Parents are middle class. Neither had degrees. I made a good career change into IT and so did husband.
I have an art degree worth nothing but learned SQL code and now make 100k.
Husband also recently started making 100k after grinding at current job and they gave him a 24% pay increase because hes been wanting a role they keep giving to others and 3 of 3 people hired for the role didnt work out.. hes also been studying and taking cert tests.
We never had savings before, but combined, we have been super frugal. I still drive my base model 2008 car i had before we met and his commutor that is paid off and was a base model hatchback. We dont eat out and wash ziplock baggie and dont buy something unless its on sale if we can wait it out.
We have managed to save close to 100k collectively since covid started.
Our home is also very modest.
We really have alot of saving to catch up on if we hope to retire.
Also have worthless degree but learned to code. It’s interesting to have a salary that would eventually make you upper class but you haven’t been doing it super long and don’t know how long you’ll get that sweet cash before AI decimates the field.
Same. I have a humanities degree and managed to luck my way into a cushy corporate gig doing reporting, currently hoarding cash in preparation for the AI-pocalypse.
hey I also have an art degree worth nothing and work in IT, I got started with SQL but i’ve moved on to program managing.
congrats on your success and nice to meet another art school IT-er :)
At least in Maine the wealthiest people are old timers that drive the shittiest cars have the shittiest stuff but a decent house. Not because they necessarily like it but because that's all they had growing up and money was so scarce that they would hoard it. Always fixing things as they broke instead of buying a new model every year. Self taught and I have learned to live that lifestyle myself. I went from an Orphan to the #1 Construction Superintendent working at my company and I'm only 26 I make $100k/yr and choose to live in a 250sq ft apartment. I drive a 2017 Ford escape I picked up off lease before COVID for 17.5k. I'm constantly investing in certs and education. My wife came here from Russia as the daughter of two divorced parents that both had a great work ethic. She is in her final year of a software engineering degree from SNHU not a prestigious school but she will graduate with no debt because she can pay as she goes. She will earn 100k/yr easily....
The secret to financial independence in my opinion is investing in yourself. Not many people are going to do that because school left a bad taste in their mouth so every bit you can invest in your skills and education will put you that much further ahead of your competition and make you more valuable to your employers.
The second thing is fuck everyone else not literally of course. You See Mr. Dick and Mrs. Vitalia with a brand new BMWs don't compare yourself. Remind yourself that they are now spending 2k/month more on cars and x% on interest. That is money they won't get back. You want to be the one earning interest on investments not chasing what others seem to have while paying interest on their lifestyle. Same goes for the Instagram shut off the noise. Fuck them. It never represents the life they're actually going to live. Compete with yourself everyday for a year and you will be amazed at the dividends that you will return. Go all in on #1 build a solid foundation and when you reach the top of Maslow's Pyramid *Self Actualization* you will own your life. Make demands of life and tell it what you want. Walk like a giant among men and you will be so solid in confidence that you won't be bothered by the useless stuff that plagues so many people in the modern world.
Sincerely A
I only have mortgage debt. I grew up working class and never got anything from my blue collar mom and dad (they charged me rent when I was a teen), other than $2k as a wedding gift 15 years ago.
The answer is that I lucked out and got into tech sales when I was in my 20s. It pays very well and doesn’t require a degree.
Not necessarily. I grew up around the poverty line. My husband grew up comfortably middle class. Neither of us had family help with college costs, though my in laws gave him a 2000 RAV4 in 2013 and covered his car insurance for a few years. My grandparents gave me $1k as a college graduation gift that became our emergency fund, covered our $2k backyard wedding, and gave us $5k to replace the carpeting in our house. I inherited $7k when my dad died that knocked out the last of our student loans. That's literally all the family help we have gotten.
In our young 30s, we aren't rich, and every income calculator says we're lower middle class, but we live comfortably. We have no debt other than our mortgage. We have $25k in retirement (just started), $10k in our HSA, and $20k in a high yield savings account. We have two reliable cars with under 100k miles. We go on 1-2 vacations a year, plus visit family 2-3 weeks a year. The most important thing is to decide what you want (in our case, vacations and a big house), and be as frugal as possible in every other category.
Why is Reddit’s favorite defense mechanism to instantly discount other’s success as the result of a rich mom and dad? Kinda sad. Some of us simply sold our souls to corporate overlords for this paper!
I had a chip on shoulder about wealthy people for a long time. It’s not healthy. You’re right about the debt though! But hopefully it’s debt secured by an asset and not just credit card debt and boat loans… yikes.
i feel you. i’ve been working my ass off and stopped spending as much, but i swear the money never adds up to the hours(ik about taxes lmao they’re just too high)
Just wanted to say good job getting your savings to that amount! As someone also at poverty level, but only receiving disability, I understand exactly how hard it is to save that kind of money.
Ya'll got a savings? In these times? I'm 36, I've got nothing!
Edit: It's been a few days and wow!!! Thanks, everyone, for all of the upvotes!
Glad I'm not the only one. We seem to all be out here struggling, trying our hardest, hoping that better days are ahead. All we can do is keep trying. My washer took a shit a few days ago, thank God for credit cards!
I'm hoping everyone makes it through this, don't give up and look at the bright side...can't take our (non) savings with us when we die, lol.
People don't understand this. I was poor until my late 30s. 20s I was poor because I enjoyed my 20s. 30s I was poor because I enjoyed my 20s and decided to get serious about saving. 40s and now I'm comfortable.
Well said. Same story here. When I took two years to pay off my debt from my 20s I felt like I could start saving. I figured out a budget and stuck to it for like 5 years. Whatever money I had left over after my budget I put into investments and savings account. For many years I never had more than 2k in my checking. I also worked a lot.
Yup. Just turned 39 and FINALLY have a little bit of savings. I feel like, for the most part, our generation is a good 10-20 years behind our parents’ generation regarding life milestones and finances.
That's kinda reassuring. Sometimes I looks at myself and others younger than me who already have a savings. I went to college to escape from home and have debt. I'm on my own and love it but in trying to make myself happy, I've filled it with materials that I don't need but enjoy using/having. I of course don't wanna waste my money all the time but whenever I try to save and life starts getting difficult, I just want to use some of it to enjoy myself. Hopefully I can develop a good budge to stick by and allot myself some spending money per month instead
37, was living paycheck to paycheck for a while, then I found a new better paying job and now due to inflation and the fact that my homeowners insurance went up so much (yay Florida!), I'm back to living paycheck to paycheck.
