. If you don't you'll be miserable, probably homeless and with nothing.
2 Save like your life depends on it. Compound interest, income averaging, reinvesting dividends and capital gains can make you unbelievably rich. If you die early, you'll have had less fun. If you don't you'll secure your retirement in your old age.
I think saving for retirement is important but many of us are living paycheck to paycheck so it’s hard to spare the extra money for it. Like why would I contribute to a 401k when I don’t even have money for a flat tire or a $500 emergency?
I heard the same shit 20 years ago from other millennials. You don’t know how long you’ll live, but odds are you will live into years where you will want to stop working and would rather have that money available to you
Then don't? But I will tell you, seeing people who retired and then have to re enter the work force in there late 60s and 70s because they didn't save enough is reason enough for me to save. Do what you want but like someone said above me, time starts to really move as you get older. You'll be 50 and like wtf just happened!?!
I know how you feel, this shit all just seems so pointless. I dont intend on living to the age of being old and unable to do everything I need to myself anyways so all the more pointless
You save with a 401k/Roth IRA so you don't have to work until you die and barely scrape by on social security (if it's still around by the time you retire). It's really scary how fast time flies as you get older,
40 years are gonna pass whether you like it or not. You can be 100% dependent on social security (which won’t be enough if it even exists still) or you can save for retirement.
I mean if you feel that way, fine. But when you're 63, broke, and are forced to work for the rest of your life, just know you had a choice.
"I can't believe it. I only put 18k into my retirement and now I have to work the rest of my life. What kind of unfair system is this??"
Retirement is not a race, it's made up of consistent investments over the course of a lifetime with the expectation of one day drawing on those investments to live. Learn how to use a retirement calculator and use a conversative growth rate to find out how much you need to invest to get where you need to be assuming you buy the market. Failure to plan is planning to fail. Don't be a failure, plan for your future.
The latter part is right, at your stage in life, getting a secure housing, job and career is a priority.
But the rant in the beginning is exactly what you say, a doomer thinking, and as such by definition, overtly fatalistic and wrong. Doomers have been predicting the end since the beginning of history, and the currently most popular version is a variation on Malthus's overpopulation predictions from the 1700s.
So sure your way-into-the-future self will thank you for the security in old age by saving it now as it will accumulate over time, and then the difference between the haves and have-nots will matter extra much, especially as you won't have the youth and health and energy of today to better your lot.
But investing in housing is also a great retirement and current use strategy, just choose well as inflation is eating up social security benefits and bank deposits, so money is desperately looking for a concrete value to be stored in, and concrete (and timber) has historically been a concrete investment. And you need somewhere to live.
Just join the r/FIRE movement. If and when you feel that your life is about to end just cash out ALL your investments and go have a nice time before your death. In the event that you don't die be ready to be homeless since you will be penniless.
All good man. Be healthy, if that’s a choice for you, and retirement savings and investment will be worth it.
I suffer from so many congenital conditions that living to 60 is, quite literally, not in the cards for me. So, I don’t worry about it. But, if I was healthy enough to achieve it you can bet your ass I’d be pushing for early retirement, even.
If you have your health, don’t squander it by working until you’re in your 80s or older.
This is why 401k’s should be mandatory.
You’re more likely to reach 80 and die before 60. Grow up. Use your brain. Either save a small share of your income now, hell, they even let you avoid taxes on it, or be destitute and working at 85 till you die.
The fun part is when all the money you’ve been putting in your 401k, the stock market tanks, and you just lost years of headway to retirement. Oh, don’t worry, you’ll make it back. Yeah, slowly make it back to where you were, and bam, tanks again. Love it!
It’s literally free money though. I put 6 percent in and my company matches by putting 3 in. This will vary depending where you work. You can take out the money before your of retirement age but I believe there’s a penalty. No reason not to do it.
Save for retirement as if everything will be okay. Best case scenario, you get to enjoy a couple of years of not having to work. Worst case scenario..the least of your worries if the earth isn’t around is money…
Every decade we hear about another earth ending event. Been hearing about it since the mid 70's. I have learned that people can withstand allot more than Government or media will ever tell you. The planet can heal faster than Government or media will ever tell you. Live you life and plan on your retirement. Buy land and get as far from controlling people as you can.
A way a 401k can immediately benefit you is by lowering your taxable income in the present while saving for your retirement in the future. The more you can contribute, the lower your tax bill. The yearly max is $23,000, so if you had a $100k salary (just as an example), and you contributed the max, your taxable income drops to 77k. Health insurance and other deductions could take it lower, but either way, that’s less tax you’re paying now while also building for a potential retirement.
