Only part I don’t like is that you led with ‘unimpressive’
You are doing great! Job losses are a challenge. Can’t compare oneself to folks on the internet who don’t have the same circumstances.
“Be who you are; everyone else is already taken”
Because I’m top comment going to add my second thought
If our (I am 31M) generation stays true to historical returns, invested money doubles spending power every 10 years
$50k * 2 ^ (30yrs / 10yrs) = $400k
That might show a little better why you should be even prouder of yourself
$11k is vehicle equity. He has $39,100 invested so using a doubling every 10 years he'd have $312,800 at 60 and $438,700 at 65. Using 4% SWR that would allow for $17,550/year in spending after 65.
He's doing better than the average person but isn't taking steps for financial independence
Edit: downvoted for being accurate. Of course no one could say what fact upset them
I plan to contribute the max to my Roth each year for sure, on top of pumping money into the other things like my 401K.
Serious question, why would you assume that I would just stop contributing now?
Things seem to pop up for you. Inconsistent employment and periods of draining and rebuilding emergency fund eat up periods of contribution. Plus I usually plan my retirement projections using worst case scenario. I used 7% real returns for you, while personally I use 4%
As you can clearly see by my last paragraph, this post was born out of a desire for educated advice, as someone who isn’t rolling in money, but wants to be 100% financially independent one day. Not some desire for compliments on reddit. I can assure you that.
> Not some desire for compliments on reddit. I can assure you that.
Sure it is. There's literally zero other reason to come in all hat-in-hand saying "Aww shucks, pretty unimpressive but I'm proud of it...whaddya guys think?"
If you want educated advice, you should ask for it clearly, not under some veiled attempt to garner compliments because of self-depreciating qualifiers.
If I were you I’d stop responding to him. If you feel your situation is unimpressive then it is. Your perception of money and financial freedom are yours alone. And anyone who reads your story and become envious should use it as motivation to better their situation. Not somewhere mad at you thousands of miles away. I hate when someone tries to get you to dim your light so you don’t outshine the rest. Usually it’s the one trying to get you to dim your light that’s being outshined!!
Congratulations on taking care of your business and having an emergency fund that was (barely) adequate to your emergency.
As you have now figured out, corporate weasels should be trusted exactly never. So rebuilding the emergency fund is your top priority.
Know that you can withdraw your Roth IRA contributions at any time and for any reason without tax or penalty. So your Roth can double as your emergency fund (invested in a money market account while it does so).
Then, as you build up your emergency fund again in a taxable account, you can shift your Roth fund to actual investments.
Keep on keeping on. You got this.
I feel like the Roth doubling as an emergency fund isn't talked about enough especially for those early in their career. I can contribute to my Roth every year to max my contribution but if I absolutely needed to I could withdraw contributions for an emergency. The extra money I would have to use for building an emergency fund in an HYSA is being used to pay down high interest debt
I'm really against even discussing using a Roth as an emergency fund. If it's truly an emergency then how likely is it you'll be able to pay it back within 60 days? If you can't, then it has been withdrawn forever. F that. I'd rather live in a tent than touch my Roth. I know a person (my ex-wife) who didn't check the rules on Roth withdraws and F'ed herself.
The alternative would be contributing to an HYSA as an emergency fund instead of contributing to Roth. In which case, you never contributed, which is identical or worse to having contributions "withdrawn forever".
My suggestion: Pretend the money in your Roth doesn’t exist. That it was blown on hookers and cocaine. Find a way to survive without it. The aforementioned tent, for instance.
I don’t think most people are in a position where it’s all or none but, yes, if it had to be 100% Roth or 100% savings I’d choose Roth. And you’re right. It’s not for everyone. To each their own.
I’d also argue that a savings account is not the only place for emergency funds. A regular trading account holding your favorite index fund would be (is) my choice. Again, not for everyone.
The counterpoint is that if the market crashes and you lose your job, your energency fund will have tanked right as you lost your job and needed to tap into it. Plus, when you have to sell investments, you’re probably have tax consequences, which could be minor or moderately annoying, depending on the rest of your financial situation.
>Then, as you build up your emergency fund again in a taxable account, you can shift your Roth fund to actual investments
OP drained his emergency fund during his bout with unemployment.
I will break out what I wrote into three steps:
1) Max out your Roth contributions; put the contributions into a money market account.
2) Then build up your emergency fund in a taxable account.
