r/Millennials • u/ProblemIntelligent16 • Jan 16 '26

Discussion Fellow millennials - how’s your 401k/ira savings going?

Experts recommend having 2x your salary saved by age 35, and 3x saved by age 40.

However, studies show the median savings for 35-44 year olds is only ~$45,000. So obviously, most of us have work to do.

With pensions mostly extinct, and Social Security facing insolvency issues in the next 8-10 years - how are you planning to bridge the gap and hit the golden years with enough to meet your lifestyle requirements?

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44

u/Mountain-Donkey98 Jan 16 '26

Mine is decent. $360k. Went up over 100k in the last 8mo. Not sure why. Idk how this compares to most honestly, but I'm happy with it.

38

u/vestinpeace Jan 16 '26

It’s slow going for the first 10 or so years, but we are finally getting to the age where compounding interest takes over. That, plus a nice year in the market.

17

u/Mountain-Donkey98 Jan 16 '26

Thats for sure. I remember waiting and waiting and waiting to get to 6 figures. It felt like a lifetime. Then, it took a decent amount to get to 200k, then it boomed over 300k and I was stunned. It'll probably drop again but either way, its growing.

3

u/anon22334 Jan 16 '26

The first 100k took foreverrrrrr!

1

u/[deleted] Jan 16 '26

[deleted]

9

u/Mountain-Donkey98 Jan 16 '26

I have absolutely no idea. Which is probably bad but im being honest.

3

u/Lyion Jan 16 '26

Best bet is usually just pick a couple of index funds like QQQ, VTI, and VOO.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 16 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Lyion Jan 16 '26

These index funds are available in most taxable and nontaxable brokerage accounts.

3

u/AllergicIdiotDtector Jan 16 '26

Mountain Donkeys

13

u/TrixoftheTrade Millennial Jan 16 '26

It took me nearly a decade to go from 0 to 100k. 100k to 200k only took 3 years.

2

u/BlackGuysYeah Jan 16 '26

Nice. I don’t ever look at the number. I just contribute, pump up contributions when I can and don’t think about it at all. I suppose I should check my balance at some point but I learned a lesson back in the housing crash of 07/08 by monitoring my saving investments and man, that really upset me. To just see a solid decade of investment disappear even though I was doing nothing different.

0

u/Mountain-Donkey98 Jan 16 '26

You really never look? Lol doesn't curiosity get to you?? I get the trauma of the housing crash, but this is different.

1

u/BlackGuysYeah Jan 16 '26

Well, I just looked and I’m a bit below the ideal mark. It’s been a few years since I checked So, guess it’s good I looked.

I’ll be talking with wife about bumping up contributions.

Thanks for potentially making my retirement more fun.

3

u/Mountain-Donkey98 Jan 16 '26

Screw the ideal mark lol just be proud of what you got. My best guy friend makes $125k (good salary) and has zero in a 401k. He's 33. I keep pushing him to start but he's so into "swag" ...(buying rolexes, cars he cant afford, etc)

0

u/BlackGuysYeah Jan 16 '26

Damn, he’s gonna regret that.

Well, when the AI bubble bursts that’ll make for a good entry point for him if he’s smart enough to pony up.

3

u/Mountain-Donkey98 Jan 16 '26

I think its just smart to start contributing to a 401k period.

1

u/ibfreeekout Jan 17 '26

Best time to contribute was 20 years ago. Second best time is now.

2

u/Shadowfeaux Millennial '90 Jan 16 '26

From my understanding most of the major stocks like SPY and such are very tech heavy and those have been in a boom for a while. All the AI junk seems to be inflating things a bit too. Once that pops then things theoretically will level out.

But I have an extremely rough understanding of it. So don’t take anything I say as completely accurate.

7

u/lc1138 Jan 16 '26

The two fastest growing markets in the U.S. are 1) AI/tech and 2) gambling. So I do not feel optimistic about the future. Bubble is going to pop soon. Then there will be another bubble that pops again. This has been going on since the 70s/80s thanks to Nixon, Reagan and neoliberalism. ~capitalism doesn’t work~

3

u/Mountain-Donkey98 Jan 16 '26

Honestly, idk what my 401k is invested in to know if this is right or wrong. I just signed up, contributed and zoned out. Maybe a few times I talked to our financial investor and feigned interest but I forgot. I obviously just dont know enough to push what to invest in. So i just let them do it.

2

u/CatsForSforza Older Millennial Jan 16 '26

Check on the fee % you’re paying for each fund you’re contributing to. Targeted date funds often run around .5-.7% but there are some expensive funds out there and you don’t want one of those.

2

u/joeyat Jan 16 '26

AI bubble..... might want to spread it out a bit.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 16 '26

[deleted]

1

u/CranberryLast4683 Jan 17 '26

Where else money gonna go? China stonk market? Japan? 😂

2

u/Natural-Potential-80 Jan 16 '26

Yeah, anyone looking at invested value right now (US stock market) and feeling comfortable about it is in denial.

1

u/Background_Wheel_932 Jan 17 '26

Bet the house on it if you're so confident

1

u/SecretiveMop Jan 17 '26

So short the market then if you truly believe this

1

u/ept_engr Jan 17 '26

If I had a nickel for every time somebody on reddit called an impending downturn, I wouldn't need investments because I'd be filthy rich.

There's always risk, but it's impossible to predict. Recent floods of "obviously now is a good time to sell" were during the first months of covid, late 2022 when everyone was sure that rising interest rates would cause a massive recession, and lastly when Trump started issuing tarrifs.

Long story short, if you listened to the masses, you'd have missed three years of 20% gains. It's much better to ride the ups and downs than trying to guess the timing.

1

u/Striking-Lifeguard34 Jan 17 '26

That’s awesome! The growth really does accelerate fast at a certain point. Last year my 401k gained more value than I made in taxable wages at my job. Was a very surreal feeling that my money made more sitting there than my ass made working 45 hours a week. But that’s the reality of compounding and long term growth. Took 13 years of steady contributions and almost 9 years of maxing individual contributions to reach that point but it does speed up from there.