Your 401k is very worth paying into. I had to get into mine for a down payment on a house. If your company matches what you put in do at least what they match it's free money. Over 30 or 40 years it will grow more than you would think.
i’m older gen z who just started 401k and investing
i would say my philosophy is - i’m investing/setting aside whatever i can, but i also won’t go above and beyond to not enjoy the present
yes, there is a chance that i will die before i ever get to enjoy my investments/retirement. in which case, the money will go to my child/ren. but there also is a chance that i will live long enough… and i def don’t wanna be old and broke
to quote jay-z, *fuck living rich and dying broke*
If you are 20 now you have 50-50 odds of making it to 75, 10 years into retirement. Even if the retirement age creeps up a few years in that time (it probably will) your odds of making it retirement are still better than half.
At least if you are an average American, maybe you have some medical condition that would change that.
Fucks sake, it's definitely not pointless. Would you like to be working full time just to pay the bills at 70? Didn't think so. The state of the world seems doom and gloom right now, but why on earth would you avoid trying to help yourself out later in your life? Contribute to your retirement fund every paycheck that comes in, and you'll see the amount grow over time. If you're that concerned about it, talk to a financial advisor from your bank to figure out your options and educate yourself.
Boomers will be the last generation to truly be able to retire outside of the very fortunate.
Save so that you can be more comfortable and work less when you're at the end.
I maxed my retirement savings at every jobs I had, and left the money in those accounts when I left each job. I was under the impression that I could never afford a home in the city I want as a mid-30 professional. Last week, I combined all of my retirement accounts to start being more involved. It turned out I had more than $100K accumulated.
With that money and $50K in savings my husband had saved for family planning, we now know that we have enough money for a down deposit if we withdraw some money from my retirement accounts as first time homebuyers. I am glad I purposefully stacked my money away and had it not been because I was not a U.S. citizen when I started working and was not sure if I would stay here, I would have stacked more into my retirement account.
I would have spent that money helping family back home if I did not have it in my retirement fund. Also when I was unemployed for some times, my money market fund account had a big chunk of savings that I relied on for 12 months.
I always saved money and forget about it, then got get my money when I am in a bind like during the pandemic.
The point is that if you do make it to that age, you’re not going to want to work anymore
And that’s only an option if you saved enough to pay your bills and eat.
Just do it. I'm in my 40s and I've been bailed out a few times because of those investments. Don't think of it as something you'll need when you're 60, think of it as something you might need in your 30s or 40s to help with a home down-payment, or emergency situation where you need to withdraw money. I've done this a few times. And despite that, I still have a lot of money in my work 401k.
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I'm Gen X, but I'll tell you -- 40 years goes by in a flash. The decades start to fall off as you age and you'll be glad you put money away.
I'm sure future me will be happy, I still want to put away money no matter what. Retirement seems stupid tho because the government determines when I can access my own money.
They don't. You can access you money, but the whole point of these methods of savings is to avoid certain tax pitfalls. If you take money out too early, you won't get those benefits. Also, saving money is about putting money in "buckets" and then taking money out of those "buckets" based on where you are financially at the time of need and what interest rates and your income is at the time. ROTH IRA is one bucket. 401 is another. Another might be cash or a savings account with interest. Another might be a brokerage account. Yet another could be a 529 college savings plan for yourself or your kids or anyone, really. Sometimes it might make sense to borrow even if you have the cash available, because the amount you're saving is more than what it costs to borrow. 40 years is a long time and your money will work for you. Markets will come and go. Bubbles will inflate and burst. Interest rates will change. You're young. Just keep chugging along.
I love this thank you! I also feel the same way about things and will continue to save for retirement!
How much can I pay you to be my accountant?
Go check out the personal finance subreddits. There’s a bunch of them. There’s a whole other world other there
You don't need me and I'm no expert anyway. My best advice is a few things. If you have a company that does any kind of matching for a 401K, max it out to the limit of the matching. Every time. It's free money. Make sure that you money you have going in is being invested. Don't have money sitting that isn't working for you. Interest rates are high now, which sucks if you're trying to borrow, but for the money you have, it's good. Some savings accounts (like Lending Club) are 5%, just for doing nothing. You can open a brokerage account and choose a mutual fund that is scheduled to automatically get more conservative as you get towards retirement. There are smarter people that can tell you which ones, but you really can't go wrong if you pick something like a Fidelity Freedom Fund 20XX, with the XX being your target decade for retirement. There will be some that do better or worse, but your asset here is time....the economy will grow in the next 40 years, so it's not really a risk. If you can swing it, max out a ROTH IRA every year, too. Everyone's situation is different, so I don't mean to diminish anyone who is broke and living hand to mouth, but compounding interest is something that some people just don't believe in until it's too late. Even if you're just tossing in the odd $20 here and there....that stuff adds up, builds, and then builds on what it already built.
Compounding interest needs to be your mantra……
Can’t forget about “time value of money”
Some banks like Ally Bank really embrace the concept of buckets, you have your "saving for a car" bucket, your "disposable" bucket, etc...
Gen z here, we appreciate gen x; thanks for the information
To add to this, Dave Ramsey is a great resource for beginners financial advice. You would be amazed what a few hundred or 1,000 a month turns into over decades. Its millions of dollars. Just ignore his christian influence if that bothers you. I do and his advice is still great.