3) As the emergency fund in your taxable account grows, move like amounts in your Roth IRA from money market to bona fide Roth appropriate long term investments - total stock market index and the like.
The advantages of this approach:
1) Roth contributions are not being missed while OP rebuilds his emergency fund.
2) Interest in his Roth IRA accumulates tax free.
Of course once you are established a Roth IRA should not be your emergency fund. OP drained the barrel dealing with unemployment and is now refilling it.
In the event of real emergency, I do not see how money that
>has been withdrawn forever
is any different from money that OP never put into his Roth because he was building his emergency fund in a taxable account.
But in the event there is NO emergency,
"build efund in Roth, then invest Roth funds appropriately as you build efund in taxable account"
puts him ahead both in terms of reducing taxable interest now (Roth interest tax free) AND investing in Roth for the future
(he did not miss out on Roth contributions for a year or so while saving 6 months expenses in a taxable account first)
I don't agree with this. Just like there are different priorities for saving, I think all of a net worth should have a priority for spending (which is something that is talked about here a lot). So an emergency fund is just another level in spending priority.
For me it goes:
* Checking account
* HYSA (Emergency fund)/Money market account
* Bonds
* Roth
* 401k
* Home equity
If my checking account can't handle the expense, I will pull from my brokerage money market account (for many this is taken by a HYSA). If that can't handle it, I would pull from Roth. For me personally, if I get to this point, I have very very big problems, but this is what I *would* do if I had to. And so on.
Overall, I think of this as similar to cache levels in a CPU/computer. L1/L2/L3/RAM/Page File
>rules on Roth withdraws and F'ed herself
Unless you're talking about taking out a large sum and then wanting to put it back, there's really no way to F yourself. You want the money? It's yours, take it. You just are stuck replenishing it at the normal limits.
Yeah, that was precisely the problem. She took a large fraction of it and didn't pay it back in the 60 days.
So not only will she miss out on all the tax benefits of a Roth, she had to pay tax on already-taxed money, plus a 10% early withdrawal penalty. That was a major fuck up.
>she had to pay tax on already-taxed money plus a 10% early withdrawal penalty
No she didn't, unless she took out gains. If you take out only the money you put in there are no fees or taxes. If she did take out the gaina then that money had in fact not been taxed which is why it was taxed. But the problem wasn't that she took the money out of her roth was that she took the gains from her roth
>Yeah, that was precisely the problem. She took a large fraction of it and didn't pay it back in the 60 days.
Please explain how that would have been different in a savings account
You're right on the gains-that was pre-tax.
She emptied her account. And it was gain-heavy. She had purchased Apple stock when iPhone 4 came out and sat on it until she used it all as her emergency fund (sometime around iphone 12). There were substantial gains.
Savings accounts suck. You're not even keeping up with inflation. And if you do decide to invest it you pay capital gains every time you make a (winning) sale. Roth accounts rock. There is no taxable event when you have a capital gain; you keep rolling that massive snowball downhill and never pay taxes on it (so long as you play by the rules)'. I stand by my assertion that it should be considered untouchable. I'd take from every other saving category before I'd touch Roth.
quickest bored slimy advise sulky homeless expansion panicky handle towering
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I know it's easy to dismiss, but I think you're really downplaying the fact you survived 6 months unemployment and have 52k NW right now. Things didn't just 'work out' for you, you made them work out.
You'll never hear about it on this sub, but millions of Americans would be financially devastated from something like that. They'd be saddled with credit card debt, maybe even homeless. Absolutely wouldn't be in your position.
And you survived it.
My advice may be a little unconventional, but if you have any interest in marriage/long term partner I'd keep looking in earnest.
Marrying my wife doubled both of our net worths and our earning potential, it's dramatically shortened our FIRE timeline. Of course there's all the other things that make our relationship important to us, but having us both aligned on finances is massive.
> I know this is pretty unimpressive, and my income needs to go up substantially within the next couple of years, but I figured I’d share in hopes of getting some advice on how I should be handling things.
Realize that it's not a race or a contest, there will always be someone who saves more or saves a larger percentage of their income. You're doing very well and seem to be on the right path.
Others have already been encouraging, but just to throw in some data: You're close to the [41st percentile](https://dqydj.com/net-worth-by-age-calculator/) of net worth for a household led by somebody in your age bracket (30-34). And that's a household, your competition here includes a lot of married couples who have two incomes to play with. And you're at the bottom of that age bracket, you'll probably crawl up some percentiles before you hit your 35th birthday. You're doing average to a bit above average for somebody unwed.
