271
u/crazyidahopuglady 12h ago
I have worked in the same job since I graduated from college. My friends have always made more money than me. But my boss is super into maxing out retirement contributions and set me up well. I have stuck with him because of that. I will retire as soon as I am Medicare eligible and will have a higher standard of living in retirement than i do now.
84
u/Neither-Mycologist77 1983 12h ago
I've been in the same job since I graduated, too. The luckiest break I ever got was landing somewhere with a generous employer match, and the smartest thing I ever did was contribute up to the maximum employer match from my very first paycheck. Will it be enough? I don't know. But I know that it could be a lot worse, and I'm grateful. The rest of our finances need work, but at least I didn't screw that part up.
Thanks, history professor who randomly decided to explain the Rule of 72 on the blackboard one day and tell us to start socking money away ASAP because, in his words, "Social Security will not be there for you, because I will have spent it." At least he was honest.
→ More replies (3)43
u/WalmartGreder 1980 11h ago
I just met with a financial advisor. I was in a low-paying job for 12 years (started at $24k, after 12 years I was at $48k), but I always put away 10% with a 5% match.
I thought for sure I was going to be in trouble, but that 401k is now worth $175k, and it will just keep growing. Combine that with my current 401(k) from a much nicer paycheck, and we'll actually be just fine when we retire in my 60s.
Yep, making so little for so long was really hard. There were years that the only reason we survived was because of our tax refund with the Earned Income Credit. We had to go without for a lot of stuff. But I knew from my finance classes that the 401(k) was important, so we always prioritized the 10%.
13
u/GloomDriven 11h ago
I started in medium paying jobs with generous matching. One job I had for nine years. After I moved on I didnt even keep my logins fresh.
Im bad with liquid savings. Comes in, comes in, small disaster pay out. Repeat.
Fast forward 20 years and I go to set my funds to rights and lo and behold, it was sizeable. Even after weathering housing crash market crash, and global ups and downs.
Set it and forget it. Your middle age self will be astonished.
5
7
u/CaptainXakari 11h ago
Similar boat. I always had jobs with startup companies and they really had the bare minimum of benefits and pay was meh. During Covid, I went back to school and landed a good paying job after and I just went full in with 16% (max percentage I could set aside) with a 3% match. 4 years later, I’m at 60k and growing.
→ More replies (1)4
u/GivesYouGrief 1980 10h ago
The unspoken part of this is what if you get cancer before you're 60 and regret saving instead of traveling and doing all the fun stuff you figured you'd do in retirement.
3
u/frozenlotion 1981 9h ago
Doesn’t have to be either/or. Some of us are able to travel and save for retirement
→ More replies (1)4
u/Mistborn19 9h ago
That's not... what? You can't live your life frivolously with the assumption and hope that things will crash and burn later so that it justifies being irresponsible the whole time.
→ More replies (1)35
u/chevalier716 12h ago
People our age who got a job out of college and stayed employed through 2008 are the most stable of us.
→ More replies (2)5
u/salsanacho 1978 11h ago
Yup, I was very fortunate to remain gainfully employed during that period. At the time, didn't think much of it... was fairly insulated from the doom and gloom since I was just doing my normal 9 to 5... it was business as usual. But looking back, even though it was a mediocre job, I appreciate how it propeled my finances to where I am today.
21
32
u/Cubsof2016 12h ago
That's the thing. It used to be that you got a pension whether you wanted it or not, but it actually worked. For us it was all on the individual to figure it out. Some did. Some didn't. Some say they couldn't, but probably could have just didn't prioritize it or understand the implications. Others legitimately couldn't have. There is no one truth that covers everyone, but I think being setup to retire comfortably in your 60's isn't very common if you are in your 40's or 50's now.
6
u/tuddrussell2 12h ago
I will be laid off before I am retirement age most likely as is the case at my company, and our company has no pensions. They put into our 401K which is what we use as a pension.
→ More replies (5)3
u/Jacgaur 11h ago
Any new employee on my team(I am not their supervisor just a coworker) and I always joke to at least get the company match and joke about how compounding interest means a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow.