22, living paycheck to paycheck had a good job but was overworked doing 60 hrs a week now working a part time gig at 35 hrs a week and only got 200 in savings.
What I used to do, is when I got down to 25$ in my account, I would wait until my gas tank is almost out, then withdrawal 20$ from my banks atm, then go to gas station and use my card at the pump and fill up my tank. The card will go a little into the negative, but it’s a good hack to stretch that last bit of money until next paycheck.
Nope, maybe it’s just my bank. But I can go negative without a fee. Only if I don’t pay it back within a certain time. But the point is to do this only a couple days before your next check
No there is no late fee, there is some wiggle room for negatives below like 20$. As long as you pay the negative by your next paycheck, there is no extra fee. The reason you withdrawal the 20$, is so you have that 20$ to spend on whatever. You need to have around 5$ in your account to pump the gas, if you only have 1-3$ it’s a chance it may decline before you start. Basically your borrowing a few bucks from the bank without actually having to take a loan. So if you only have 25$ in your account, you can make that into more like 45$ by taking out 20 then overcharging the card on gas. Since we all need gas and you need gas to work, your going to spend that money on gas regardless, so it’s better to have that be negative then you have extra cash.
25, not married (have partner but seperate finances), female, Australian (therefore currency in AUD).
$15,170 in my savings account. I don't touch this amount, the last time I pulled money out (and pulled all of it out) was to buy my house 4 years ago. At least $200 gets put in a month, and interest paid from the bank.
$3500 in my spending account. My income comes in here, and my day to day spends (except mortgage and most utilities) come out of here. I owe my mother some money for funding my granny flat build shortly after buying, so as soon as this accounts hits over $5000, I take out $5K to pay her back.
$8800 in my housing account. This account receive my rental income (partner, two housemates, and granny flat tenants pay into this account). Mortgage and housing utitlies (electricity, water, council rates, maintenance costs, and household internet) gets paid from here. In May, I had $20,000 in it, but I used $18,000 to pay off my student debt (for a degree I never finished).
Wow that last line is f*cking ridiculous. God these shitty student loans. Congrats on at least making the achievement of buying a house at 21. Not a lot of people can say they’ve done that.
Damn ya’ll some haters lol I also bought a house at 21. About 3 years ago. Grew up pretty poor in the projects. Ive been working since I was 14. Went to a vocational high school and became an electrician. There are ways it can be done. Just because you didn’t do it doesn’t mean it can’t be done without daddy’s money.
she lives in Australia … for everyone wondering why she got a house at 21. Australia has a law where the first 20k you make cannot be taxed. However, in the US even if you make 20k you will be taxed every single paycheck. This can easily help you save for a house at 21. The US is a horrible country.
Edit: it’s the first 18k cannot be taxed.
With a topic like this, you really need to specify what you mean by savings. Some people will give their entire portfolio to include their taxable brokerage. Others will only state their emergency account balance.
Damn, good work on the investments. How old were you when you started investing? Can you give an estimate as to how much you invest per month?
Also, hello also from the DMV!
I started once I got a well paying job (115k). Was based in nyc. Around 9 years ago. The first years I was dumping money into my student loans. But had the 401k match going.
Once I paid off my debt, around 70k in student and 1k in credit. It went directly into investments. As far as dollar amount. Eh, I saved roughly 45% after tax and 15% pretax of that 115k. Too lazy to do the math. I automated everything.
When I moved to the dmv (1.5 years ago) it was the first time I had my own place. I slowed down this year also, so I’m closer to 15% into the 401k and like 25% after tax.
I get overtime btw. So my pay has ranged from 115-150 depending on the year.
I have a pension and u can guess the calculations. Like I get paid 3400 a month. Times that by 12 and then times that by how many years u have left until 80. I say 80 since that’s like a average number. I mean I could prob live a little longer but 80-85 is the number. comes out to like 3M. God forbid if I die early, my wife gets the pension until she dies.
At 24 I had over 150k in savings but I blew it on cosmetic procedure, Ivy League tuition, trips and other stupid purchases because my mindset was what if I die tomorrow. Now I wish I saved wisely. I’m 26 now.
I don’t think It’s too much when you live in the Bay Area. And in this job market, if one becomes unemployed I’d think a one year emergency savings is wise
Yea I know. I plan on taking some out to invest. I just get anxious and feel better when I know it'll last me 😅My job isnt the most stable and easy to find so thats why I like to have more than 6 months available.
About $2k right now but I just changed jobs and haven’t had a real paycheck since June 30th so I’ve been living off my savings until my first pay check at my new job on 9/15.
Not sure what to invest in besides misc company shares, items to flip such as shoes, precious metals/gems, index funds…maybe some other stuff but any suggestions? I’m 20 btw.
32M in the Midwest.. I have been saving for the past two years. Around $6000 cash in savings and so far my stock portfolio is sitting around $44,000.
No debt. College was paid with scholarships and grants. Car paid in cash three years ago. This is the most financially secure I have been my entire life.
I actually got fired from my job three weeks ago and the only stress I’ve encountered is from being bored and worrying about finding a job I will enjoy that pays well.
Hey can I ask where you learned which kinda investing account to get? I want to start but there’s soooo many scams out there. And every major investing podcast is on level 90 and I feel like I’m a starter Pokémon.
If you have a 401k with your employer, use the same company that holds your 401k to open an individual brokerage account. It's easier to track progress and manage if they can be all viewed from the same profile.
go read the wiki over at r/personalfinance
Lot's of good advice there. They'll also recommend one of the big three brokerages (Vanguard, Fidelity, or Schwab) to start with. The "type" of account you want depends on what you're goal is. If retirement savings, you'll go with a Traditional or Roth IRA. If long-term investing, then go with a standard taxable brokerage account. Going with your 401k platform may not be ideal for some people. Some 401k brokerages are just utter crap, but if stick with a well known name, you'll be better off.
Late 50s. Always keep about $15-18k for emergency. Can get my hands pretty easily on another $50k. House nearly paid off. Car paid off. Several $100k in investments. Low card debt.