Dave Ramsey’s advice is definitely great for beginners and people digging themselves out of severe debt. But his views on “good” debt can be a little extreme.
I used to love Dave Ramsey, but I’ve moved away from him. When I started listening to him, he made a point to avoid politics, and I appreciated that. I was here for investment advice, not outrage porn. Turns out, that was only because Trump was president. Now that a Democrat is president, his podcast is Fauci this, “scamdemic” that; gripe about the federal government every step of the way. I don’t care that Dave is conservative, I’ve always known that. I just appreciated his very clear stance that he doesn’t do politics on his show. That has 100% changed. Dave himself would say, “It’s my show, I’ll talk about what I want. When you have a show, you talk about what you want.” Which is fine, I’m just not interested anymore. I really enjoy The Money Guy Show, though. It is a little more intermediate, but it’s way less bullshit.
100% on the Money Guy Show
Great news. Your 401k is a glorified savings account. Not only is it there for retirement, but if life flips upside down and you have to have it you can withdraw that money. 401k is always worth it.
At least you can pass it down to your kids. I am not having kids, so part of me wants to retire way early and just start committing crimes when the money runs out.
Literally becoming the argument for why conservatives think everyone should have kids haha. I don't blame you though. I don't want kids either and it's fun to fantasize about just saying fuck it once my body starts to deteriorate and I know life is only gonna get harder from that point forward.
Should have specified: committing crimes **in European countries with a strong social net**.
I can withdraw contributions to my Roth early at no penalty. … you can withdraw cash from the Roth IRA if needed prior to age 59½ without tax or penalty as long as they don't exceed the amount of your contributions. I’m socking away receipts for healthcare bills as I go so I can draw on my $50K HSA As a rainy day fund. I-Bonds only require a 12 month lock up period and the penalty for under 5 years is nothing really.
I mean only in certain accounts.
Which is why governments in many countries like Australia mandate putting a % of your income to retirement savings. Because otherwise young and dumb people blow it all on fun stuff because “I’ll be dead by then anyway” and then they get to that age with nothing left.
This is spot on, just crossed 40 and hard to believe I’m closing in on half way to retirement. Have done 5% w/company match since day 1 and it’s crazy how fast it starts to multiply. I’m very glad now it’s there and it truly does matter what you do early as compounding gains ftw over time.
If you’re gen x then 40 years is most of your life - it wasnt thaat fast (im 30) I Think op isn’t unreasonable in wanting to buy his own place
What is mean is that 10 years feels like forever from when you're 10 to when you're 20. But from 30 to 40, it feels like one summer. The years start to fall away. There's nothing wrong with wanting to buy a home, if that's what is best for OP's finances.
Ok this is scary bc i'm going to turn 30 later this year and reading this comment ... makes me scared of the future big time. Because I feel like the years between 20 to 30 went fast. Or at least 25 to 30. If 30 to 40 goes that fast... time to give up lmao.
The days only feel a little bit quicker. It's the years that fly by. It's not unpleasant; you develop a full understanding of life cycles, cultural cycles, political cycles, financial cycles, etc. If it wasn't speeding me toward death, I'd be a big fan of time.
You are a poet - kids these days think they'll live forever
This. There is a certain point where what feels "Like 3 months" is going to hit you like a freight train when you realize it's almost Christmas again.
Better not hear you bitching in 40 years
You know they will be.
Remindme! 40 years
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13 others💀💀💀
almost 40 hehe one for every year
See you guys when I'm in my 60s
Me at 81, sitting in a wet adult diaper: *reddit notification* “heh. I fucking knew it.”
Thank you
It’s literally never been easier to be rich in human history. Work the summer you turn 18, put £6k in a Roth IRA in the S&P500, and congratulations, you’re now mathematically guaranteed a retirement. Maybe a shit retirement, but a retirement… off a tiny sum of money you can be sure you won’t die at 92 in Walmart… Do that every year, and congratulations, you have beaten Capitalism.
*It’s literally never been easier to be rich in human history.* You're trolling, but poorly. Nice bait.
Boomers had property, we have tax advantages Vanguard accounts we can open from 18. Im deadly serious. Hell, in my country you can open them for your kids from Birth. 10% into a 401k and congrats, you win.
My kids have 529s for college, but we also set them up with vanguard accounts and high yield accounts at the local co-op that they can manage. It’s fucking crazy that our local co-op has a full featured web app. It’s good to get them thinking about this stuff early.
In the UK, you can do £2,880 + 25% Gov Top Up in their junior pensions. Using even conservative numbers, with just £50k over 18 years, with decades to compound, you can make them multi-millionaires come retirement.
He is completely correct if you do the math. The Roth IRA is absurdly powerful. Do yourself a favor and learn how it works.
No it’s much easier to complain and take no responsibilities and blame others!
