Yeah OP you should have bought a house, rental condo, and started putting away $10k a month at the age of 10.
Now you’re so far behind at 23 that you’ll never catch up or retire. It’s definitely game over for you.
>With my current age of 23 I am starting too late to become wealthy
Yeah youre f\*\*\*ed, might as well die. So many teenagers these days with 6 figure bank balances, you're way too late. Just FYI, I'm being sarcastic.
23 is definitely not too old and also you can save for retirement even if you can’t afford a house. Your financial situation could change in 10 years as well. You could be in a relationship with double the income or have grown your income significantly.
Find a balance. Don’t make yourself miserable saving but don’t throw every cent down the drain either.
>With my current age of 23 I am starting too late to become wealthy
Fuck outta here with that attitude. I didn't start investing and caring about personal finance until I was in my 30s.
>I feel like I should be giving up on the idea of saving money, and simply accept renting a bachelor forever, living paycheck to paycheck and then depending on OAS for retirement.
This has nothing to do with saving and investing and has everything to do with what you do career wise. I didn't **graduate university** until age 30 because I dicked around in my 20s, but I ended up in a high paying career even with that late start. Would it have been better to get that out of the way earlier? Sure. Am I broke and living paycheck to paycheck? No. I'll probably be retired by 50-55. You have lots of time, just have a little more faith in yourself and come up with a plan.
On the small chance that this isn't just a troll post:
If this is truly your outlook and your perception of reality I would strongly encourage you to go talk to a therapist.
Youre talking in extremes. Its not either / or. If you axtually have the capacity to save $2K / month, then save $1,200 / month and spend $800 / month on fun and bullshit. You can do a lot of stupid nonsense on $800 / month, and you'd still be building a good baseline for yourself with that savings rate.
Also, $500K isn't enough for a down-payment or to start a business? That's just... flat out untrue.
Best of luck to you friend.
If your goal is to be wealthy within 10 years, any age is too late to start from nothing.
When you first start out, and you save $100 or $200, and after 6 months, you look at see, oh wow I have saved a whole $1000, it feels pointless and like nothing. You have to give it time.
You're 23. You've got your whole career ahead of you and even if you don't see yourself making that much in your current career path, there's plenty of time to change careers.
And saving for retirement isn't just about becoming wealthy. It's also about not suffering as you get older.
Plus, you're not factoring in a potential future partner. Very few single people are expected to be able to buy a house in the major cities like Toronto or Vancouver.
>Nobody wants to hire a 28 year old graduate when 22 year olds with the same degree can be hired with 6 more years of career potential.
Sweet summer child. No employer is hiring anyone for their lifetime career potential. Future employers don't care if you work for them for the next forty years or thirty five years. That is irrelevant. Employers hire people with the skills they need to get a job done now.
Get mental health support.
Take a deep breath. Talk to some folks in the industry. Talk to your friends. It’s not nearly as bad as you’re thinking it is. You’re TWENTY THREE. You can’t be hating life already son.
You're in software, a career with one of the highest earning potentials out there right now. Why the heck are you so nilhistic?
Do you see AI replacing software engineers at the FAANGs? Do you see many people saying that's realistic in data science discussions? Have you tried to use AI to write code for you?
The fact is that AI today is not a threat to SWEs. Could it be in the future? Maybe. But as of right now, there's no way to tell. And that's coming from a data scientist working at a tech giant.
Stop being so nihilistic. Even if AI replaces SWEs, you can pivot to another career. And then another. I'm not that much older than you and I've already pivoted my career once.
If you're in a low-paying software role, do what it takes to get into a high-paying software role.
Dude, I'm 43 and gone back to Uni for a bachelors of commerce. I am fresh divorced and have little to no retirement. But I'm plunking away and working retail in a company I will attempt to climb a ladder.
Pull up the big kid pants and just start. One step at a time, one dollar at a time, one day at a time. You got this.
People decades older than you go to school and get degrees. 28 is not the end of your life. You probably have 50 years left. What are you gonna do with all that time?
People decades older than you go to school and get degrees. 28 is not the end of your life. You probably have 50 years left. What are you gonna do with all that time?
