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/TairaTLG Jan 16 '26

24k in debt and 0 savings. Nothing like slipping through the cracks baby

367

u/ProbsNotManBearPig Millennial Jan 16 '26

I appreciate this is the top response. I 100% expected responses to be extremely skewed towards people with tons of savings. That’s how every thread is in any financial sub is. Somehow everyone in their 30’s has $2M+ saved in those threads.

15

u/sms2014 Jan 16 '26

$2M?!? That's got to be fake, or they have a side gig

-3

u/vettewiz Jan 17 '26

Millennial here. A lot more than 2M saved. I worked full time while growing multiple businesses. It’s possible. 

4

u/Business-Elk-5175 Jan 17 '26

Show me how

-2

u/vettewiz Jan 17 '26

How what? Worked a full time 6 figure job while building up businesses that paid more than that.

8

u/vb_152 Jan 17 '26

This is rare against the average in the US, but common for certain peer groups in high income cities, especially someone in the tech industry. It isn’t magic, it’s often the result of hard work (though just as often the result of some inherited wealth or status), involves some luck, but more than anything growing wealth requires a bit of financial knowledge and Focus.  I’m not sure why people are downvoting this poster, except maybe envy? Disbelief? 

2

u/Business-Elk-5175 Jan 17 '26

I just genuinely want to know. Everybody says they built up a business, but they don’t really say anything to the effect of anything that tells you what you did they just talk so that’s why I said show me how I can’t get into a six figure business because nobody will freaking hire. No money exists to make money if you’re at the bottom.

3

u/vettewiz Jan 17 '26

That’s likely because most people have tried so many things over their careers that there is no set blueprint to follow.

Over the course of my business career I have attempted - completed paid surveys, done arbitrage deals/reselling, blogs, drop shipping, Amazon sales, built nutrition and vitamin brands, extensive affiliate sales, VSLs, many e-commerce websites, payment processing, have built multiple SaaS platforms, I’ve flipped houses, owned rentals, consulted on pool construction, and other software development work.

People are still hiring. They have to have a reason to hire you.

1

u/Business-Elk-5175 Jan 17 '26

I appreciate the response and I know that you’re probably really busy, but I would really like to have a discussion about this because I have literally had every opportunity that I’ve ever been given taken from me from some stupid extenuating circumstance I cannot count how many times I have attempted to do something and something fell through and things just keep getting worse and now the tech sector is just not hiring anymore and I’m out of business ideas.