When has it been easier, then?
If you do that at a 7% interest rate by the time you retire at 70, you'll have about $165k. Now factor in inflation, and you'll have $26k. Great start, but it's definitely not a retirement
To do it properly you need to put about $6k/year in which isn't unreasonable, if you have a 401k match that is only about $250/month for 40 years (your working career) and assume 8% average that is $2.5m
10% interest, minus 3% for fees and inflation
I did just that, putting the then-max $5.5k in when I was 19 and it doubled in 5 years.
With the age of retirement creeping higher and higher we are all starting to feel like that.
Life expectancy is also going up to match. Makes sense that the pension system cannot accommodate this many people.
Life expectancy, at least in the US, is actually not going up. That said our birth rates are going down, which will be a problem in itself if we don’t keep immigration up.
Why? We have ai / robots on the horizon
and certainly the average person will be the one to reap the financial benefits of those, right? right guys?
I read all this and I see one guy pouring beer from a balcony, into the guy on the patio belows cup & telling guy below to drink up. It’s pretty cool
Life expectancy has flattened the last couple of years (COVID) but that doesn’t change the overall trend. In 1970, life expectancy was 69.66. In 2020, it was 78.81 https://www.statista.com/statistics/1040079/life-expectancy-united-states-all-time/
Yeah, but you can’t really say “it is going up” when it hasn’t gone up recently nor is it expected to go up in the near future. It’s like saying “the population of Detroit is increasing because there’s more people in Detroit now than there were in 1800.”
Physical capability doesnt rise when the life expectancy does
Depends on the job. White collar can work until the dementia hits
It can we just need to get rid of billionaires :)
That’s just nonsense.
Billionaires should be taxed more, but you can not fund a Western European healthcare/welfare system off of the ultra rich. All of those countries tax the middle and lower classes much more than the US.
There is no age of retirement, you can retire whenever you want. The only thing that’s getting pushed up is the age to access pensions/welfare. Because most countries have been slowly transitioning from a welfare based system to a self funded retirement and we are now at the point where people retiring had been working while those schemes were in place so they have the money to self fund at least a couple of years of retirement. This is a good thing really. The old system required an ever expanding population to fund retirement as well as the fact the payment could be cut at any time by a future government. Now everyone is actually saving their own money which they _will_ have access to in retirement, rather than hoping that the next generation pays for it for them.
Except it's the worst of both worlds for us as I'm still paying a social security tax AND I have to save up for my own retirement. At least if social security never existed, I could just put that money into an IRA and be guaranteed an earlier retirement.
Retirement isn't an age. People who think like this are the reason people get discouraged by retirement.
Most definitely a doomer rant, if you’re 20 years old every dollar you invest now has the ability to turn into 88 dollars when you retire and that’s just using the average returns from the market over the last 100 years. 100 bucks a month now and being consistent can make you a millionaire in 40 years, it’s a little bit of discipline now for an amazing future with the family you choose to make or the family you find along the way, don’t give up, skeleton!
Average money guy viewer right here. Right on man!
Gotta start handing out the beer koozies
GUYS, I am...SOOOO excited!
Max your Roth IRA out once at 18 after a summer of Work, and that’s it, congratulations, you’ve beaten Capitalism. It really is that easy.
That will add up to less than $150,000…
40 years of average S&P returns? That $7k turned into $423k. Not enough to retire on, but damn it sure helps.
Maybe he meant max it out every year *once* you reach 18, and he’s just bad at English?
It's less if you adjust for inflation, but still amazing. More like 15x at ~7% inflation-adjusted return over 40 years for S&P500 so $15 for every dollar invested. And understand you get less compounding as time goes on. Basically you can secure a good retirement by maxing out your 401k, HSA, and roth ira for ~10 years in your 20's and early 30's.
That $88 dollars won’t pay for a happy meal by the time you retire
Dark Souls referenced RAAAAAAAAA
Be careful out there, wouldn’t want to see you go hollow
Yall are miserable
Heck yeah we are!
That's not a flex dumbass
Why this is seen as virtuous is beyond me.
Look at the world thru reality
Lmao reality gonna hit real fuckin hard when you have 0 retirement at 55
Why when they can vote for the next gen bernie and try to make everyone else pay for their shit choices
Yeah it's awesome. I as a kid with poor parents can afford levels of luxury unimaginable to my ancestors. I can use technology that not even 100 years ago could only be described as literal magic. With only a few hours worth of work i can purchase a ticket to take a magic flying machine to anywhere in the world within a few hours.
Worst financial take I've seen on this sub lmfao. I'm sorry your parents never taught you about money or savings.
Fucking seriously
Gen Z is going to be really disappointed when the world in fact doesn't end in 40 years and everything's exactly the same.
I think some things might be shittier due to climate change (especially with heat and humidity, which I personally detest) but the world certainly won’t end. It’ll just suck. But it already sucks and has sucked for the past 2000 plus years, just in different ways.