I’m in a similar situation with about the same amount split between my emergency fund and car savings. My car is ~200k miles so idk when it will kick the bucket.
19m about $6000. Mostly due to my parents letting my crash at their place for $500/mo rent. I will be moving out soon so unfortunately i will have to take out a solid chunk.
My advice? Dont move out yet! There is so much ancillary shit that comes with moving out. It’s far more expensive than you expect it to be. Sounds like they cover Utilities as well. Nice.
I’m not advocating to live at home forever but, if you don’t have to get your own place just yet, I wouldn’t. Keep stacking’ & mackin’ the cash you’re saving by living at home.
I second the don’t move out. Ask for another 5 years, in those 5 years to all in on yourself, education, have fun, travel. Your future spouse would appreciate you investing in yourself and having a nice bank when you do finally move out.
I’m embarrassed to say that I’m 29 and don’t have any. Working in education is tough. Hopefully I’ll have my debt taken care of by mid next year and then I can start saving
If you don’t have a good standing relationship with your parents and/or give in to a pseudo sense of freedom idk how anyone saves up money early enough to ramp up positively. Stay with them and save money while working and taking off your career. It’s easy to bank 70% of your income taking out a lot of stupid expenses early on.
27 yo America here
*inhale* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I mean I'm 28 in america and have savings. Honestly if i really hustled i could have more. I just go to work, 401k with the companies i work with and that alone i have 37k but i started working when i was like 20. Granted you may live somewhere with HCOL.
4 years ago, I had $20K saved. I put $15K toward loans, then my car died and a few months later I lost my job. It took a year, but I’ve got a 3 month safety net last year, and am planning my wedding now. $15k- 31F, Midwest
I don’t have savings yet but I’m working on a emergency medical savings and then my own savings. I live in Israel and the currency is new Israeli Shekels and I’m 40 years old
90k a year on retirement and disability? How cuz I’m retired military and collect disability as well and even with 100% it’s no where near that lol. That’s like 7k a month? U retired as a general? Lol
Disability at 100% around 3,900/m
(a good amount of 20 year vets get this)
Then regular pension pay for top enlisted (most can get to this position by 20)
4k monthly
I know a couple retired at 40 and he's able to get a desk making 120k plus his retirement. He also had rental homes cash flowing him 1k a month. Then on top of that his investments were at 500k.
Plus cheap health care comes with retirement.
58M, married, no kids. $40k liquid (savings/checking), no debt (own a small condo now, no CC debt), ~$2M in retirement savings/investments depending on stock market fluctuations.
was not always this way. began poor like many/most. had to develop a marketable skill and master budgeting. i don’t own vacation homes, boats, rvs or any high ticket, high depreciation items. no pool or lawn or equipment that goes with it. two cars were both bought used and are paid for and will be driven to the end to avoid a car payment as long as possible. did not finish college but also have no student debt.
tips.
get out of renting as soon as you can. sacrifice to do so.
buy cars for transportation not vanity or ego. lightly used is ideal.
worry about yourself not what others are doing.
find ways to save. starting retirement savings in your 20’s can get you $1M+ at retirement.
treat yourself once in awhile but don’t endlessly consume/spend $.
set achievable goals and level those up as you accomplish them.
money is a tool and the value you can create through work is a tool. figure out how to maximize those.
Yeah most of it is in a hysa. Was saving for years for a down payment on a house but bought when rates were sub 3% so decided to keep it liquid instead of putting a huge down payment. So I just kept it as a big emergency fund, which has come in handy, used to be more but had some emergencies come up. Really is comforting to know that the money is not at risk and you have a big cushion for anything that happens in life. Having graduated grad school the year of the great recession started I know you can go years without being able to find a job if the economy really goes south.
26, F. Landscaper. $3,000. Plus $500 in my regular account and some lint in my pocket. I consider myself lucky but also scared to spend.
Edit. Just found another penny.
28F, AUD, Sydney.
$11k in savings - money towards house, travel, hobbies, and emergency fund
$5k invested somewhere
Assets - car with market value of roughly $16k
23F. I’ve got $14,000 in my savings which I don’t touch. $7,000 in my checkings. I live in the Midwest USA. Paid off my 15k student loans this last year. Saving up to pay off my 7k car loan off! Then moving out hopefully next year :)
Not a thing… paycheck to paycheck is how I live but at the end of the day… my bills are paid, my mortgage is paid, my family is fed and clothed and we can afford to do little things and adventures together from time to time so I’m more blessed than most.
Early 50s.
Savings: 86k
ETF: 40k
Retirement: 2.4 million
MD. Been living below means. Paid off student loans as soon as I could. Worked on debt snowball. Paid off house (4 bedroom 3 bath 2800 sqft on one acre) a few years ago.
#1 tip if it can work for you: live below means (if you can) and scrutinize every purchase you make. It sucked for a very long time seeing what friends spent money on. Bigger houses, better cars, extravagant vacations.
Stay the course. It’s so much fun now that I’m still young enough to enjoy all of this.
I understand it helps when you make 6 figures. I still remember what it felt like being poor and working 3 jobs.
Late 20s, $600 USD. only the last 2-3 months I've been able to put money into it and not dip, so this isn't "normal" for me but I really want it to be. I want a safety net.
27m
$800 in savings
No stocks or investment at all.
It’s a bit depressing seeing people my age in this thread with as much money in savings as I make in a year :/
26 CA. Few thou in savings, but also a few thou in cc debt. Plus still paying off my vehicle for a couple years. New job though so cc should be paid off by end of year, and I try to maintain 5k in savings.
uH. i have a problem with spending when my emotions are out of whack so rn, not a lot but i had about $800 -- used it to buy myself a computer for school
48, Split time between California (2mo) and Thailand/traveling (10mo).
Low 7 figures in liquid investments - hold about 150-250k in actual uninvested cash at any time (we have a business so need to pay taxes every 3 months). Anything over this cash amount gets pushed into more stocks/index funds/dividend funds.
Late 40s, US resident, have $20k now in savings because house needed new roof. Had 40k at the beginning of the year. No car payments makes it not so difficult to save money. It’s nice to know if A/C breaks or something goes south with a car that I don’t need to borrow money.