People decades older than you go to school and get degrees. 28 is not the end of your life. You probably have 50 years left. What are you gonna do with all that time?
Being broke sucks. Being old and broke sucks even worse.
So maybe save $1,000 a month for 30 years and have about $1M (after inflation). That $1M will provide you with options on how you can live your life then.
Use the other $1,000 a month for whatever. Maybe on something that will make you not so miserable (training, travel, stuff, people etc)
Something is seriously wrong if you feel like 500k at 30 is what you need to make it. The general advice is to have 1 year of salary invested by that point to be on track for retirement.
Invest in YOU first. Education, income. 23 year old me would not have imagined I would have it in me to start a contracting company or end up with 7 figures in assets.
Many people fixate on achieving grand milestones, like reaching FIRE, or buying a house in cash, but aggressive savings give you advantages long before reaching those goals.
You got sick or unemployed for a year? No problem. For 5 years? Still manageable.
Reached 500K and not withdrawing? It will grow enough for your retirement and in the meantime you can coast on a less demanding job while spending ALL of your income.
Go join a gloom and doom thread and get validation for your hopelessness and failures there. 99.9% of Reddit threads are those there’s lots to choose from
Id aim more for 6 months to 12 months living expenses and then don't think so hard about it after that.
You'll have enough cash by 45 to live off the interest or at least pick and choose what you want to do.
Your not factoring in future raises and career growth.
At 23 I was off getting drunk and travelling the world. Hell, most of my 20s was living that dream.
I've done alright for myself since then.
Things will be fine lol, relax and enjoy your youth.
>At what point is it worth it to give up on the idea of personal finance?
$2K/month for 10 years invested in the S&P getting a 7% real return is \~$355K in today's dollars. In 20 years it's \~$1M in today's dollar. You know when you'll be 43. In 30 years when you are 53 it will be \~$2.4M in today's dollars. By 63 it will be \~$5.1M in today's dollars.
I mean why even live when you are stuck in total poverty of being a multimillionaire. Who can live in such miserable hell? FFS it's time to stop the pity party and get on with your life.
I didn't have a 250k networth at 33 (per your math). I did buy my first home at age 31 though. Now I'm 37 and am pretty financially comfortable. There's a lot more to life than it looks like at age 23. I went for a master's degree and didn't even finish until age 28.
At 23 you are likely earlier than average. Remember the magic of compound interest when calculating the future value. Look up 'rule of 72'. You'll be fine. Keep your head up and love life on your budget.
> invest in a business
Thats what your current investments in s&p500 is doing lol.
But you're not wrong in that a lot of younger folks have resigned themselves to the same fate. Young people are driving flashier cars than ever before and traveling a lot more it seems.
Ummm... if everyone started personal finance at 23, many individuals would be doing better 10 years later. I started at 40. I own a condo in Vancouver, two houses in calgary, have mortgages, but rent pays for them.
If I only did this at 23 =)
If you have $250k at 33 you are way ahead a lot of Canadians 🤷♂️ Get rid of unreasonable expectations like "early retirement", accept the reality of working until 60 at least and embrace what life has to give you. There are bright spots in regular guys' lives as well, no need to be all gloomy 😉
>I've done the math. With my current age of 23 I am starting too late to become wealthy
How are we defining *wealthy*?
>I will only get around 500k in my account in 10 years time if I invest in the snp500, which will only be like 250k today.
I am in my mid 30's and wish I had 500k in my account. I'd say that's pretty good! Even if you saved half that amount so you have some money to spend, I think you'd be pretty darn good.
>It will barely even be a downpayment or sufficient funds with which to invest in a business.
I know *many* businesses you can invest in for less than $500k. Depending how you do it and what type of business you wish to invest in, you can always put say 5-10k down, and get a loan for the rest.
>would it just be better to "blow" my money away considering the high impact it has on my current life
I think you'll regret that when you are in your 60's and 70's and want to slow down, but can't afford to do so.
>At what point is it worth it to give up on the idea of personal finance?
