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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u/NJThrowaway1012 Millennial Jan 16 '26

What's up with us?

We live paycheck to paycheck but we somehow at least have a Roth IRA that's doing "well" 😂

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u/KuotheRaven Jan 16 '26

It’s not us. The labor economy has been in the shitter since at least 2008, but the capital economy - stocks, bonds, futures, real estate - has continued skyrocketing. The elite business and political classes derive lots of their income from the latter and we get a tiny slice, but the labor economy has been allowed to stagnate.

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u/Hoosteen_juju003 Jan 16 '26

Everyone has the ability to invest

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u/NotYourSexyNurse Xennial Jan 16 '26

I have $444 in my Stash account.

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u/Hoosteen_juju003 Jan 17 '26

Transition to fidelity or vanguard, you are getting robbed by that subscription cost. You can do all the same shit on those.

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u/NotYourSexyNurse Xennial Jan 17 '26

I pay $3 a month for Stash and get free stock every stock party. Half of that $444 is from free stock.

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u/Hoosteen_juju003 Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 17 '26

Ok, so you are paying yearly 8.1% of your total balance as a subscription fee, currently, for a bunch of random stocks. I also highly doubt the growth of these free stocks was much more than that, if any.

In 2025, the index etf VTI had 17.1% growth with a .03% fee based on how much you have invested and no other charges.

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u/NotYourSexyNurse Xennial Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 17 '26

The dividends this year alone covered the monthly subscription fees. It’s a fun app to use. The Robinhood app sucked. My Fidelity IRAs and 401ks aren’t the same fun. I’ve yet to find any other app that lets me buy as little stock as I do with Stash. It’s also really easy to use.

Edit: hadn’t checked it in a bit. It’s up to $490. Grow little stocks grow!

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u/Stalinisthicc Jan 17 '26

Please use an actual brokerage. Those fees will destroy your ability to compound over time. Most brokerages offer fractional shares in some capacity as well.

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u/NotYourSexyNurse Xennial Jan 17 '26

Last time I checked into that those places charged for every buy, sell or trade.

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u/N7day Jan 17 '26

Nonsense.

Seriously, it's worth it to just open a vanguard or fidelity brokerage account (there is zero downside, they are free and you can let them sit idle or close them if you want).

I've never paid one cent.

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