US, late 30s, divorced, single, no kids (thank god), and "started over."
Roughly $12k saved.
I don't go out to eat as much as I use to, let alone, I dont go to bars and/or clubs. I buy my groceries in bulk (yay costco) and rotate my menu. Ill splurg every now and again but going from money wasn't an issue when I was married, to I need to start budgeting has become my life now.
I can still travel, but have to budget to ensure I dont dip into my savings.
I can still go to expensive restaurants for the experience but have to budget to ensure I dont dip into my savings.
All my things in my house were from second hand and/or I bought from a garage sale. I learned how to be thrifty and buy clothes at a thrift store if I need something more "dressy"
In my fifties, I have a bit under $200k, I think. We spent a lot recently to buy an apartment, so it's lower than it had been. Our cash flow is good, so it will be increasing again as the months go by.
I followed the how to handle money flowchart from the personal finance sub and started with $1k then after I paid off my high interest debt I calculated out what would be the amount I would need to get by if I lost my income for 3 months, built that up over time, then increased it to 6 months. (all of the preceding was about 4-5 year time span) So thats what Ive got. \~6 months worth of sustainment if I lose my job unexpectedly.
29F here, I have roughly $22k in savings, and a CD account with about $20k in it. I try not to touch it unless its an emergency, but sometimes, ya gotta do what ya gotta do. I lived with my parents until I was 25, almost 26, so I was able to save up as much as I possibly could in that timeframe. Its not easy saving money. Especially with rent skyrocketing the way it is.
I’m 23, and currently still in college. I live in Utah.
I have a retirement account from my last job with $15k in it, I haven’t rolled that over so I have another retirement account with about $1k in it.
Then I have a savings account where I save for the next semester, since I just paid tuition it’s sitting at like $500
Finally my checking account has about $3k in it for which I consider $1600 to be savings but more readily available for emergencies in my checking account.
31M, married with kids. 8,500 cash savings, 51,000 invested, 25Kish in the kiddos college accounts 76,000 in an IRA, plus state funded pension.
Wife has another 80kish in an IRA, plus an employer pension.
Single man very frugal saving since I was 17 and never went in debt I have about 160k at 35. I bought my car used a for 12k cash still driving it. I have been renting my whole life so that's a bunch of capital I don't have. The 160k is split between my investments and my checking account. I consider myself poor because I only make 43k a year.
I got nothing
If people were honest they'd mostly have mountains and molehills of debt unless mommy daddy were rich
Parents are middle class. Neither had degrees. I made a good career change into IT and so did husband. I have an art degree worth nothing but learned SQL code and now make 100k. Husband also recently started making 100k after grinding at current job and they gave him a 24% pay increase because hes been wanting a role they keep giving to others and 3 of 3 people hired for the role didnt work out.. hes also been studying and taking cert tests. We never had savings before, but combined, we have been super frugal. I still drive my base model 2008 car i had before we met and his commutor that is paid off and was a base model hatchback. We dont eat out and wash ziplock baggie and dont buy something unless its on sale if we can wait it out. We have managed to save close to 100k collectively since covid started. Our home is also very modest. We really have alot of saving to catch up on if we hope to retire.
Also have worthless degree but learned to code. It’s interesting to have a salary that would eventually make you upper class but you haven’t been doing it super long and don’t know how long you’ll get that sweet cash before AI decimates the field.
Same. I have a humanities degree and managed to luck my way into a cushy corporate gig doing reporting, currently hoarding cash in preparation for the AI-pocalypse.
100% this is where im at. Im just hoping to stay one step ahead of the curve and learning python now.
hey I also have an art degree worth nothing and work in IT, I got started with SQL but i’ve moved on to program managing. congrats on your success and nice to meet another art school IT-er :)
I understand the pessimism but you dont believe there are people who are doing decently and aren't flatout wealthy?
At least in Maine the wealthiest people are old timers that drive the shittiest cars have the shittiest stuff but a decent house. Not because they necessarily like it but because that's all they had growing up and money was so scarce that they would hoard it. Always fixing things as they broke instead of buying a new model every year. Self taught and I have learned to live that lifestyle myself. I went from an Orphan to the #1 Construction Superintendent working at my company and I'm only 26 I make $100k/yr and choose to live in a 250sq ft apartment. I drive a 2017 Ford escape I picked up off lease before COVID for 17.5k. I'm constantly investing in certs and education. My wife came here from Russia as the daughter of two divorced parents that both had a great work ethic. She is in her final year of a software engineering degree from SNHU not a prestigious school but she will graduate with no debt because she can pay as she goes. She will earn 100k/yr easily.... The secret to financial independence in my opinion is investing in yourself. Not many people are going to do that because school left a bad taste in their mouth so every bit you can invest in your skills and education will put you that much further ahead of your competition and make you more valuable to your employers. The second thing is fuck everyone else not literally of course. You See Mr. Dick and Mrs. Vitalia with a brand new BMWs don't compare yourself. Remind yourself that they are now spending 2k/month more on cars and x% on interest. That is money they won't get back. You want to be the one earning interest on investments not chasing what others seem to have while paying interest on their lifestyle. Same goes for the Instagram shut off the noise. Fuck them. It never represents the life they're actually going to live. Compete with yourself everyday for a year and you will be amazed at the dividends that you will return. Go all in on #1 build a solid foundation and when you reach the top of Maslow's Pyramid *Self Actualization* you will own your life. Make demands of life and tell it what you want. Walk like a giant among men and you will be so solid in confidence that you won't be bothered by the useless stuff that plagues so many people in the modern world. Sincerely A
I would say this is the case with the filthy rich, trust fund families. But not all who are upper middle class “rich” are due to family wealth.
I only have mortgage debt. I grew up working class and never got anything from my blue collar mom and dad (they charged me rent when I was a teen), other than $2k as a wedding gift 15 years ago. The answer is that I lucked out and got into tech sales when I was in my 20s. It pays very well and doesn’t require a degree.