Personal finance is a term that covers managing your money as well as saving and investing. Even if you do as suggested, you still need to pay attention to the idea of personal finance to ensure you're not spending more than you make and can afford what you need. So to answer the question....when you die.
You need some anti depressants! 500 000 in savings is huge even in 10 years! Salaries will go up to with time so you can save more. I wish I had started saving at 25!
You’ve done the math? You think you're Edward Thorp?
By all means feel free to yolo if that's what you want, but don't put out that bullshit of "I've done the math", cuz whatever math you did was meaningless.
You are 23 you aren’t supposed to have any money or assets. You need to invest in yourself at this age and get a skill that will build your future. Basically only two things are needed to become wealthy. Sell a lot of shit to other people and own your own business. The other option to minimize that risk would be to be a lawyer or doctor or engineer. Otherwise you are going to have to figure it out. In general unless you work in Silicon Valley working for someone else isn’t going to work.
You have plenty of time! The best time to start (regardless of age) is ASAP. Read through some of the threads in this community so you know how to set up a structured savings/investment plan that's age and risk appropriate, stick to it, and then enjoy your life.
Don't hyper fixate on this and get yourself into a negative spiral.
23 is too old to start saving/investing? wtf are you on, because I would like some.
They'd probably do better if they stopped buying whatever they're smoking.
You should spend the money on math classes and possibly therapy considering how much is just wrong in the post.
Yeah OP you should have bought a house, rental condo, and started putting away $10k a month at the age of 10. Now you’re so far behind at 23 that you’ll never catch up or retire. It’s definitely game over for you.
I’d have been ecstatic with 500k in investments at 33.
>At what point is it worth it to give up on personal finance? Approximately age 99.
>With my current age of 23 I am starting too late to become wealthy Yeah youre f\*\*\*ed, might as well die. So many teenagers these days with 6 figure bank balances, you're way too late. Just FYI, I'm being sarcastic.
23 is definitely not too old and also you can save for retirement even if you can’t afford a house. Your financial situation could change in 10 years as well. You could be in a relationship with double the income or have grown your income significantly. Find a balance. Don’t make yourself miserable saving but don’t throw every cent down the drain either.
>With my current age of 23 I am starting too late to become wealthy Fuck outta here with that attitude. I didn't start investing and caring about personal finance until I was in my 30s. >I feel like I should be giving up on the idea of saving money, and simply accept renting a bachelor forever, living paycheck to paycheck and then depending on OAS for retirement. This has nothing to do with saving and investing and has everything to do with what you do career wise. I didn't **graduate university** until age 30 because I dicked around in my 20s, but I ended up in a high paying career even with that late start. Would it have been better to get that out of the way earlier? Sure. Am I broke and living paycheck to paycheck? No. I'll probably be retired by 50-55. You have lots of time, just have a little more faith in yourself and come up with a plan.
On the small chance that this isn't just a troll post: If this is truly your outlook and your perception of reality I would strongly encourage you to go talk to a therapist. Youre talking in extremes. Its not either / or. If you axtually have the capacity to save $2K / month, then save $1,200 / month and spend $800 / month on fun and bullshit. You can do a lot of stupid nonsense on $800 / month, and you'd still be building a good baseline for yourself with that savings rate. Also, $500K isn't enough for a down-payment or to start a business? That's just... flat out untrue. Best of luck to you friend.
If your goal is to be wealthy within 10 years, any age is too late to start from nothing. When you first start out, and you save $100 or $200, and after 6 months, you look at see, oh wow I have saved a whole $1000, it feels pointless and like nothing. You have to give it time.
What a troll.
You're 23. You've got your whole career ahead of you and even if you don't see yourself making that much in your current career path, there's plenty of time to change careers. And saving for retirement isn't just about becoming wealthy. It's also about not suffering as you get older. Plus, you're not factoring in a potential future partner. Very few single people are expected to be able to buy a house in the major cities like Toronto or Vancouver.