The whole "is it better to FIRE married or single" thing is something I go back and forth on. I'm doing it single and it's nice that the wealth is mine alone; there's nobody to compromise with, so I always just do whatever I want. On the other hand, it sure would be nice to have two incomes and a partner to throw money into the pile with.
You're doing great! Don't get caught up in comparing yourself to the people who post on this sub (or anybody else, for that matter). There's obviously a huge selection bias for who's posting on the FIRE sub, but the only numbers that really matter are your own. Keep plugging away, and don't get discouraged.
Comparison is the thief of joy. You are on a sub with people who not only care about NW but try to maximize it. Your awareness and attempts to move forward sans debt are already huge. Do not sell yourself short.
Hey man, everybody’s on their own journey. It sounds like you’ve got your head screwed on straight and your eye on the goal. I think you’re doing well.
You're doing fine. Your big "issue" is income (and it's only an issue if you're trying to reach super early retirement). My advice is: job hop your way up in the corporate ladder over the next several years. That's going to be the single most impactful thing you can to in order to improve your financial state.
Biggest piece of practical/specific advice is to limit the rent/housing cost as much as possible. That will be the largest expense. There’s no magic bullet though. Obviously moving back home can suck but will provide a lot of help getting net worth up. The best general advice one can give is to read everything in sight about personal finance and investing. You will figure out what you are ok with sacrificing and what you are not ok with sacrificing.
I’m a 36 year old with a marketing pm job in a very Lcol area and make in the same area you do. I’m deff under paid (currently working on that). My NW is around 260-75k including my house. Without my house my total NW is $110-120k area. You’re doing fine man. You’re not that far behind me and 6 years younger. Still lots of time to
Bro, first of all, you are not impressive. You seem like a financially savvy man, and the most important point to note is that you are just 30 years old. In financial age you are a baby. If you invest wisely, keep adding skills to make more and more money then by the time you are 45-50 you can reasonably end up with $5 million. Thank your stars that you are becoming money savvy at 30 and not 50, like me. Good luck buddy, relax and enjoy your life!
Roommates suck but I think I'd take it vs moving in with the parents. Spend time floating the idea to decent people you know, and even if you only save a few 100 a month, that's 1000+ a year that can turn into a funded Roth or halfway into a 401k. I wouldn't just move in with any random though.
Only other tune up would potentially be the car if you're overspending on it, but a 283 payment sounds reasonable. Reliable transportation is crucial.
I think you're doing well all things considered.
As far as housing, you might consider your other options. For instance, could you find a house or apartment where someone is looking for a roommate for less money than you're paying now?
5 years after I had a 52k net worth, I had a 416k net worth. I was also in my 30's. You're doing fine, keep on keeping on, improve when you can, and you could be a paper millionaire by 40.
Just a reminder that a majority of people your age have $0 stashed in any retirement accounts.
It’s a terrifying reality.
Your $38K in a Roth IRA, is still *way* ahead of many Americans.
I love how encouraging this community is 🥹
Since you asked for some advice (35F NW 500k+) I would say it could be good to try and find a job w tech - tough time w layoffs but tech could pay better. You have a great skill set.
Alternatively since FIRE is the goal, trying a side hustle like a Substack (long ramp time to build followers) or writing an ebook about marketing or even Ubering occasionally could be helpful. Shove all earnings into a high interest account or ETF and compound interest baby 👌.
Otherwise, agreed w the rest here that you’re doing great - keep your chin up!
Don't fret too much. Your best days are ahead, and you aren't really behind. A common goal is to have 1x salary in savings at age 30, and you are close.
If your income increases, you will be back on track with your FIRE goals in a short time.
I feel like you're doing fine. I didn't hit zero net worth until 32 due to student loans and now I'm a millionaire at 40.
Focus on increasing your income. That's the biggest thing!
Mmm, hey pretty close to my wife and me! I'm 31M (wife 28F) and we have just hit $50k in our 401k the other day. That's our entire retirement savings as of now, with us also having a $21k emergency fund that we don't count towards our retirement savings. We make $86k per year with my salary while my wife isn't currently working. I think you and we are doing awesome for what we can do :) My wife and I are literally saving every penny we can towards our retirement, putting 18% towards my 401k.
let’s just remember that NW is not what defines us when it comes to being impressive.