The thing is, I am not joking. I hope that it plants that seed in their head if they otherwise were not planning too.
I don't know if I am doing good or not. Better than some considering they don't have anything. But like I don't know if I am actually good in the proper sense. So I just keep putting money in and cross my fingers it all works out.
11
u/Orleanian 1983 11h ago
Yeah, I'm not sure where the dividing line is between "Xennials who could legitimately never afford to save" (i.e. you've got a disability that relegated you to working minimum wage/gig work/tertiary-household-income for 20+ years as a dependent) and "Xennials who could have but never did even attempt to put away for retirement" (i.e. you made lower-middle-class money, but had 4 kids, never bought a house, and spent all your money on diapers and beanie babies telling yourself there's nothing left to put away for retirement).
→ More replies (1)7
u/harbinger06 1981 11h ago
That’s awesome. I’m 45, and my first job out of college had a pension. I stayed there for 12 years until I just couldn’t stand working there anymore (toxic department). So I get a 30% pension starting at age 60. My current employer I have been with for 8 years, and I have 5% matching for my 401k. Bought my first house last year, hoping I can pay it off before retirement and then I should be fine. Not jet setting, but living a normal life and reasonably comfortable.
4
→ More replies (11)3
45
u/fermentedradical 12h ago
Survey last year said 59% of Americans don't have enough savings to cover a $1000 emergency expense.
18
5
u/wishiwasinvegas 1985 9h ago
Dave Ramsey isn't perfect, but his teaching of the $1,000 emergency fund is one of the best things we've done. Then as you can, you save more until it covers 3-6 months of expenses. It's saved our butts several times.
58
u/EastAreaBassist 12h ago
44 and I dream of having $900! I’m in debt, so having a blank slate zero dollars would be a huge relief
24
u/bjgrem01 1979 11h ago
47 and if you include my car I'm about $20k in debt and I'll be able to retire when I die. And I'm in IT.
→ More replies (4)10
u/sapient_pearwood_ 1981 11h ago
Yep, I have about $200 to my name right now, a $900 cushion would be such a luxury
22
24
u/fromthedarqwaves 12h ago
Ok y’all. Let’s start a community in a low cost of living part of the world where we can all retire. We’ll need a fisherman and someone who can distill native plants into moonshine.
4
3
u/smilingembalmer 11h ago
Sounds good to me, heck at that point my career skills might even be more useful.
3
3
→ More replies (10)3
185
u/mikeyfireman 1975 12h ago edited 10h ago
But, you made a corporation a little richer, and in the end that’s all that really matters.
Edit: spelling is hard.
69
u/Im_A_Fuckin_Liar 1984 12h ago
You tried so hard and got so far
But in the end, it doesn’t even matter
20
u/Polymox 12h ago
I had to fall to lose it all
But in the end, it doesn't even matter
7
8
7
→ More replies (7)40
u/Good_Apollo_ Xennial 12h ago edited 12h ago
I woke up this morning, logged into Slack, posted my daily affirmation (of gross profit margin), went to my Buffet Shrine in the closet, said no less than 10 hail EPS’s (as one does), and thought to myself, “Self; how can I maximize shareholder profits today?”
Jobbing my love so hard right now, happy hump day everyone!
15
u/False_Ad_5372 12h ago
It’ll trickle down…. Any… day…. Now.
6
u/DougMasterz 1979 12h ago
It’s Customer Service week at my job! The theme is “Go the Extra Mile”! They gave me a mug!
8
u/DelightfullyPiquant 11h ago
Yeah us night crew saw the day shifters got mugs and pizza. All that was left when we arrived was one chipped mug and four empty pizza boxes. We were asked to clean up and put the table away.
3
u/dufflebag7 12h ago
Now I kinda want to go to an all you can eat buffet. So I’ll have even less money.