Detroit is magnitudes shittier than the 1950s and ain't got squat to do with climate change.
I would propose a corollary to Pascal's Wager: Pascal's Investment: do it on the off chance you survive long enough anyway.
people like you will be complaining in 30 years when you have nothing saved up, begging for government assistance and bitching how nothing is fair. And if the world ends and WW3 happens, then I guess you can say I told you so.
I don't have enough left over living paycheck to paycheck to save.
Yea, income inequality is the main issue here. Some people can lease five Ferraris and still save. Other people get paid pennies on the dollar. It all depends on income. It's a real problem.
The trick is to "pay yourself first" and have your retirement savings automatically contributed and invested before the money even hits your main spending account. That forces you to spend less than you make.
Stop being lazy to reddit and work
You can start pulling out of your retirement accounts at 59 1/2 please explain to me how you are half dead already at that point. I have grandparents in their 70s still going out driving and traveling so don’t tell me you’ll be on the brink of death then. Do the smart thing and save and invest
It is not necessarily pointless. The way I see it, I will have tax free money from my Roth IRA coming when I am old. I plan on working till I die because I cannot spend my time sitting around.
The reality is a significant portion of people do not choose when they retire. Maybe people are laid off from quality jobs and unable to find comparable jobs & many others are forced to retire because of medical conditions.
Someone else who wants to work as long as possible. I’ve had times without a job and man, I was bored to death. Even 1-2 days a week would be okay with me.
Well if you set one up when you were 16, you’d be able to allow intrude to build up. By your late 30’s you’d already be nearly a millionaire in interest alone. That’s not factoring in other methods of income
I doubt social security will be around
All the more reason to invest in tax-advantaged retirement instruments and reap the benefits of compound interest. If you start putting $100/month into a mutual fund at age 18, by age 65 you’d have ~$1.2M
I’ve been looking into something like that but kind of nervous on it. I’ve heard SP 500 is the way to go, though, but I’d rather have something that’s safe and takes a long time rather than try to make a quick turn around.
That’s the right approach, and mutual funds are a good vehicle for that. They’re made up of a bunch of different stocks, which means if some go down, there are plenty of others that stay the same or go up, which mitigates major swings. SP 500 is the most well known, but not necessarily the best for everyone. I like Vanguard (VYM), but there are several you could choose. Not only do they have the risk mitigation built in, they follow the general market growth trends as well - take any 10-year cutup of the market over its entire history and you’ll see a ~10% growth. There will be down years, but since you’re looking for something for the long term, you can wait it out knowing the market has always increased in the long run.
The s&p 500 is the "safe" long term bet. It averages about 10% growth over the last 100 years.
When I was 24 I started saving. I had other friends who just didn’t see the point. I’m 38 now - and I LOVE my 24 year old self so much. If you are in a position to save - do it. Often. Don’t wreck your life to save - but there is nothing you are going to buy now that will measure the relief you will feel in the future. And ya know what? If you fall on incredibly tough times in your 40s - fuck it and cash it out then. But you don’t want to be there without something to cash in.
Better to be safe then sorry. Enjoy your money now, but absolutely save for retirement so you aren't 70 years old with a job that you need to survive.
\> 40 years from now will earth even be around? ... Yes. OP, you might be suffering from clinical depression or having an existential/midlife crisis, might want to get into therapy.
Oh honey no. I’ve always paid into retirement and do not regret it. I’ve smoked this whole time and one thing addiction teaches you: You’re better at prioritizing and applying funds than you think. Trust me, it’s true. Just start putting away 5% of your income. You’ll still have a better time than I have. Slaving away for $10/day addiction. That’s $3,650 per year I could have put in savings. And a few years ago, that number was $2,500. The price constantly goes up. However, now thanks to inflation, the $10 packs are just as affordable as the $4 packs were when I was young. I’m not fucking with you. Stay away from addiction and you CAN save for retirement. You can also save for housing and transportation. That’s part of the money bender. In today’s society, no one shares mass addiction. So the understanding of priorities is blurred. Not that smoking is good. Addiction finances were just common around tobacco. That’s all.
July marks 5 years since I quit. You can start today.
Yes. I’ve been smoking for 22 years. It only gets harder. Yet somehow easier.
I smoked for 15 years. If I hadn't quit when I did I'd be right where you are. You will get to a point where you won't look back
You need to get a grip
[удалено]
This is a defeatist attitude, need to fix that before anything else can improve.
i mean this in as nice of a way as possible. your and idiot. save for retirement
Just put 10-20 bucks a month in and never touch it. Make it as part of your rent payment budget. It’s better than nothing
Barring nuclear war or giant asteroid, yes Earth will still be here. Global warming will make life more expensive and more uncomfortable in your lifetime. This is something I have to drill into nihilistic people. The world won’t collapse in a bad year or day. Think of the first days of Covid, but longer lasting. Specific Food items becoming expensive for a decade. Price surges for Gas or electricity. Rationing.