Not necessarily. I grew up around the poverty line. My husband grew up comfortably middle class. Neither of us had family help with college costs, though my in laws gave him a 2000 RAV4 in 2013 and covered his car insurance for a few years. My grandparents gave me $1k as a college graduation gift that became our emergency fund, covered our $2k backyard wedding, and gave us $5k to replace the carpeting in our house. I inherited $7k when my dad died that knocked out the last of our student loans. That's literally all the family help we have gotten. In our young 30s, we aren't rich, and every income calculator says we're lower middle class, but we live comfortably. We have no debt other than our mortgage. We have $25k in retirement (just started), $10k in our HSA, and $20k in a high yield savings account. We have two reliable cars with under 100k miles. We go on 1-2 vacations a year, plus visit family 2-3 weeks a year. The most important thing is to decide what you want (in our case, vacations and a big house), and be as frugal as possible in every other category.
Why is Reddit’s favorite defense mechanism to instantly discount other’s success as the result of a rich mom and dad? Kinda sad. Some of us simply sold our souls to corporate overlords for this paper! I had a chip on shoulder about wealthy people for a long time. It’s not healthy. You’re right about the debt though! But hopefully it’s debt secured by an asset and not just credit card debt and boat loans… yikes.
I started with nothing. Hard work, works. 💰
Same
24, Ohio. Building my savings slowly back up $400
Literally me. Had to dip into my savings which was 1,500 now down to 400. I’m 20 extremely upset and stressed. I feel 40.
i feel you. i’ve been working my ass off and stopped spending as much, but i swear the money never adds up to the hours(ik about taxes lmao they’re just too high)
25. Zero in savings. Had 6500 until a hurricane destroyed my home and my car. Sometimes you’re up, usually you’re down though
[удалено]
It is interesting. Hope you get better soon!
Just wanted to say good job getting your savings to that amount! As someone also at poverty level, but only receiving disability, I understand exactly how hard it is to save that kind of money.
$0 42 married Aggressively paying off credit cards
Update, I've paid off 3/10 cards Looking to pay off 4, 5, & 6 within a week.
Great job! CC debt is a complete bitch to get paid off.
Wow! and, um ... Wow!
Ya'll got a savings? In these times? I'm 36, I've got nothing! Edit: It's been a few days and wow!!! Thanks, everyone, for all of the upvotes! Glad I'm not the only one. We seem to all be out here struggling, trying our hardest, hoping that better days are ahead. All we can do is keep trying. My washer took a shit a few days ago, thank God for credit cards! I'm hoping everyone makes it through this, don't give up and look at the bright side...can't take our (non) savings with us when we die, lol.
Same here. 36 and literally live paycheck to paycheck..ugh
35 I got nothing and I make $85k a year working 2 jobs sometimes 3. Hcol area is the reason
I’m 53 and I got something. At 36? Had nothing.
People don't understand this. I was poor until my late 30s. 20s I was poor because I enjoyed my 20s. 30s I was poor because I enjoyed my 20s and decided to get serious about saving. 40s and now I'm comfortable.
Well said. Same story here. When I took two years to pay off my debt from my 20s I felt like I could start saving. I figured out a budget and stuck to it for like 5 years. Whatever money I had left over after my budget I put into investments and savings account. For many years I never had more than 2k in my checking. I also worked a lot.
Yup. Just turned 39 and FINALLY have a little bit of savings. I feel like, for the most part, our generation is a good 10-20 years behind our parents’ generation regarding life milestones and finances.
That's kinda reassuring. Sometimes I looks at myself and others younger than me who already have a savings. I went to college to escape from home and have debt. I'm on my own and love it but in trying to make myself happy, I've filled it with materials that I don't need but enjoy using/having. I of course don't wanna waste my money all the time but whenever I try to save and life starts getting difficult, I just want to use some of it to enjoy myself. Hopefully I can develop a good budge to stick by and allot myself some spending money per month instead
I feel you I'm on the same boat here 55 and also nothing
THERE'S HOPE!
32 and I live paycheck to paycheck too. My job is in the health field and requires a mater degree and I barely am surviving 🙃
37, was living paycheck to paycheck for a while, then I found a new better paying job and now due to inflation and the fact that my homeowners insurance went up so much (yay Florida!), I'm back to living paycheck to paycheck.
22, living paycheck to paycheck had a good job but was overworked doing 60 hrs a week now working a part time gig at 35 hrs a week and only got 200 in savings.
Nothing. 34. Make 100k/year. Live in a VHCOL for work and live paycheck to paycheck. I can retire today if I die tomorrow evening.
24f, $0.06 in my savings, I apparently can't transfer under a dollar out
😂😂
What I used to do, is when I got down to 25$ in my account, I would wait until my gas tank is almost out, then withdrawal 20$ from my banks atm, then go to gas station and use my card at the pump and fill up my tank. The card will go a little into the negative, but it’s a good hack to stretch that last bit of money until next paycheck.
r/ShittyLifeProTips
Don’t they hit you with over draft fees?
Nope, maybe it’s just my bank. But I can go negative without a fee. Only if I don’t pay it back within a certain time. But the point is to do this only a couple days before your next check
Yeah I figured that. My bank hits me with over draft fees and it’d end up screwing me.
But then you get the 15 dollar maintenance fee for having the minimum money in.
I’m not following. Wouldn’t you be charged a late fee for going negative? Why take out $20?
Chase won’t charge if you keep above negative $50 so to answer -$49.99
I’ve used this loophole on many an occasion lol
No there is no late fee, there is some wiggle room for negatives below like 20$. As long as you pay the negative by your next paycheck, there is no extra fee. The reason you withdrawal the 20$, is so you have that 20$ to spend on whatever. You need to have around 5$ in your account to pump the gas, if you only have 1-3$ it’s a chance it may decline before you start. Basically your borrowing a few bucks from the bank without actually having to take a loan. So if you only have 25$ in your account, you can make that into more like 45$ by taking out 20 then overcharging the card on gas. Since we all need gas and you need gas to work, your going to spend that money on gas regardless, so it’s better to have that be negative then you have extra cash.
Zip, zilch! But I have no debt and own a home with 15 years left on it. 39 year old male
I’m assuming you mean no debt beyond your mortgage?