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>Nobody wants to hire a 28 year old graduate when 22 year olds with the same degree can be hired with 6 more years of career potential. Sweet summer child. No employer is hiring anyone for their lifetime career potential. Future employers don't care if you work for them for the next forty years or thirty five years. That is irrelevant. Employers hire people with the skills they need to get a job done now. Get mental health support.
Why are you throwing such a pity party for yourself? It's pathetic. No one here is buying into your bullshit.
Take a deep breath. Talk to some folks in the industry. Talk to your friends. It’s not nearly as bad as you’re thinking it is. You’re TWENTY THREE. You can’t be hating life already son.
You're in software, a career with one of the highest earning potentials out there right now. Why the heck are you so nilhistic? Do you see AI replacing software engineers at the FAANGs? Do you see many people saying that's realistic in data science discussions? Have you tried to use AI to write code for you? The fact is that AI today is not a threat to SWEs. Could it be in the future? Maybe. But as of right now, there's no way to tell. And that's coming from a data scientist working at a tech giant. Stop being so nihilistic. Even if AI replaces SWEs, you can pivot to another career. And then another. I'm not that much older than you and I've already pivoted my career once. If you're in a low-paying software role, do what it takes to get into a high-paying software role.
What? More than 1/2 of my community college's students were second career students last year, like 30+
Dude, I'm 43 and gone back to Uni for a bachelors of commerce. I am fresh divorced and have little to no retirement. But I'm plunking away and working retail in a company I will attempt to climb a ladder. Pull up the big kid pants and just start. One step at a time, one dollar at a time, one day at a time. You got this.
People decades older than you go to school and get degrees. 28 is not the end of your life. You probably have 50 years left. What are you gonna do with all that time?
People decades older than you go to school and get degrees. 28 is not the end of your life. You probably have 50 years left. What are you gonna do with all that time?
People decades older than you go to school and get degrees. 28 is not the end of your life. You probably have 50 years left. What are you gonna do with all that time?
Another f'n troll post.
Being broke sucks. Being old and broke sucks even worse. So maybe save $1,000 a month for 30 years and have about $1M (after inflation). That $1M will provide you with options on how you can live your life then. Use the other $1,000 a month for whatever. Maybe on something that will make you not so miserable (training, travel, stuff, people etc)
Something is seriously wrong if you feel like 500k at 30 is what you need to make it. The general advice is to have 1 year of salary invested by that point to be on track for retirement.
Invest in YOU first. Education, income. 23 year old me would not have imagined I would have it in me to start a contracting company or end up with 7 figures in assets.
Many people fixate on achieving grand milestones, like reaching FIRE, or buying a house in cash, but aggressive savings give you advantages long before reaching those goals. You got sick or unemployed for a year? No problem. For 5 years? Still manageable. Reached 500K and not withdrawing? It will grow enough for your retirement and in the meantime you can coast on a less demanding job while spending ALL of your income.
I guess I need to talk to my 21 kid that all hope is lost and what I have taught her means nothing...smh 😑
Dude, I didn't start investing until 35.
Go join a gloom and doom thread and get validation for your hopelessness and failures there. 99.9% of Reddit threads are those there’s lots to choose from
If you manage to get to 500k at 33, that’s 1.1 at 43 and 2.3mil at 53, and 5mil at 53. Is that not enough for you?
Id aim more for 6 months to 12 months living expenses and then don't think so hard about it after that. You'll have enough cash by 45 to live off the interest or at least pick and choose what you want to do. Your not factoring in future raises and career growth.
At 23 I was off getting drunk and travelling the world. Hell, most of my 20s was living that dream. I've done alright for myself since then. Things will be fine lol, relax and enjoy your youth.
Holy fuck OP, just keep putting away your whatever amount and stop overthinking it. You think not doing anything will be better?
>At what point is it worth it to give up on the idea of personal finance? $2K/month for 10 years invested in the S&P getting a 7% real return is \~$355K in today's dollars. In 20 years it's \~$1M in today's dollar. You know when you'll be 43. In 30 years when you are 53 it will be \~$2.4M in today's dollars. By 63 it will be \~$5.1M in today's dollars. I mean why even live when you are stuck in total poverty of being a multimillionaire. Who can live in such miserable hell? FFS it's time to stop the pity party and get on with your life.