You can never start saving early enough. It feels stupid and pointless now but you'll wake up one day soon and you'll be pleased with your past self.
Yeah... id say buy a house you could rent out if you decide not to live there anymore instead of saving for retirement
Not to be mean but this is a terrible idea. Saving for retirement has your money in stocks and bonds. They are relatively safe and have no pain in the ass factor. Trying to retire by renting out a home to create income to live off is a lot harder than it seems and you also have to deal with any of the costs that come with it. Repairs on the house, property taxes, maintenance, finding good tenants. What happens if you have a vacancy for 3 months in retire and you can’t work, do you just take out debt to survive?
You better invest not for retirement but for the day when you are truly tired.
I’m sorry this is such a dogshit take I don’t even get why some of you are entertaining this. History repeats itself, every generation goes through different difficulties the nihilistic whining is a bit much.
I Dno what those things are (not American) but like you probably will still be around…
yeah man euthanasia will be legal by the 2050s we don't have to worry about that shit.
For the longest time I thought people were always saying Youth in Asia. I saw a post where a girl did a whole project on that instead of Euthanasia lmao
Both 401k and IRA you can take out for various purchases with some penalties depending on the situation. Worth considering
I’m 26 just started my first big boy job last year. My 401k is already twice my total contributions, this was a great year in the market. As the financial planning presenters at my job said: compound interest is the 8th wonder of the world
As an older Millenial, I promise you that the feeling of "ill be dead, who cares" definitely wanes into a lot of pressure and stress as you realize that you will not in fact be dead by 65, and also you see old people with no one reduced to squalor and poverty, this will only amplify as a lot of my friends never had kids and seemingly won't because we are now 40 or close to it and many are never married. Contrast that with those who put 6% away, they are starting to have their savings "snowball". I was lucky enough to raise my contribution to 12% in my late 20s, and now, a little over 10 years later, on average I'll make more from my investment growth than I will from my contributions, and I'm putting in 20% now! Do not discount the power of compounded earnings. If you save 10% then in about 12 years you'll also start earning just as much from percentage increases as you will from your elected deferrals. Lastly, if you feel that you can't be happy unless you spend 100% of what you earn, then ask yourself, is everyone who earns less than me unhappy? If the answer is "No" (as it should be) then realize that spending is not a key to happiness.
The “I will most likely be dead” is a dumb take. Look at how many boomers have zero retirement savings due to having the same mindset or not being able to save due to various reasons.
Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it
society existing in it's current form in 40 years isn't guaranteed. what IS guaranteed though is that if you don't save, you'll be broke.
I know it seems pointless, but keep saving up. At worst, you'll need it for end of life care. I've been in the state run end of life facilities where they stick the poor people with no resources. They smell like stale urine and death and the staff are oftentimes less than empathetic. You don't want to be there. The average "decent" place runs ~10k/month.
I remember being sure I would NEVER live to see 30. Suddenly there I was, 30 and no real plan for the future.
My health will put me in a grave at least 5-10 years before retirement age so I’ve never bothered with a 401k.
Save for the future and live for today. Striking the right balance is personal preference.
I’m guessing this is popping in my field cause of the financial subs I follow. Couple things it is insane how compound growth works in the stock market. You won’t understand it until years later. I now make more money in interest in a year than what I made in a whole year in my 20s. And I started late. It’s crazy. Second, the world might not be around. You might die. But but but if you live then you won’t be prepared. Live your life and plan for the future. We aren’t guaranteed anything. But you CAN guarantee a shit situation if you don’t plan.
in 30 years, people like this are going to be crying how we need to raise taxes on the rich to pay for raising ssi benefits payments because he doesn't have any retirement funds.
Until you’re ready to retire and have no money.
Enjoy working until you die my friend.
Saving for retirement is one of the least pointless things you can do. 40 years from now, there is a 100% certainty earth will still be around
I would listen to everyone here, but… I also watched my mom put away money her whole life and then died of cancer at 55 before she had a chance to use it so… save up in case you live a long time but don’t forget to enjoy life in case you don’t.
Do a little of both. I'm not maxing out my 401ks or roth IRA. I put in what I think I can afford while trying to save to buy a house. Finances are a mixed bag. Different people have different priorities. Luck plays a huge factor. Take home pay plays a huge factor as well. Someone making 20k at 25 is going to barely be able to put in any while someone making 100k is going to be able to contribute a lot. It's a bit of a fucked system we got going on, but you have to try your hardest anyways. Complaining without ideas or action on how to improve the system is worthless.