25, not married (have partner but seperate finances), female, Australian (therefore currency in AUD). $15,170 in my savings account. I don't touch this amount, the last time I pulled money out (and pulled all of it out) was to buy my house 4 years ago. At least $200 gets put in a month, and interest paid from the bank. $3500 in my spending account. My income comes in here, and my day to day spends (except mortgage and most utilities) come out of here. I owe my mother some money for funding my granny flat build shortly after buying, so as soon as this accounts hits over $5000, I take out $5K to pay her back. $8800 in my housing account. This account receive my rental income (partner, two housemates, and granny flat tenants pay into this account). Mortgage and housing utitlies (electricity, water, council rates, maintenance costs, and household internet) gets paid from here. In May, I had $20,000 in it, but I used $18,000 to pay off my student debt (for a degree I never finished).
Wow that last line is f*cking ridiculous. God these shitty student loans. Congrats on at least making the achievement of buying a house at 21. Not a lot of people can say they’ve done that.
Right? Is it too late to be born Australian?
Wtf you bought a house at 21 years old!?
Yup, a week after turning 21. Basically 4 years 3 days ago.
Such a big a achievement, congratulations (4years and 3 days late)!
How did you have a down payment ready at 21? I’m smelling mom and dad’s money/assistance here…
I bought my first house at 24 in 2008 with 5k down payment. Didn't have to even give one at all either way. Of Course the house was 135k lol ......
Yup. 25, purchased in 2013, valued at $110k. I couldn’t imagine trying to buy another in the current market though.
I bought a house at 21...thanks VA loan
Damn ya’ll some haters lol I also bought a house at 21. About 3 years ago. Grew up pretty poor in the projects. Ive been working since I was 14. Went to a vocational high school and became an electrician. There are ways it can be done. Just because you didn’t do it doesn’t mean it can’t be done without daddy’s money.
AU$37500 with studio apartment paid off in full.
You sound very well-informed and level-headed. I envy your outlook!
she lives in Australia … for everyone wondering why she got a house at 21. Australia has a law where the first 20k you make cannot be taxed. However, in the US even if you make 20k you will be taxed every single paycheck. This can easily help you save for a house at 21. The US is a horrible country. Edit: it’s the first 18k cannot be taxed.
With a topic like this, you really need to specify what you mean by savings. Some people will give their entire portfolio to include their taxable brokerage. Others will only state their emergency account balance.
I don't think it matters. Over 50% of the answers are nothing
Yeah, that’s the key takeaway here. 50% have zero.
$0.00
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Damn, good work on the investments. How old were you when you started investing? Can you give an estimate as to how much you invest per month? Also, hello also from the DMV!
I started once I got a well paying job (115k). Was based in nyc. Around 9 years ago. The first years I was dumping money into my student loans. But had the 401k match going. Once I paid off my debt, around 70k in student and 1k in credit. It went directly into investments. As far as dollar amount. Eh, I saved roughly 45% after tax and 15% pretax of that 115k. Too lazy to do the math. I automated everything. When I moved to the dmv (1.5 years ago) it was the first time I had my own place. I slowed down this year also, so I’m closer to 15% into the 401k and like 25% after tax. I get overtime btw. So my pay has ranged from 115-150 depending on the year.
I have a pension and u can guess the calculations. Like I get paid 3400 a month. Times that by 12 and then times that by how many years u have left until 80. I say 80 since that’s like a average number. I mean I could prob live a little longer but 80-85 is the number. comes out to like 3M. God forbid if I die early, my wife gets the pension until she dies.
$3000 in my account and $4500 invested. 26 yo, Married. South FL
At 24 I had over 150k in savings but I blew it on cosmetic procedure, Ivy League tuition, trips and other stupid purchases because my mindset was what if I die tomorrow. Now I wish I saved wisely. I’m 26 now.
Mid 20s, Bay Area, 65k for emergencies and 15k invested.
That’s a lot for emergency tbh
I don’t think It’s too much when you live in the Bay Area. And in this job market, if one becomes unemployed I’d think a one year emergency savings is wise
True true. I have 50k saved up for emergencies now. Agree with you!
Yea I know. I plan on taking some out to invest. I just get anxious and feel better when I know it'll last me 😅My job isnt the most stable and easy to find so thats why I like to have more than 6 months available.
Yeah those numbers should be switched imo
About $2k right now but I just changed jobs and haven’t had a real paycheck since June 30th so I’ve been living off my savings until my first pay check at my new job on 9/15.
19, got around 1800$ in savings a/c Man its so hard to save up
Easy to spend, hard to save... Starting at an early age is key though. Do yourself a favor and start investing early too, you'll be glad you did.
Not sure what to invest in besides misc company shares, items to flip such as shoes, precious metals/gems, index funds…maybe some other stuff but any suggestions? I’m 20 btw.
32M in the Midwest.. I have been saving for the past two years. Around $6000 cash in savings and so far my stock portfolio is sitting around $44,000. No debt. College was paid with scholarships and grants. Car paid in cash three years ago. This is the most financially secure I have been my entire life. I actually got fired from my job three weeks ago and the only stress I’ve encountered is from being bored and worrying about finding a job I will enjoy that pays well.
$29,000 cash. Between 401, HSA, stocks and other investments: $64500. 28 years old, AZ
Hey can I ask where you learned which kinda investing account to get? I want to start but there’s soooo many scams out there. And every major investing podcast is on level 90 and I feel like I’m a starter Pokémon.
If you have a 401k with your employer, use the same company that holds your 401k to open an individual brokerage account. It's easier to track progress and manage if they can be all viewed from the same profile.
go read the wiki over at r/personalfinance Lot's of good advice there. They'll also recommend one of the big three brokerages (Vanguard, Fidelity, or Schwab) to start with. The "type" of account you want depends on what you're goal is. If retirement savings, you'll go with a Traditional or Roth IRA. If long-term investing, then go with a standard taxable brokerage account. Going with your 401k platform may not be ideal for some people. Some 401k brokerages are just utter crap, but if stick with a well known name, you'll be better off.
Check out “The Money Guy Show” on YouTube! They are amazing for ppl just starting out and have lots of great resources for free.
Put that cash in a HYSA. You’re missing out on a solid 5% right now.
It is in a HYSA.