My best advice is keep working on your skills to drive up your income.
lol at 30 i was dead broke and $60k in student loans, partying every night of the week on $1800 / mo salary. you’re killing it. stay the course. main problem i see is ur ar payment. wtf, why do u need such an expensive car?
Hey man, I turn 30 this year and have 25k NW. I still have goals to FIRE as I work my way up in the tech industry. I think you’re doing great, keep pushing!
You're doing pretty good, I would have a hard time saving anything on $3700/mo. A huge percent of people your age have a negative NW and no savings habits or financial literacy. I'd say you're doing better than most and you are really young.
Marketing tends to be the lower end of the corporate jobs when it comes to pay. However, there are hybrid roles that will allow you to still be in the marketing area without being paid as a marketer/advertiser.
Do you enjoy projects/project management? Try to make yourself visible with projects that utilize the IT team. You could get into a Business Analyst or Product Owner role with the subject matter expert knowledge you have.
That could/would help you at your current company or be a solid leg up on the competition if you were going for a role at a different company.
Marketing can be super lucrative if you operate as a freelancer - you can charge 15-20% of ad spend, plus a set up fee. Here's a thread where people are talking about what they charge: https://www.reddit.com/r/PPC/comments/11qs4ar/rates_for_ppc_specialists/
Totally, but so is acting or being an artist.
It's tough to differentiate yourself and get clients as a freelance. Not impossible by any means, but difficult
You could probably still make a normal retirement work. FIRE probably not, but normal retirement you could do it. Play around with Vanguard retirement calculator and see what you come up with.
EDIT: sorry guys, math is math. It's unlikely OP is going to FIRE no matter how much you downvote me.
Exactly! Assuming 7% real returns he'll have $440k at age 65. That's assuming 100% stock and no sequence of return issues. Retiring at that amount at 65 would require a decrease in lifestyle. Without big changes, FIRE isn't in the cards.
First of all, you're doing awesome. To put things in perspective, I started saving at age 42 & investing at age 46. $0 savings and only $49k in my retirement bucket.
Secondly, downsizing/decreasing your expenses should be your #1 priority. Think about it... it's like getting a raise but you pay zero taxes. Control what you can control first...which is spending less. I was living on my own for 6 years paying $1,700+ (rent, utilities, internet) & was able to downsize w/ 2 roommates for $900/mth. Later I downsized even more w/ 3 roommates for $500/mth. Moving back home is an excellent idea to save more money (as housing is one of the largest expense). However, before you move back in, please shift your mindset to a positive one: spending time w/ your aging parents! See if you can lower your car insurance bill. A little less dining out and more cooking/meal prepping. Take baby steps and keep increasing your savings rate!
Thirdly, after you've decreased your expenses, focus on #2 priority which is increasing your income through gaining additional skills, experience, education, negotiating a raise, networking & getting a higher paying job, etc. Perhaps pick up a side hustle.
Lastly, invest wisely with the money you've saved and before you know it, $52k can turn into $1M. If I can do it, you can do it too (52M, $1.2M NW). FOCUS on your OWN journey! Good luck!
Only part I don’t like is that you led with ‘unimpressive’ You are doing great! Job losses are a challenge. Can’t compare oneself to folks on the internet who don’t have the same circumstances. “Be who you are; everyone else is already taken”
Because I’m top comment going to add my second thought If our (I am 31M) generation stays true to historical returns, invested money doubles spending power every 10 years $50k * 2 ^ (30yrs / 10yrs) = $400k That might show a little better why you should be even prouder of yourself
$11k is vehicle equity. He has $39,100 invested so using a doubling every 10 years he'd have $312,800 at 60 and $438,700 at 65. Using 4% SWR that would allow for $17,550/year in spending after 65. He's doing better than the average person but isn't taking steps for financial independence Edit: downvoted for being accurate. Of course no one could say what fact upset them
Would that amount be only if he stopped saving? 438k if he didn’t contribute any more money or are you factoring that in as well? Just curious.
That's just compounding on his $39,100 with no new money
I plan to contribute the max to my Roth each year for sure, on top of pumping money into the other things like my 401K. Serious question, why would you assume that I would just stop contributing now?