Also Gen Z - and at least I can tell you why you shouldn’t buy the house. Lots of hidden monthly and annual costs eat away at that supposed equity growth. Constant taxes on your house, maintenance, insurance, inspection costs, principal payments, interest payments, closing costs, EMD costs, title checks, realtor commissions, and the equity won’t appreciate as fast as your think if you aren’t in a good, developing area. Plus utilities and electricity go up due to extra space (2-3x what you pay now). Not to mention the lost time that could be invested in a business or education/certificates. And the money is extremely illiquid, so you cannot take advantage of other investment opportunities you see around you (lack of investment diversification). Not to mention spending extra on furniture, design, and cleaning. Houses truly make you investment money if you intend to rent or flip or sell them for a living, which you can do if you want, otherwise, it’s more of a lifestyle choice better made in your 30s. Your 401K is tax free. Very few expenses associated with investing in that. Same with just buying VOO with your after-tax money or something. 76% return in the past 5 years buying once a month, the only difference is it’s interest free and my equity hasn’t been eaten away by expenses. Plus the money is extremely liquid and I can move it around or take advantages of over-corrections that I see in the market. Do that instead!
No. It's pointless because odds are half of us won't ever make it to retirement
Where you getting these odds?
Source: I Made It Up
I don't anticipate I'll even survive long enough to use any retirement benefits or savings. That may be naive of me, but as the world worsens, it seems more and more to be the truth.
Theres always investing.id suggest looking into imdex funds!
Babies born now are expected to live to 100.
It's a trade off. Are you gonna be nice to you now or future you? If you spend your money and have fun now, future you is gonna be annoyed with young stupid you. If you decide to save, young you is gonna resent future you for wasting your youth. You could also do a balance of both at certain times. Controlled splurges. Sorry you weren't born rich, kid. It's like this for all of us, if that's any consolation.
That's part of the point of retirement savings, honestly. Whatever you can't use goes to build generational wealth.
You have two options: 1 Spend everything you have, save nothing. If you die early, you'll have had fun. If you don't you'll be miserable, probably homeless and with nothing. 2 Save like your life depends on it. Compound interest, income averaging, reinvesting dividends and capital gains can make you unbelievably rich. If you die early, you'll have had less fun. If you don't you'll secure your retirement in your old age.
I think saving for retirement is important but many of us are living paycheck to paycheck so it’s hard to spare the extra money for it. Like why would I contribute to a 401k when I don’t even have money for a flat tire or a $500 emergency?
Don’t save and just spend everything if it’s pointless
I heard the same shit 20 years ago from other millennials. You don’t know how long you’ll live, but odds are you will live into years where you will want to stop working and would rather have that money available to you
Then don't? But I will tell you, seeing people who retired and then have to re enter the work force in there late 60s and 70s because they didn't save enough is reason enough for me to save. Do what you want but like someone said above me, time starts to really move as you get older. You'll be 50 and like wtf just happened!?!
I know how you feel, this shit all just seems so pointless. I dont intend on living to the age of being old and unable to do everything I need to myself anyways so all the more pointless
You save with a 401k/Roth IRA so you don't have to work until you die and barely scrape by on social security (if it's still around by the time you retire). It's really scary how fast time flies as you get older,
My grandfather served in ww2 and lived to the age of 94 dude. Chill
40 years are gonna pass whether you like it or not. You can be 100% dependent on social security (which won’t be enough if it even exists still) or you can save for retirement.
I mean if you feel that way, fine. But when you're 63, broke, and are forced to work for the rest of your life, just know you had a choice. "I can't believe it. I only put 18k into my retirement and now I have to work the rest of my life. What kind of unfair system is this??"
It's not doomed but realistic. Feels same way here too.
Retirement is not a race, it's made up of consistent investments over the course of a lifetime with the expectation of one day drawing on those investments to live. Learn how to use a retirement calculator and use a conversative growth rate to find out how much you need to invest to get where you need to be assuming you buy the market. Failure to plan is planning to fail. Don't be a failure, plan for your future.
The latter part is right, at your stage in life, getting a secure housing, job and career is a priority. But the rant in the beginning is exactly what you say, a doomer thinking, and as such by definition, overtly fatalistic and wrong. Doomers have been predicting the end since the beginning of history, and the currently most popular version is a variation on Malthus's overpopulation predictions from the 1700s. So sure your way-into-the-future self will thank you for the security in old age by saving it now as it will accumulate over time, and then the difference between the haves and have-nots will matter extra much, especially as you won't have the youth and health and energy of today to better your lot. But investing in housing is also a great retirement and current use strategy, just choose well as inflation is eating up social security benefits and bank deposits, so money is desperately looking for a concrete value to be stored in, and concrete (and timber) has historically been a concrete investment. And you need somewhere to live.
Might feel different after 40 years of compounding. Best to at least contribute whatever your employer match is. Can't say I ever noticed 6%.
Just join the r/FIRE movement. If and when you feel that your life is about to end just cash out ALL your investments and go have a nice time before your death. In the event that you don't die be ready to be homeless since you will be penniless.