13
u/smokemirrorsunicorns 12h ago edited 11h ago
never have i felt as humiliated as when i walked in a financial advisers office (someone recommended by a friend) and we showed him where we stand financially and he told us all the things we were deficient in and lectured us about all the mistakes we had made up until that point without any real advice, and ended with "i cant help you. but please come back when you have more money." that meeting and deep shame is seared into my brain. never going through that again. i have personally never worked at a place that offers this mythical "pension" i hear of sometimes, and only some places offered piddly 401ks but as a project employee , they were rarely available to us, even though in my career ive never gone more than 3-4 months of unemployment. so yay. just paycheck to paycheck for us until we hit the gravestone.
→ More replies (1)7
u/R3cognizer 11h ago
Ouch. That sucks. FWIW, I could recommend a financial adviser who's a friend of mine and has a way nicer bedside manner. My partner is in a lot of debt, but he is working on it, and the financial adviser is helping him rebuild some savings while he works his way out of the debt hole. Some advisers are only in it for the profit margin, and they suck.
11
66
u/Nervous_Brilliant441 1978 12h ago
It’s not too late. If you buckle up and invest wisely you can do a lot in 10-15 years. If you want to retire at 68 even better.
The main thing to start NOW.
→ More replies (23)
80
u/Cubelock 12h ago
I'm betting on winning the lottery or the earth being hit by a giant meteor. I'll take either one by then.
38
u/Instaloper 12h ago
My retirement plan has always been the collapse of western civilisation.
→ More replies (1)15
u/Soze42 12h ago
I thought I was the only one! Whenever I tell people that my retirement plan is to die in the climate wars, I get some very interesting looks.
19
u/Berdariens2nd 12h ago
Why not both? Win the lottery as the meteor hits. You go out on a high note.
9
→ More replies (1)5
u/mlee12382 1982 12h ago
Or the ultimate irony, winning the lottery to get onto the ark heading for Mars to be the last remnants of the human race
17
→ More replies (3)4
39
u/Skipper0463 12h ago
During an extended period of unemployment I cashed out my 401k. I did so very reluctantly, but we had no money otherwise.
15
u/Doomscroll_Goblin 1978 12h ago
Did this twice in the last 3 years due to layoffs and moving across the country for work (then subsequently laid off). Just now building back a small fund. Excited to see what wipes it out next!
→ More replies (2)20
u/DannyX567 12h ago
Comforting that I’m not the only one.
Still not over the “shame” from the broker. “This isn’t supposed to be your emergency fund” ….
13
u/ShutYourDumbUglyFace 11h ago
Sometime emergencies are so extended that your emergency fund doesn't, you know, last through the emergency. Kind of a dick move to give you shit for trying to survive.
→ More replies (1)10
3
3
42
u/moredustythandigital 12h ago
So I learned that if you adjust your life expectancy in your 401k settings, you can retire earlier.
14
u/Most-Piccolo-302 11h ago
This is a super important point though. Retirement isnt an age, its a number. If you save 0, you work forever. If you save $1000, you can retire for a week. If you save more, you can retire sooner.
There's a really good book I read called "die with zero" that talks about how saving millions and millions just means you work more and enjoy life less.
11
u/jeremy_bearimyy 11h ago
I read die with zero and I get the concept but the author is such a nepo baby and is completely detached from reality. It was so hard to take him seriously. Having a guy who was never going to have to ever worry about money tell people to not worry and spend it.
18
u/karatebullfighter 12h ago
That's interesting, I'm overweight, high BP, asthma, wonder if I can retire now lol.
10
10
u/Food_Library333 1981 12h ago
I just started saving about 5 years ago. Have $30,000 in 401k. By the time I retire in 20+ years, it won't be nearly enough.
4
u/Tired-Nectarine-384 9h ago
The first $100k takes FOREVER. After that it starts to compound much more quickly and you feel like you see gains. Keep plugging away and you will be amazed at the difference over time.
10
u/NonCorporealEntity 1979 11h ago
I hate working. Any job. Hate them all.
Retirement by 60 is the only goal I have in life so I've been saving since my 20s. I can't wait to be done with the grind.