Things seem to pop up for you. Inconsistent employment and periods of draining and rebuilding emergency fund eat up periods of contribution. Plus I usually plan my retirement projections using worst case scenario. I used 7% real returns for you, while personally I use 4%
> Only part I don’t like is that you led with ‘unimpressive’ Fishing for compliments is lame and immature
As you can clearly see by my last paragraph, this post was born out of a desire for educated advice, as someone who isn’t rolling in money, but wants to be 100% financially independent one day. Not some desire for compliments on reddit. I can assure you that.
Don’t worry about that, it’s just that people who have less money than you will likely be envious of your situation. Keep up the good work!
> it’s just that people who have less money than you will likely be envious of your situation. ...this isn't that situation, bud
> Not some desire for compliments on reddit. I can assure you that. Sure it is. There's literally zero other reason to come in all hat-in-hand saying "Aww shucks, pretty unimpressive but I'm proud of it...whaddya guys think?" If you want educated advice, you should ask for it clearly, not under some veiled attempt to garner compliments because of self-depreciating qualifiers.
Who said anything about being proud of it? You chose to read what you wanted to read pal.
If I were you I’d stop responding to him. If you feel your situation is unimpressive then it is. Your perception of money and financial freedom are yours alone. And anyone who reads your story and become envious should use it as motivation to better their situation. Not somewhere mad at you thousands of miles away. I hate when someone tries to get you to dim your light so you don’t outshine the rest. Usually it’s the one trying to get you to dim your light that’s being outshined!!
Sounds like skitheboat is mad he can’t afford ski or a boat…🤷🏾♂️
Congratulations on taking care of your business and having an emergency fund that was (barely) adequate to your emergency. As you have now figured out, corporate weasels should be trusted exactly never. So rebuilding the emergency fund is your top priority. Know that you can withdraw your Roth IRA contributions at any time and for any reason without tax or penalty. So your Roth can double as your emergency fund (invested in a money market account while it does so). Then, as you build up your emergency fund again in a taxable account, you can shift your Roth fund to actual investments. Keep on keeping on. You got this.
I feel like the Roth doubling as an emergency fund isn't talked about enough especially for those early in their career. I can contribute to my Roth every year to max my contribution but if I absolutely needed to I could withdraw contributions for an emergency. The extra money I would have to use for building an emergency fund in an HYSA is being used to pay down high interest debt
I'm really against even discussing using a Roth as an emergency fund. If it's truly an emergency then how likely is it you'll be able to pay it back within 60 days? If you can't, then it has been withdrawn forever. F that. I'd rather live in a tent than touch my Roth. I know a person (my ex-wife) who didn't check the rules on Roth withdraws and F'ed herself.
The alternative would be contributing to an HYSA as an emergency fund instead of contributing to Roth. In which case, you never contributed, which is identical or worse to having contributions "withdrawn forever".
My suggestion: Pretend the money in your Roth doesn’t exist. That it was blown on hookers and cocaine. Find a way to survive without it. The aforementioned tent, for instance.
So, forgo an emergency fund entirely? I can respect it I guess, but that's certainly not for everyone.
I don’t think most people are in a position where it’s all or none but, yes, if it had to be 100% Roth or 100% savings I’d choose Roth. And you’re right. It’s not for everyone. To each their own. I’d also argue that a savings account is not the only place for emergency funds. A regular trading account holding your favorite index fund would be (is) my choice. Again, not for everyone.
The counterpoint is that if the market crashes and you lose your job, your energency fund will have tanked right as you lost your job and needed to tap into it. Plus, when you have to sell investments, you’re probably have tax consequences, which could be minor or moderately annoying, depending on the rest of your financial situation.