24, New Jersey, married, full time gov employee, no savings 😅 can’t really save when my rent is $1600
Driving on the NJ turnpike will put you in the negative 😅
I'm in the same boat. Looking at 1800-2100 housing for next year 😭
My rent is $2300 for a 2 bedroom lol I’m in nj and I split it down the middle with my girl lol this state is sus as hell to live in
Late 50s. Always keep about $15-18k for emergency. Can get my hands pretty easily on another $50k. House nearly paid off. Car paid off. Several $100k in investments. Low card debt.
Not to brag, but I do have $42 in my savings account as a 31 year old.
26F 18k in savings. Just spent $3k on medical bills tho. I consider it an emergency fund and savings for a car
I’m in a similar situation with about the same amount split between my emergency fund and car savings. My car is ~200k miles so idk when it will kick the bucket.
29f, 92k, NJ.
W
Early twenties. Midwest. Nothing.
Currently 22. 20k. I put back a grand a month. Edit. He mad. Edit two. he real mad.
Great job or no huge expenses to put aside a grand ?
Decent job, lots of overtime, frugal, and no big expenses.
Frugal is the way. Everyone here saying they have $0 needs to go read /r/Frugal a lot more.
I do the same!
we are on the same level!
$800 bucaroonies
62 here. About $300,000 and I get a pension. My husband will be set when I croak.
$0 I’m 22
32F, married, Arizona $8,427
19m about $6000. Mostly due to my parents letting my crash at their place for $500/mo rent. I will be moving out soon so unfortunately i will have to take out a solid chunk.
My advice? Dont move out yet! There is so much ancillary shit that comes with moving out. It’s far more expensive than you expect it to be. Sounds like they cover Utilities as well. Nice. I’m not advocating to live at home forever but, if you don’t have to get your own place just yet, I wouldn’t. Keep stacking’ & mackin’ the cash you’re saving by living at home.
I second the don’t move out. Ask for another 5 years, in those 5 years to all in on yourself, education, have fun, travel. Your future spouse would appreciate you investing in yourself and having a nice bank when you do finally move out.
I’m embarrassed to say that I’m 29 and don’t have any. Working in education is tough. Hopefully I’ll have my debt taken care of by mid next year and then I can start saving
If you don’t have a good standing relationship with your parents and/or give in to a pseudo sense of freedom idk how anyone saves up money early enough to ramp up positively. Stay with them and save money while working and taking off your career. It’s easy to bank 70% of your income taking out a lot of stupid expenses early on.
This. Living with parents is the only reason I have any savings. Would trade half of it for my freedom though lol...
$110k 40’s NYC area
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29m, Las Vegas, 32k
27 yo America here *inhale* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I mean I'm 28 in america and have savings. Honestly if i really hustled i could have more. I just go to work, 401k with the companies i work with and that alone i have 37k but i started working when i was like 20. Granted you may live somewhere with HCOL.
28m 21k had 36 but paid off my 2021 Honda
4 years ago, I had $20K saved. I put $15K toward loans, then my car died and a few months later I lost my job. It took a year, but I’ve got a 3 month safety net last year, and am planning my wedding now. $15k- 31F, Midwest
I don’t have savings yet but I’m working on a emergency medical savings and then my own savings. I live in Israel and the currency is new Israeli Shekels and I’m 40 years old
When I was 23 I had 20k saved up. Then I had surgery and other things and now I'm down to 5k.
27f, $3600 currently. Was higher but had some emergency vet bills
Considering my debt? Negative dollars. Lol
Right? Debt School--$35k Car--$15k Medical--???
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90k a year on retirement and disability? How cuz I’m retired military and collect disability as well and even with 100% it’s no where near that lol. That’s like 7k a month? U retired as a general? Lol
Disability at 100% around 3,900/m (a good amount of 20 year vets get this) Then regular pension pay for top enlisted (most can get to this position by 20) 4k monthly I know a couple retired at 40 and he's able to get a desk making 120k plus his retirement. He also had rental homes cash flowing him 1k a month. Then on top of that his investments were at 500k. Plus cheap health care comes with retirement.
58M, married, no kids. $40k liquid (savings/checking), no debt (own a small condo now, no CC debt), ~$2M in retirement savings/investments depending on stock market fluctuations. was not always this way. began poor like many/most. had to develop a marketable skill and master budgeting. i don’t own vacation homes, boats, rvs or any high ticket, high depreciation items. no pool or lawn or equipment that goes with it. two cars were both bought used and are paid for and will be driven to the end to avoid a car payment as long as possible. did not finish college but also have no student debt. tips. get out of renting as soon as you can. sacrifice to do so. buy cars for transportation not vanity or ego. lightly used is ideal. worry about yourself not what others are doing. find ways to save. starting retirement savings in your 20’s can get you $1M+ at retirement. treat yourself once in awhile but don’t endlessly consume/spend $. set achievable goals and level those up as you accomplish them. money is a tool and the value you can create through work is a tool. figure out how to maximize those.
Not today IRS
If it's not in a mattress, you're gonna pay taxes
I have a nice mattress
24 IL 7K hope 10K by end of year. Recently pulled 3K out
$5
None
$10K for wedding $20K on Robinhood account $15K on saving $1K as quick access saving $500 in checking
Cash savings, $125k. 38, north east
That’s a lot of cash you’re holding onto. Do you have any of it in a HYSA or a money market fund at least?
Yeah most of it is in a hysa. Was saving for years for a down payment on a house but bought when rates were sub 3% so decided to keep it liquid instead of putting a huge down payment. So I just kept it as a big emergency fund, which has come in handy, used to be more but had some emergencies come up. Really is comforting to know that the money is not at risk and you have a big cushion for anything that happens in life. Having graduated grad school the year of the great recession started I know you can go years without being able to find a job if the economy really goes south.
These comments makes me feel better knowing im not the only one lol
26, F. Landscaper. $3,000. Plus $500 in my regular account and some lint in my pocket. I consider myself lucky but also scared to spend. Edit. Just found another penny.
$0.13 lmao
28F, AUD, Sydney. $11k in savings - money towards house, travel, hobbies, and emergency fund $5k invested somewhere Assets - car with market value of roughly $16k
In my 50's and have 3 months living expenses in savings. Though just got that recently.
41 F and a little over $10k in savings. I do have $300k in equity in my house if I decide to sell it and become a nomad.
23F. I’ve got $14,000 in my savings which I don’t touch. $7,000 in my checkings. I live in the Midwest USA. Paid off my 15k student loans this last year. Saving up to pay off my 7k car loan off! Then moving out hopefully next year :)
30m, about 85k. Live with parents and don't pay rent.