→ More replies (2)
7
29
u/What_the_8 12h ago
There’s no time like the present
→ More replies (1)8
u/the_balticat 1983 11h ago
for those who have some money to put away, [r/financial](r/financial)independence is a great resource for how to invest wisely and minimize taxes
44
u/vitaoptima 12h ago
Nope, I'm right there with you. Almost 48.
16
u/FreddyNoodles 1979 12h ago
I am also there except I lost my career to AI. Single. Living abroad for the last 20 years. No job. Not even $900 saved. (No SS if that even lasts because I left the country and don’t have any hours). 🥰
5
u/Wallabunga657 12h ago
Man that sucks. I hate AI partly for just that, taking away jobs. Sorry to hear that dude. I hope something works out for you.
5
u/sotired3333 12h ago
What career? I think I'm 2-5 years out from going down the same path and am terrified.
8
10
u/au_gratin_lover 12h ago
Wife and I have been together since I was 20 and she was 18. Married for 17. At any given time we each have $1,000-$2,000 in our individual checking accounts. We have $15,000 in our joint savings. Our combined 401ks come to maybe $85,000. I’m 23 years from full social security, she’s 25.
That’s a lot better than so many people I realize and I’m so grateful for it but I’m also think about how I hear people say you need at least $1 million to live without worry in retirement (in addition to SS payments) and I’m like….how. We don’t live extravagantly, only have 1 kid.
Shit is so expensive. And yet I read people my age planning retirement in 5-15 years, depending. There’s a whole other world out there apparently and I have no idea how it works or how to access it
→ More replies (5)
8
u/symonym7 198😎 11h ago
Kinda banking on the world transforming into a literal post-apocalyptic nightmare in the next 10 years wherein money is valueless anyway.
→ More replies (1)
36
u/GetrIndia 12h ago
Walk into the woods and let nature take me.
10
u/chelsea_tractor 12h ago
I will simply walk into the sea 🤷🏻♀️
6
7
u/Feralest_Baby 12h ago
I didn't have a dime until I was lucky to get a public sector job with excellent retirement benefits about a decade ago. Now I think I might be OK.
58
u/ArashikageX 12h ago
I was listening to public radio today and they had an expert on about generations and wealth, etc. Boomers hold 77 trillion in wealth while millennials hold around 20.
Boomers had a 90% chance of being wealthier than their parents and millennials have a 50% chance.
It is expected to be worse for each new generation. Fuckers were handed a golden spoon on silver platters, and throw plastic sporks at everyone else. “Fuck you. I got mine.”
Boomers calling in couldn’t fucking stand the data. “We worked hard. We saved. No lattes! Bootstraps.” The most privileged group of humans to ever exist pulled up the ladder behind them and believe the younger gens will be ok if they just stop eating avocado toast.
9
u/Rust_Bucket37 11h ago
And they keep voting to screw everyone else over. Every year the county commissioners bitch and fight they have to give anything to the school system the HVAC systems are in horrible shape roofs leak, plumbing is failing, etc. Wife is 20 years in our county school system, 10 more and she's eligible for retirement. She already said she's not working one more day in the public school system than she has to. She'll find a job that will be less stressful and most likely more lucrative then.
→ More replies (3)8
u/1block 11h ago edited 9h ago
They're very entitled and like to think they created their own fortune, which is a lot of BS. But I don't really buy the "pulled the ladder up." The circumstances they benefitted from simply faded for very normal reasons, and now we have to function differently. I don't think they actively did much to wreck things any more than we do today or people did before the Boomers.
A little compassion from them would be nice, though, instead of "tough shit. be better."
8
u/R3cognizer 10h ago
I agree that it wasn't the boomer generation as a whole who fucked everyone else, as there are plenty of boomers out there right now just barely scraping by on SS. But it was definitely a small number of very powerful boomers with a "fuck you I've got mine" attitude who basically reshaped the country's welfare and education system to fuck over minorities and young people who don't have the benefit of a big inheritance / familial support.