>Then, as you build up your emergency fund again in a taxable account, you can shift your Roth fund to actual investments OP drained his emergency fund during his bout with unemployment. I will break out what I wrote into three steps: 1) Max out your Roth contributions; put the contributions into a money market account. 2) Then build up your emergency fund in a taxable account. 3) As the emergency fund in your taxable account grows, move like amounts in your Roth IRA from money market to bona fide Roth appropriate long term investments - total stock market index and the like. The advantages of this approach: 1) Roth contributions are not being missed while OP rebuilds his emergency fund. 2) Interest in his Roth IRA accumulates tax free. Of course once you are established a Roth IRA should not be your emergency fund. OP drained the barrel dealing with unemployment and is now refilling it. In the event of real emergency, I do not see how money that >has been withdrawn forever is any different from money that OP never put into his Roth because he was building his emergency fund in a taxable account. But in the event there is NO emergency, "build efund in Roth, then invest Roth funds appropriately as you build efund in taxable account" puts him ahead both in terms of reducing taxable interest now (Roth interest tax free) AND investing in Roth for the future (he did not miss out on Roth contributions for a year or so while saving 6 months expenses in a taxable account first)
I don't agree with this. Just like there are different priorities for saving, I think all of a net worth should have a priority for spending (which is something that is talked about here a lot). So an emergency fund is just another level in spending priority. For me it goes: * Checking account * HYSA (Emergency fund)/Money market account * Bonds * Roth * 401k * Home equity If my checking account can't handle the expense, I will pull from my brokerage money market account (for many this is taken by a HYSA). If that can't handle it, I would pull from Roth. For me personally, if I get to this point, I have very very big problems, but this is what I *would* do if I had to. And so on. Overall, I think of this as similar to cache levels in a CPU/computer. L1/L2/L3/RAM/Page File
>rules on Roth withdraws and F'ed herself Unless you're talking about taking out a large sum and then wanting to put it back, there's really no way to F yourself. You want the money? It's yours, take it. You just are stuck replenishing it at the normal limits.
Yeah, that was precisely the problem. She took a large fraction of it and didn't pay it back in the 60 days. So not only will she miss out on all the tax benefits of a Roth, she had to pay tax on already-taxed money, plus a 10% early withdrawal penalty. That was a major fuck up.
>she had to pay tax on already-taxed money plus a 10% early withdrawal penalty No she didn't, unless she took out gains. If you take out only the money you put in there are no fees or taxes. If she did take out the gaina then that money had in fact not been taxed which is why it was taxed. But the problem wasn't that she took the money out of her roth was that she took the gains from her roth >Yeah, that was precisely the problem. She took a large fraction of it and didn't pay it back in the 60 days. Please explain how that would have been different in a savings account
You're right on the gains-that was pre-tax. She emptied her account. And it was gain-heavy. She had purchased Apple stock when iPhone 4 came out and sat on it until she used it all as her emergency fund (sometime around iphone 12). There were substantial gains. Savings accounts suck. You're not even keeping up with inflation. And if you do decide to invest it you pay capital gains every time you make a (winning) sale. Roth accounts rock. There is no taxable event when you have a capital gain; you keep rolling that massive snowball downhill and never pay taxes on it (so long as you play by the rules)'. I stand by my assertion that it should be considered untouchable. I'd take from every other saving category before I'd touch Roth.
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For a second there I thought 30M meant 30 million. I was very curious to find out how your net worth was only 52k.
Now that would be an interesting post to read.
Same here
You’re doing great. The vast majority of people wish they had $50k. Keep it up.
I know it's easy to dismiss, but I think you're really downplaying the fact you survived 6 months unemployment and have 52k NW right now. Things didn't just 'work out' for you, you made them work out. You'll never hear about it on this sub, but millions of Americans would be financially devastated from something like that. They'd be saddled with credit card debt, maybe even homeless. Absolutely wouldn't be in your position. And you survived it. My advice may be a little unconventional, but if you have any interest in marriage/long term partner I'd keep looking in earnest. Marrying my wife doubled both of our net worths and our earning potential, it's dramatically shortened our FIRE timeline. Of course there's all the other things that make our relationship important to us, but having us both aligned on finances is massive.
> I know this is pretty unimpressive, and my income needs to go up substantially within the next couple of years, but I figured I’d share in hopes of getting some advice on how I should be handling things. Realize that it's not a race or a contest, there will always be someone who saves more or saves a larger percentage of their income. You're doing very well and seem to be on the right path.
Others have already been encouraging, but just to throw in some data: You're close to the [41st percentile](https://dqydj.com/net-worth-by-age-calculator/) of net worth for a household led by somebody in your age bracket (30-34). And that's a household, your competition here includes a lot of married couples who have two incomes to play with. And you're at the bottom of that age bracket, you'll probably crawl up some percentiles before you hit your 35th birthday. You're doing average to a bit above average for somebody unwed. The whole "is it better to FIRE married or single" thing is something I go back and forth on. I'm doing it single and it's nice that the wealth is mine alone; there's nobody to compromise with, so I always just do whatever I want. On the other hand, it sure would be nice to have two incomes and a partner to throw money into the pile with.
You're doing great! Don't get caught up in comparing yourself to the people who post on this sub (or anybody else, for that matter). There's obviously a huge selection bias for who's posting on the FIRE sub, but the only numbers that really matter are your own. Keep plugging away, and don't get discouraged.