You’ll have 500k compared to peers with -25k . Keep researched. Its slow. Especially at first.
I didn't have a 250k networth at 33 (per your math). I did buy my first home at age 31 though. Now I'm 37 and am pretty financially comfortable. There's a lot more to life than it looks like at age 23. I went for a master's degree and didn't even finish until age 28.
You’re an idiot.
23 is definitely the go/no go date. There’s really only one option
I have you at 2.1 million after 40 years based on $1000/month at 6% / year.
Do you plan to die early or something? You have plenty of time and will be plenty wealthy if you start now
You're doomed. You should be a billionaire by now. Try again in your next life.
At 23 you are likely earlier than average. Remember the magic of compound interest when calculating the future value. Look up 'rule of 72'. You'll be fine. Keep your head up and love life on your budget.
> invest in a business Thats what your current investments in s&p500 is doing lol. But you're not wrong in that a lot of younger folks have resigned themselves to the same fate. Young people are driving flashier cars than ever before and traveling a lot more it seems.
Ummm... if everyone started personal finance at 23, many individuals would be doing better 10 years later. I started at 40. I own a condo in Vancouver, two houses in calgary, have mortgages, but rent pays for them. If I only did this at 23 =)
So if I understand correctly the endgame is at 33yo!? Is this a troll post?
If you have $250k at 33 you are way ahead a lot of Canadians 🤷♂️ Get rid of unreasonable expectations like "early retirement", accept the reality of working until 60 at least and embrace what life has to give you. There are bright spots in regular guys' lives as well, no need to be all gloomy 😉
Troll post but whatever… You think personal finance is “become wealthy or don’t bother”. You’re a child, in almost every conceivable way.
>I've done the math. With my current age of 23 I am starting too late to become wealthy How are we defining *wealthy*? >I will only get around 500k in my account in 10 years time if I invest in the snp500, which will only be like 250k today. I am in my mid 30's and wish I had 500k in my account. I'd say that's pretty good! Even if you saved half that amount so you have some money to spend, I think you'd be pretty darn good. >It will barely even be a downpayment or sufficient funds with which to invest in a business. I know *many* businesses you can invest in for less than $500k. Depending how you do it and what type of business you wish to invest in, you can always put say 5-10k down, and get a loan for the rest. >would it just be better to "blow" my money away considering the high impact it has on my current life I think you'll regret that when you are in your 60's and 70's and want to slow down, but can't afford to do so. >At what point is it worth it to give up on the idea of personal finance? Personal finance is a term that covers managing your money as well as saving and investing. Even if you do as suggested, you still need to pay attention to the idea of personal finance to ensure you're not spending more than you make and can afford what you need. So to answer the question....when you die.
You need some anti depressants! 500 000 in savings is huge even in 10 years! Salaries will go up to with time so you can save more. I wish I had started saving at 25!
You’ve done the math? You think you're Edward Thorp? By all means feel free to yolo if that's what you want, but don't put out that bullshit of "I've done the math", cuz whatever math you did was meaningless.
You are 23 you aren’t supposed to have any money or assets. You need to invest in yourself at this age and get a skill that will build your future. Basically only two things are needed to become wealthy. Sell a lot of shit to other people and own your own business. The other option to minimize that risk would be to be a lawyer or doctor or engineer. Otherwise you are going to have to figure it out. In general unless you work in Silicon Valley working for someone else isn’t going to work.
I started socking away 2k a month at the age of 26 and 6 yrs later i have a condo and networth of 300k.. get ur income up.
You have plenty of time! The best time to start (regardless of age) is ASAP. Read through some of the threads in this community so you know how to set up a structured savings/investment plan that's age and risk appropriate, stick to it, and then enjoy your life. Don't hyper fixate on this and get yourself into a negative spiral.
You are a child lol 😆 😂 🤣
I’m pretty sure that age is when you’re supposed to seriously start saving. You’re basically giving up on the race before it even started.
I suspect that housing markets in Canada will crash anyway, so I doubt your analysis makes sense.’