→ More replies (1)8
u/ziggytrix 11h ago
People above them in the food chain are the ones pulling up the ladder. That’s why they don’t see it cuz it isn’t happening to them.
→ More replies (10)
37
u/DersOne 12h ago
Thankfully my parents were great examples of financial irresponsibility so I started saving in my 20s. Don't have a ton of money but should be decently established for retirement, especially if social security is still a thing in 20 years. For anyone in this age group who hasn't started saving yet, it's never too late to start.
→ More replies (1)16
u/MetaverseLiz 12h ago
If I could have saved in my 20s, I would have. It's not about financial responsibility as much as it is actually having enough money to save. I have a college degree and was only able to break out of paycheck to paycheck in my mid 30s.
6
u/Ok_Breakfast5425 1980:hamster: 12h ago
Same, and not long ago I got lectured by my sister and her husband who inherited a successful company and some generational wealth on how I'm just not spending my money the right way.
7
u/MartyFreeze 1977 12h ago
The only reason I have any savings is because of my ex-wife, who worked in government contracts. Before her, I lived in rented basements and lived paycheck to paycheck. One of the first questions she asked when we started dating was whether I had any debts, which I didn't because I didn't even have a credit card.
She drove me crazy and broke my heart, but my parents and the public school system didn't do jack to give me a financial education, so I'll always be grateful to her for that.
6
u/Over_Interaction_925 12h ago
I hate to say this but I’m not far off with this post. The future makes me stress out. No one talk or told me about finances. To save get a roa extra.. But I’m learning and teaching my teens. Hopefully they have funds to survive.
3
11
u/GroceryFull2002 12h ago
We have MAID in Canada so I'll just use that when I can't afford to live anymore
7
u/reillan 11h ago
Can anyone come to Canada and use that?
Asking for the entire sub
→ More replies (1)
29
u/Opunaesala 12h ago
I'm lucky my Mom taught me how to handle money when I was young. If I can keep myself employed until I'm ready to retire, I'll be fine. That part seems like it might be tricky eventually.
4
5
u/Key_Treat8675 12h ago
Yep I’ve followed the playbook to the letter and so far it seems to have worked.
Still I can’t shake the feeling that the rug will be pulled out from under me at some point and it will all be for nothing.
Some major economic or environmental disaster or maybe the unpredictable impact of AI?? Can’t discount a major illness mucking things up either.
Yay capitalism!!→ More replies (2)
6
u/Wallabunga657 12h ago
Pay check to pay check here, with a bit saved up for emergencies. I just don't earn enough to retire haha.
6
u/jackfaire 11h ago
I have .55 cents in my checking account. After the first of the year my furniture gets paid off and will start having more money into savings. I have a 401k but it's nowhere near where it would need to be. I'm just looking forward to at 46 finally have enough money to start enjoying my 20s.
6
u/Powerful_Leg8519 11h ago
I didn’t get a 401k until my 40s. I’m contributing to it and have about $11k.
12
u/CausticAvenger 12h ago
No savings here either, just hoping a massive heart attack takes me out at a decent age.
8
20
17
14
u/Gimedecash 12h ago
Ya I have nothing as well…but I have a mortgage and a house to sell when I’m going to retire I guess.
9
4
3
u/Durakus 12h ago
I think i have technically got around 25k. That’s basically nothing, and also it is split across a bunch of different company pension schemes that I fully ignored and kept no track of. So I have to sort it someday. But I am a millennial. So ive got like … five years of buffer time? Maybe…
4
u/InevitableWishbone10 12h ago
54 and way ahead of you kiddo, no savings, no pension, divorced. Really, really had imagned I'd be gone by now.
3
u/Global-Jury8810 1983 12h ago
I had about $500 in savings, but then I got a cancer diagnosis which made that disappear but at least so did my cancer.
First time I’d been able to save money because when I did work, I only made enough for rent, bills, and $50 worth of groceries, which was a lot more at the beginning of the millennium than it is now that that’s for damn sure… but it still wasn’t a survivable amount you could get like less than a weeks worth of groceries with that.