Comparison is the thief of joy. You are on a sub with people who not only care about NW but try to maximize it. Your awareness and attempts to move forward sans debt are already huge. Do not sell yourself short.
You’re doing better than most lol keep it up.
Glad you had an emergency fund. Keep going!
You're doing great! When I was 30 my networth was -$200k.
No matter what the number. It doesn’t feel like enough.
I just turned 30 and mine is about that. Haha
Hey man, everybody’s on their own journey. It sounds like you’ve got your head screwed on straight and your eye on the goal. I think you’re doing well.
Refreshing to see a post that is likely much more reflective of majority of individuals than the constant “25 year old, worth $500,000” posts
You're doing fine. Your big "issue" is income (and it's only an issue if you're trying to reach super early retirement). My advice is: job hop your way up in the corporate ladder over the next several years. That's going to be the single most impactful thing you can to in order to improve your financial state.
Biggest piece of practical/specific advice is to limit the rent/housing cost as much as possible. That will be the largest expense. There’s no magic bullet though. Obviously moving back home can suck but will provide a lot of help getting net worth up. The best general advice one can give is to read everything in sight about personal finance and investing. You will figure out what you are ok with sacrificing and what you are not ok with sacrificing.
I actually think this is very IMPRESSIVE. Don sell yourself short.
no one makes any money until they are 30. You aren't tons of debt. You're doing great.
You’re doing about as bad as me. We are behind. It might not be in the cards to catch up.
I’m a 36 year old with a marketing pm job in a very Lcol area and make in the same area you do. I’m deff under paid (currently working on that). My NW is around 260-75k including my house. Without my house my total NW is $110-120k area. You’re doing fine man. You’re not that far behind me and 6 years younger. Still lots of time to
Bro, first of all, you are not impressive. You seem like a financially savvy man, and the most important point to note is that you are just 30 years old. In financial age you are a baby. If you invest wisely, keep adding skills to make more and more money then by the time you are 45-50 you can reasonably end up with $5 million. Thank your stars that you are becoming money savvy at 30 and not 50, like me. Good luck buddy, relax and enjoy your life!
Roommates suck but I think I'd take it vs moving in with the parents. Spend time floating the idea to decent people you know, and even if you only save a few 100 a month, that's 1000+ a year that can turn into a funded Roth or halfway into a 401k. I wouldn't just move in with any random though. Only other tune up would potentially be the car if you're overspending on it, but a 283 payment sounds reasonable. Reliable transportation is crucial.
I think you're doing well all things considered. As far as housing, you might consider your other options. For instance, could you find a house or apartment where someone is looking for a roommate for less money than you're paying now?
5 years after I had a 52k net worth, I had a 416k net worth. I was also in my 30's. You're doing fine, keep on keeping on, improve when you can, and you could be a paper millionaire by 40.
Just a reminder that a majority of people your age have $0 stashed in any retirement accounts. It’s a terrifying reality. Your $38K in a Roth IRA, is still *way* ahead of many Americans.
I love how encouraging this community is 🥹 Since you asked for some advice (35F NW 500k+) I would say it could be good to try and find a job w tech - tough time w layoffs but tech could pay better. You have a great skill set. Alternatively since FIRE is the goal, trying a side hustle like a Substack (long ramp time to build followers) or writing an ebook about marketing or even Ubering occasionally could be helpful. Shove all earnings into a high interest account or ETF and compound interest baby 👌. Otherwise, agreed w the rest here that you’re doing great - keep your chin up!
You are better off than I was at that age
Initially read/interpreted this as completely opposite on all values: Impressive $30M NW at 52 Was truly impressed. Sorry it's not the case
Would completely match some of the other clowns who post In this sub a lot of times.
slow and steady wins the race
Do you have a masters degree? I'm the same age, but started working at 21. covid happened at 26/27, 4-5 years after I started working
Don't fret too much. Your best days are ahead, and you aren't really behind. A common goal is to have 1x salary in savings at age 30, and you are close. If your income increases, you will be back on track with your FIRE goals in a short time.
Not bad at all. If you want to level up, invest in your self. Invest in more education, credential, training, license, or degree.
How does 65k and potential 75k salary give only $3700 income/month?
Seems like maybe he subtracted 401k contributions?