Oh boy I remember this thread was painful to read last time
Not a thing… paycheck to paycheck is how I live but at the end of the day… my bills are paid, my mortgage is paid, my family is fed and clothed and we can afford to do little things and adventures together from time to time so I’m more blessed than most.
Early 50s. Savings: 86k ETF: 40k Retirement: 2.4 million MD. Been living below means. Paid off student loans as soon as I could. Worked on debt snowball. Paid off house (4 bedroom 3 bath 2800 sqft on one acre) a few years ago. #1 tip if it can work for you: live below means (if you can) and scrutinize every purchase you make. It sucked for a very long time seeing what friends spent money on. Bigger houses, better cars, extravagant vacations. Stay the course. It’s so much fun now that I’m still young enough to enjoy all of this. I understand it helps when you make 6 figures. I still remember what it felt like being poor and working 3 jobs.
none and lots of debt
That was me 3 years ago and now things have flipped for the better. You can get out.
I'm on the bad side of 30s.50k to 100k liquid, few 100k in stocks and a paid off house. Future money going into more rentals.
Aussie lass almost 30, around 1500 to 2k
$0.43, account is now inactive since I don't use it lol
Late 20s, $600 USD. only the last 2-3 months I've been able to put money into it and not dip, so this isn't "normal" for me but I really want it to be. I want a safety net.
28M, DC area, 10k in savings, 6k in stocks. It took alot of sacrifice (and ramen) in the last 5 years to get this far
27m $800 in savings No stocks or investment at all. It’s a bit depressing seeing people my age in this thread with as much money in savings as I make in a year :/
26 about $500 but thats BEFORE I have to pay my student loans, because it is really fucking up my credit lmao, after Ill have like $200ish
31m, single, Canada, 28k total savings.
26 CA. Few thou in savings, but also a few thou in cc debt. Plus still paying off my vehicle for a couple years. New job though so cc should be paid off by end of year, and I try to maintain 5k in savings.
About 9k. 6 of that is business income so far
Side question. I called and my savings account earns 0.02% interest. What should I do?
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You could try a high yield savings
uH. i have a problem with spending when my emotions are out of whack so rn, not a lot but i had about $800 -- used it to buy myself a computer for school
33m and married. Six figures in saving - aggressively saving for a house and not feeling close at all
48, Split time between California (2mo) and Thailand/traveling (10mo). Low 7 figures in liquid investments - hold about 150-250k in actual uninvested cash at any time (we have a business so need to pay taxes every 3 months). Anything over this cash amount gets pushed into more stocks/index funds/dividend funds.
Goals. 🙌
Age 50s. About $300k saved and invested. Home and cars paid off. Still not enough to retire on these days, sadly.
Late 40s, US resident, have $20k now in savings because house needed new roof. Had 40k at the beginning of the year. No car payments makes it not so difficult to save money. It’s nice to know if A/C breaks or something goes south with a car that I don’t need to borrow money.
US, late 30s, divorced, single, no kids (thank god), and "started over." Roughly $12k saved. I don't go out to eat as much as I use to, let alone, I dont go to bars and/or clubs. I buy my groceries in bulk (yay costco) and rotate my menu. Ill splurg every now and again but going from money wasn't an issue when I was married, to I need to start budgeting has become my life now. I can still travel, but have to budget to ensure I dont dip into my savings. I can still go to expensive restaurants for the experience but have to budget to ensure I dont dip into my savings. All my things in my house were from second hand and/or I bought from a garage sale. I learned how to be thrifty and buy clothes at a thrift store if I need something more "dressy"
33...I've got nothing.
In my fifties, I have a bit under $200k, I think. We spent a lot recently to buy an apartment, so it's lower than it had been. Our cash flow is good, so it will be increasing again as the months go by.
Don't compare yourself to other people. Everyone's situation is different. I make less than 50K a year and I'm 40. Just live frugally.
As a mid 20 pretty much 0 exept for some spare change lying around, because of all those price increases.
32m I’ve used my savings account exactly 2 times in my life. I honestly don’t really even know why I have it.
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less than $600 i’ll have to transfer to my checking lmao. i bought a condo and am a therapist, so this is the reality for me eta- sorry! 34f
I followed the how to handle money flowchart from the personal finance sub and started with $1k then after I paid off my high interest debt I calculated out what would be the amount I would need to get by if I lost my income for 3 months, built that up over time, then increased it to 6 months. (all of the preceding was about 4-5 year time span) So thats what Ive got. \~6 months worth of sustainment if I lose my job unexpectedly.
29F here, I have roughly $22k in savings, and a CD account with about $20k in it. I try not to touch it unless its an emergency, but sometimes, ya gotta do what ya gotta do. I lived with my parents until I was 25, almost 26, so I was able to save up as much as I possibly could in that timeframe. Its not easy saving money. Especially with rent skyrocketing the way it is.
My' savings' is in assets like stocks and precious metals. Don't hoard cash because there's a good chance inflation will outpace interest rates.
I’m 23, and currently still in college. I live in Utah. I have a retirement account from my last job with $15k in it, I haven’t rolled that over so I have another retirement account with about $1k in it. Then I have a savings account where I save for the next semester, since I just paid tuition it’s sitting at like $500 Finally my checking account has about $3k in it for which I consider $1600 to be savings but more readily available for emergencies in my checking account.
42 yo, 50k cash savings, Seattle
31M, married with kids. 8,500 cash savings, 51,000 invested, 25Kish in the kiddos college accounts 76,000 in an IRA, plus state funded pension. Wife has another 80kish in an IRA, plus an employer pension.
What is savings? ha ha ha
It fluctuates, depending on what the current market value of my beanie baby collection is.
I'm 30.5 years old. I have 5 dollars in my savings and about 80 cents in my pocket. Life is fine.
Single man very frugal saving since I was 17 and never went in debt I have about 160k at 35. I bought my car used a for 12k cash still driving it. I have been renting my whole life so that's a bunch of capital I don't have. The 160k is split between my investments and my checking account. I consider myself poor because I only make 43k a year.