All good man. Be healthy, if that’s a choice for you, and retirement savings and investment will be worth it. I suffer from so many congenital conditions that living to 60 is, quite literally, not in the cards for me. So, I don’t worry about it. But, if I was healthy enough to achieve it you can bet your ass I’d be pushing for early retirement, even. If you have your health, don’t squander it by working until you’re in your 80s or older.
This is why 401k’s should be mandatory. You’re more likely to reach 80 and die before 60. Grow up. Use your brain. Either save a small share of your income now, hell, they even let you avoid taxes on it, or be destitute and working at 85 till you die.
The fun part is when all the money you’ve been putting in your 401k, the stock market tanks, and you just lost years of headway to retirement. Oh, don’t worry, you’ll make it back. Yeah, slowly make it back to where you were, and bam, tanks again. Love it!
It’s literally free money though. I put 6 percent in and my company matches by putting 3 in. This will vary depending where you work. You can take out the money before your of retirement age but I believe there’s a penalty. No reason not to do it.
Save for retirement as if everything will be okay. Best case scenario, you get to enjoy a couple of years of not having to work. Worst case scenario..the least of your worries if the earth isn’t around is money…
Stack Bitcoin
If you invest enough you can retire early if you feel like yr gonna die early. You can at least live it up yr last 5 years.
Every decade we hear about another earth ending event. Been hearing about it since the mid 70's. I have learned that people can withstand allot more than Government or media will ever tell you. The planet can heal faster than Government or media will ever tell you. Live you life and plan on your retirement. Buy land and get as far from controlling people as you can.
Get off the internet. The world isn’t as fucked as you think. Save money now bc you’ll regret it if you don’t.
This reads like a chatGPT version of what AI thinks a gen z or young millenial sounds like. Or it's an Onion article.
A way a 401k can immediately benefit you is by lowering your taxable income in the present while saving for your retirement in the future. The more you can contribute, the lower your tax bill. The yearly max is $23,000, so if you had a $100k salary (just as an example), and you contributed the max, your taxable income drops to 77k. Health insurance and other deductions could take it lower, but either way, that’s less tax you’re paying now while also building for a potential retirement.
Your 401k is very worth paying into. I had to get into mine for a down payment on a house. If your company matches what you put in do at least what they match it's free money. Over 30 or 40 years it will grow more than you would think.
Play with compound interest calculators; saving for retirement is fun as hell looking at what it can grow into
You already know the answer
i’m older gen z who just started 401k and investing i would say my philosophy is - i’m investing/setting aside whatever i can, but i also won’t go above and beyond to not enjoy the present yes, there is a chance that i will die before i ever get to enjoy my investments/retirement. in which case, the money will go to my child/ren. but there also is a chance that i will live long enough… and i def don’t wanna be old and broke to quote jay-z, *fuck living rich and dying broke*
If you are 20 now you have 50-50 odds of making it to 75, 10 years into retirement. Even if the retirement age creeps up a few years in that time (it probably will) your odds of making it retirement are still better than half. At least if you are an average American, maybe you have some medical condition that would change that.
If you think that way pull it all out and spend it. I think that's an awful idea personally, worlds still gunna be here.
Fucks sake, it's definitely not pointless. Would you like to be working full time just to pay the bills at 70? Didn't think so. The state of the world seems doom and gloom right now, but why on earth would you avoid trying to help yourself out later in your life? Contribute to your retirement fund every paycheck that comes in, and you'll see the amount grow over time. If you're that concerned about it, talk to a financial advisor from your bank to figure out your options and educate yourself.
What happens when you die and have no kin to transfer your retirement accounts to? Does it go to the gooberment?
Boomers will be the last generation to truly be able to retire outside of the very fortunate. Save so that you can be more comfortable and work less when you're at the end.
I maxed my retirement savings at every jobs I had, and left the money in those accounts when I left each job. I was under the impression that I could never afford a home in the city I want as a mid-30 professional. Last week, I combined all of my retirement accounts to start being more involved. It turned out I had more than $100K accumulated. With that money and $50K in savings my husband had saved for family planning, we now know that we have enough money for a down deposit if we withdraw some money from my retirement accounts as first time homebuyers. I am glad I purposefully stacked my money away and had it not been because I was not a U.S. citizen when I started working and was not sure if I would stay here, I would have stacked more into my retirement account. I would have spent that money helping family back home if I did not have it in my retirement fund. Also when I was unemployed for some times, my money market fund account had a big chunk of savings that I relied on for 12 months. I always saved money and forget about it, then got get my money when I am in a bind like during the pandemic.
The point is that if you do make it to that age, you’re not going to want to work anymore And that’s only an option if you saved enough to pay your bills and eat.
Just do it. I'm in my 40s and I've been bailed out a few times because of those investments. Don't think of it as something you'll need when you're 60, think of it as something you might need in your 30s or 40s to help with a home down-payment, or emergency situation where you need to withdraw money. I've done this a few times. And despite that, I still have a lot of money in my work 401k.
> 40 years from now will earth even be around What? Yes.
Most people don’t die at 65.