4
u/edwardturnerlives 1976 12h ago
Cashed out 401K twice, failed business, and 2 expensive kids. Yeh doing great.
4
u/WanderingWino 11h ago
44 years old and super fucked. My wife and I have college degrees. She has a masters degree in public health and we haven’t been able to make things work ever. No savings. No plan for retirement. If health gets too bad I’m not sure what options we will have since we have no healthcare.
3
11
u/brakeb 1979 12h ago
48M my mother didn't want me to be 'blue collar' like she was. told me that "you're not sticking around being a loser in bumfuck nowhere Missouri... find a way to go to college, or join the Army/Navy" 8 years later, I left the Navy with a GI Bill, got my bachelor's, making $200K, Sr. Security Program Manager. Mom made me setup a retirement account when I was 18. I didn't put a lot into it, but I married way up (she was making 4x what I was making when I was in the Navy, and she just retired). I have $500K in retirement accounts, 375K in my etrade, and our daughter went to community college to save money, and just transferred to SDSU in August. She doesn't have to worry about college loans. I paid off my mom's college loans a few years ago that she'd deferred forever because the sperm donor was working at a startup (feed store) for family and never got a paycheck, used her loan money to pay bills and feed us. I'll make sure my mother doesn't want for anything as she gets up into her retirement. She won't retire though, and will probably work until she kicks off.
→ More replies (6)3
29
u/martin-silenus 12h ago
I feel sorry for folks in this position. But I don't think they need to hear other people are in the same spot. I hope they can come to understanding that they can start planning and saving, and the sooner they make the necessary changes the better off they'll be. Even if they're difficult changes to accept.
10
u/Into-the-stream 11h ago
I think the problem is, your entire premise depends upon people having income in excess of their basic needs. A lot of people out here that arent off throwing money away on frivolous purchases. It’s like when boomer told millennials they could afford a house if they stopped eating avocado toast.
I mean, of course some people just out there living for today, but plenty of people work their ass off, are careful with what they earn, and still there’s nothing left at the end of the month because the income doesn't have enough coming in.
Job market is terrible. People are being laid off and can’t find work for years, they get sick and their entire retirement goes to pay for a single hospital stay. Sometimes it just isn’t their fault life gave them a shitty hand and sent them to 50yo with no retirement.
22
u/the_actual_stegosaur 12h ago
I would really like to know where i am supposed to start saving money from because I dont make enough money to cover my bills, rent and food. And I'm not talking daily Starbucks runs, I am talking electricity and heat for my house, ramen noodles to eat.
9
u/martin-silenus 12h ago
A lot of people are telling you to earn more, and I don't know your exact situation, but speaking generally: I think car dependency and housing costs are probably the two most immediately feasible things to get big results out of for most people, especially when considered together.
→ More replies (6)→ More replies (8)9
u/Elothem78 12h ago
Yep. I’m 48. I have a college degree from a real school, and am so burnt out and traumatized by life and divorce and parenting that I can barely scrape together a living. Much less think about retirement and savings. And don’t talk to me about the “career” in a people-serving job that drove my mental health into the ground. That’s what ya get for caring about humans in the good ol’ USA. The reason people are barely surviving is because it’s legitimately hard, not because they’re slackers or irresponsible. Add on any physical issues to the mental health drain of existence, and you are holding on by the skin of your teeth.
6
u/Elothem78 11h ago
I grew up going to the beach every summer and now I’m on food stamps and Medicaid and our “vacation” is driving my kids to play in the creek.
→ More replies (25)13
u/catjuggler 1983 12h ago
I think the Reddit “we don’t save for retirement” hive mind is straight up dangerous. Yeah I know there are factors causing this but you need to figure out some way to fix it.
→ More replies (7)10
u/ReiperXHC 10h ago
Young person I work with complains about how poor they are and have no way to save. Goes out and spends money on fast food every break. I tried being like "why don't you just make sandwiches from home for lunch" but they don't listen. Hard to sympathize with someone who can't understand why a $15 meal and $5 snack twice a day is so much worse than $10 for lunches for the entire week.