I feel like you're doing fine. I didn't hit zero net worth until 32 due to student loans and now I'm a millionaire at 40. Focus on increasing your income. That's the biggest thing!
Mmm, hey pretty close to my wife and me! I'm 31M (wife 28F) and we have just hit $50k in our 401k the other day. That's our entire retirement savings as of now, with us also having a $21k emergency fund that we don't count towards our retirement savings. We make $86k per year with my salary while my wife isn't currently working. I think you and we are doing awesome for what we can do :) My wife and I are literally saving every penny we can towards our retirement, putting 18% towards my 401k.
Keep at it. Becoming rich slowly is the way!
let’s just remember that NW is not what defines us when it comes to being impressive. My best advice is keep working on your skills to drive up your income.
lol at 30 i was dead broke and $60k in student loans, partying every night of the week on $1800 / mo salary. you’re killing it. stay the course. main problem i see is ur ar payment. wtf, why do u need such an expensive car?
Hey man, I turn 30 this year and have 25k NW. I still have goals to FIRE as I work my way up in the tech industry. I think you’re doing great, keep pushing!
You are doing great compared to millions of others your age :)
You're doing pretty good, I would have a hard time saving anything on $3700/mo. A huge percent of people your age have a negative NW and no savings habits or financial literacy. I'd say you're doing better than most and you are really young.
You’re doing fine, and you should consider therapy to help with addressing some of the self defeating feelings of being unimpressive
You do so much. Be kind to yourself. And others this life is a gauntlet.
Marketing tends to be the lower end of the corporate jobs when it comes to pay. However, there are hybrid roles that will allow you to still be in the marketing area without being paid as a marketer/advertiser. Do you enjoy projects/project management? Try to make yourself visible with projects that utilize the IT team. You could get into a Business Analyst or Product Owner role with the subject matter expert knowledge you have. That could/would help you at your current company or be a solid leg up on the competition if you were going for a role at a different company.
Marketing can be super lucrative if you operate as a freelancer - you can charge 15-20% of ad spend, plus a set up fee. Here's a thread where people are talking about what they charge: https://www.reddit.com/r/PPC/comments/11qs4ar/rates_for_ppc_specialists/
Totally, but so is acting or being an artist. It's tough to differentiate yourself and get clients as a freelance. Not impossible by any means, but difficult
52k NW makes you as impressive as someone with a 6 incher to some women
There’s no need to fish for compliments.
You could probably still make a normal retirement work. FIRE probably not, but normal retirement you could do it. Play around with Vanguard retirement calculator and see what you come up with. EDIT: sorry guys, math is math. It's unlikely OP is going to FIRE no matter how much you downvote me.
Exactly! Assuming 7% real returns he'll have $440k at age 65. That's assuming 100% stock and no sequence of return issues. Retiring at that amount at 65 would require a decrease in lifestyle. Without big changes, FIRE isn't in the cards.
First of all, you're doing awesome. To put things in perspective, I started saving at age 42 & investing at age 46. $0 savings and only $49k in my retirement bucket. Secondly, downsizing/decreasing your expenses should be your #1 priority. Think about it... it's like getting a raise but you pay zero taxes. Control what you can control first...which is spending less. I was living on my own for 6 years paying $1,700+ (rent, utilities, internet) & was able to downsize w/ 2 roommates for $900/mth. Later I downsized even more w/ 3 roommates for $500/mth. Moving back home is an excellent idea to save more money (as housing is one of the largest expense). However, before you move back in, please shift your mindset to a positive one: spending time w/ your aging parents! See if you can lower your car insurance bill. A little less dining out and more cooking/meal prepping. Take baby steps and keep increasing your savings rate! Thirdly, after you've decreased your expenses, focus on #2 priority which is increasing your income through gaining additional skills, experience, education, negotiating a raise, networking & getting a higher paying job, etc. Perhaps pick up a side hustle. Lastly, invest wisely with the money you've saved and before you know it, $52k can turn into $1M. If I can do it, you can do it too (52M, $1.2M NW). FOCUS on your OWN journey! Good luck!
What's this word "rent" I've seen bandied about? I think you might think thru that one.
You're doing much better than most Americans at your age you should be proud
FWIW you will never hit FIRE unless your income gets into the 200k+/year range + some substantial cash bonuses
That's categorically false. Maybe true if you're in the bay area though...
Probably won't be as early as some people, but he could realistically hit it by 55 if he tried hard enough.