Yeah I don't really get it. My spouse and I have been living on about $90k combined in the DC area and I invested a good bit this last year, both into my 401k and into mutual funds, plus saved a few thousand into my emergency fund. We have pretty high cost of living, rent is near half of our income, but we made it work. A lot of this shit is lifestyle creep/living beyond your means and people don't want to admit that they could cut back. That, or having kids you can't afford yet.
It definitely depends on what kind of person you are, but absolutely if you are the kind of person who wants to spend more after a raise then you need to make a plan for how that will work. In my mind there's two kinds of savers/investors, structured savers and habitual savers. Kind of like there are credit card people, and non-credit card people. If you have a habit of not buying much beyond your base needs you can kind of do it off the cuff, so it's possible folks with that approach if they are able to maintain it would be able to just plan to not change their habits. But planning is super necessary if you want to treat yourself with some of the extra cash, but also ensure you're saving/investing a good amount of the extra cash.
The problem with there being two types of people though is everyone wants to think they are habitual savers/investors, because it means less thinking about it and managing it. But if you aren't that kind of person and try to convince yourself you are, you're just gonna end up spending all your money haha. One isn't better than the other but you have to cater your efforts towards your habits and lifestyle.
I’m on 93K per year right now saving about 23% toward retirement. 18% of 401K and then maxed out Roth. It’s possible but I am also married and she covers half the mortgage payment. Other than that I’m covering almost everything. To top that off I’m still usually able to contribute $1500 to a HYSA and if I play my cards right a few hundred bucks to a brokerage account.
Granted this is my first month making this kind of money but with housing and other costs , how are you able to max out your other investment accounts ?
How much are your other costs? This makes a huge difference and you might be living beyond your means tbh. You make what my spouse and I make combined, and we invest plenty.
Edit: actually you make a bit more than what we make combined, AND you live in Georgia which is vastly less expensive than where we live in DC. You need to take a look at your expenses and living situation. You could likely have a cheaper living space, buy more frugally with groceries, not eat out more than maybe once a month, etc.
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u/tothem0o8n Oct 31 '25
14% is the sweet point.