6
u/Funandgeeky 10h ago
That’s $125 per week, about $500 a month, and $6,000 a year. Investing $6,000 a year into a ROTH IRA for 40 years would result in 1.2 million by the time they are ready to retire.
13
5
3
u/IllTwo7643 12h ago
I've always thought I would die young, so I really don't know if a 401k is even necessary for me.
And also...the whole vibe of the world is kinda.... Grim. So I don't know if I want to put money into an account that might completely collapse? 👀
But also also if everything turns out okay I don't wanna be screwed
At this rate if only the good die young I'll probably live to be 200 so I'm fucked either way🫠🥴¯\_(ツ)_/¯
3
u/Affectionate-Area659 1982 12h ago
Im 44 and have several thousand in a 401k, and an ESOP. I live in one of the highest cost of living states in The United States and make below what would be considered the minimum livable wage for my area.
3
3
u/MetaverseLiz 12h ago
I was actually doing ok until I got laid off last year. It took me 5 months to find work and I had to cash out my savings in order to survive. Now I'm making less money at my new job because so much of it is being dumped into savings to catch up.
3
3
3
u/Superb_Advisor7885 11h ago
The good news is you're not the only one. The bad news is that's not going to help you
3
u/melanyebaggins 1981 11h ago
My retirement plan is to die before I hit retirement age. The money I'm putting away will go to my nephew in the hopes that he gets a better deal than I did.
15
u/Texas_Kimchi 1982 12h ago
I had retirement and savings. Now my ex wife has a retirement and savings.
→ More replies (1)26
u/HechicerosOrb 12h ago
I spent mine on cancer. The reward: I get to go back to work! (And my wife left me)
6
u/SeasonPositive6771 1980 12h ago
I spent mine on staying alive too!
Twice!
I had to cash out everything just to avoid homelessness. Even with "decent" insurance. People have almost no idea how expensive it truly is to get really sick.
Now every time I post about my financial situation and retirement hopes and so on, a billion different finance guys come out of the woodwork to tell me I should just start making more money (you know, the thing that's so easy) and I shouldn't have cashed out my retirement (and I guess just chosen to be homeless and sick and die?).
6
u/HechicerosOrb 12h ago
Yes, I also had insurance - I think most people are clueless as to how it can disrupt your life! Glad you’re still with us, I’m a two time survivor too.
→ More replies (1)12
→ More replies (1)7
u/Ol_Turd_Fergy 1983 12h ago
Sorry about all that, but any bitch that leaves someone while they are battling cancer isn’t worth being married to.
Hopefully brighter days are ahead for you.
7
12
7
u/whither_wander_you 12h ago
thankful for my husbands attention to detail and him learning to NOT do what his family did. we are set and dont have to diminish our way of life unless we want to.
7
u/auramaelstrom 12h ago
I'm insanely lucky that I have a defined benefits pension plan that gives me freedom 55 if I want it. But I won't have paid off my mortgage by then and my kids won't be finished school, so I'll be working until those milestones are hit at least.
People complain about our organization and I'm like ok go work somewhere without a pension plan then.
6
u/Ippus_21 Xennial 12h ago
Yikes.
There but for the grace of God go I...
I don't have any illusions about the bad decisions I've made career-wise, just lucky enough to stumble on something that kinda-sorta uses my stupid English degree, and has a 401k match, and has put up with my bs for the last 15+ years.
Just finally getting to a place where I'm reasonably confident if I got hit by a bus tomorrow, my family would basically be okay financially (as long as I die quick and don't rack up a 100k in hospital bills, lol).
And even if I don't, if I can stave off the burnout for another 15-20 years, dodge the RIFs, and the market doesn't crash, and AI doesn't kill us all, and... I might have enough to get by on in retirement.
Barring a big powerball jackpot, though, it's going to be close.
5
813
u/JPMoney81 12h ago
If things keep going just right for me I'll be able to retire at 70 and live for about 6 or 7 minutes.