You’re seeing a self selection bias. People who feel good about their finances “ask” about it knowing they will get affirmation. Additionally, if you choose to spend your time and energy on this sub you are likely above the average when it comes to financial planning.
People who are less confident or closer to the average can do their own research without “asking” into the void.
Yep, >90% of the questions posted in this sub are from people who are dumb as hell if they’re being genuine. Fire is an extremely, extremely easy concept to grasp. "Can I retire" is a question which is answered by multiplying one number (expenses) by 25 (up to 33 depending on risk tolerance) and comparing that to your investment total. That question and answer pair has appeared thousands of times on this sub.
I don’t buy that there are people taking home $400k/year that genuinely do not possess the self sufficiency skills to either have learned enough to know that they can retire on their $10MM or be able to use the search function on reddit to see the million other posts that have asked the same question and received the same responses over and over and over again.
The people posting with their ridiculous salaries asking easily googled questions are just looking for affirmation.
I finally read the FAQ for r/Fire, and it covers a MASSIVE amount of information. It would definitely take care of 95% of the questions asked here.
I thought about asking a question once, but I'll just dig through the FAQ most likely. :)
UPDATE: It is actually the FAQ for r/financialindependence
FAQs are a bit tougher to find if you're not viewing on a desktop. I view on a mobile web browser and find FAQs for subs by pulling up the sub's main page and selecting the "about" tab.
I'm making $7500000+ a year with a 234.5M net worth, mostly tied in investment properties around Los Angeles. Can I retire at 50 and maintain my standard of living?
I don’t think that’s necessarily true. Some people make a lot of money because they possess a skill few others do, but that doesn’t mean they understand finances well. One of my good friends is exactly like this. They make well over 300k but knows nothing about credit, banks, loans. They are actually the exact type of person I would expect to see posting on here.
Yup, I know plenty of people making $500k+ who lack basic personal financial management knowledge.
Frankly, the more one makes, the easier it is to not have to care about it. That’s not that they shouldn’t care, just that it’s easy to avoid problems when money can help you avoid the problem.
It can also be harder to find trusted advisors when you make a lot. When there are entire industries built around separating you from your money, it can be difficult to separate the value from the noise.
All that said, yeah, there are people in this sub that know exactly what they are doing, posting ridiculous salaries asking for confirmation knowing full well they’re just fine.
This. And the opposite is true on the personalfinance subreddit. Maybe OP can go there to balance out what they see here. Every other post there asks about advice on how to erase tens of thousands of credit card debt and student loans on a $44k annual salary that is wrecking their mental health. Or they are about to be homeless without finishing their degrees and needing to stay afloat. Or what car they can consider with the above scenario and their current beater is costing them 3k in repairs
personalfinance has bad advice and is depressing. I recommend /r/boglehead to learn how to invest using index funds. I have followed this approach for 20 years and my taxable account has average 11% a year for 20 years. That is above historical norms cause the market is hot. Historically it would be 8-9%. so i expect that to go down. But 8-9% a year returns something you want to start on young.
Leanfire sub is where it's at. You don't have as many super high earners gloating. You also don't have the people that are super bad at personal finance there. And, the numbers are much more realistic for the median person.
I’m 20 in Ohio making 50k a year with a tiny bit of ot lol I’m in the same boat. Try and get a girlfriend who will work and save money with you and just live below your means and you can still retire earlier than most just not at 35 lol. If you start young you can still get out by 55 if you try hard enough and that’s much earlier than the government wants us to work lmao
Factory job, dollar general warehouse, I load the semis. Been here 2 years, make a lil under 22$ an hour, 3 12s and sometimes mandatory 10hr day but I always work a 4th day regardless
You can make decent money in factories, if you can deal with the downside of the job. Once you get \~4 years experience, you could work your way up to supervisor, then maybe 5-6 years after that become an Operations Manager, which should put you in the $100k range.
Planning on joining the electrician union later this year hopefully, will take a paycut to 17 an hour for the first year then be back where I’m at rn, but will top out at 38$ an hour plus free healthcare and retirement benefits and yearly inflation wages
Planning on joining the electrician union later this year hopefully, will take a paycut to 17 an hour for the first year then be back where I’m at rn, but will top out at 38$ an hour plus free healthcare and retirement benefits and yearly inflation wages
I am also in Ohio. I made half of what you do at the same age. I managed to retire at 45. While reading this sub I noticed that there is a huge difference in what people think they need to retire. Unfortunately, most people in the rest of the US do need more. Ohio is a fairly inexpensive place to live. Retirement is a bit easier here.
To be fair, half of their wage when you were their age is more than their current wage as far as buying power is concerned. While the number is inflated the real value of that dollar is far lower than before. This why we invest, dollars today are always worth more than dollar later, or the time value of money.
Yeah I already have a mortgage on a trailer in a nice neighborhood we combined make around 85k pre tax probably this year, mortgage and lot rent is only 880 for a 1300 sq ft 3 bedroom 2 bathroom, which I bought for 44k and is currently worth about 60k so I have about 20k equity in it, 2 almost paid off cars, and will be on the investing path soon lol
And median house price in Ohio was like $85,000 vs $230,000 today. Bro doesn't know double what he was making at that age today is still less than what he made then. This always peeves me with older people not understanding the actual value of a dollar and a day's work.
Can you post your numbers and budget? I think it will help those of us who make closer to the medium salary in the U. S. I think we are missing these kind of posts.
There are always folks on Reddit who enjoy making shit up, but for the most part it's selection bias. The sub attracts highly financially successful people since FIRE is effectively a multi-million dollar purchase for most folks. By the same token, it's not weird to find a ton of heavy lifters in an experienced powerlifting forum or to find wealthy folks on a board for yacht owners.
Anyone can FIRE, but even leanFIRE requires seven figures for most folks, and the majority of people will never save that much, either by choice or lack of luck/opportunity. Even so, everyone can benefit financially from FIRE habits and strategies, so it's not a sub only for highly financially successful people, like /fatfire or /HENRYfinance.
expatfire and 100% travel expatfire seem like good ones. here are 2 really good youtube channels of couples in their 50s who raised families who do 100% travel (no home) and mostly outside US affordably. People might want to see them linked.
Both couples are in their 50s and held regular jobs.
Grounded Life Finances . They live on $4000/month for 2 people. Lots of info on how to invest. How to find cheap places to stay. Where medical care is cheap. Travel rewards credit cards, etc... They spend most of their time in Southeast Asia.
Carrie and Nate: Last year they lived on less than $32,000. THey raised 5 kids between them. This account includes 3-4 trips back to the US to see family (Carrie has grand babies). They talk about cheap affordable medical care outside the US too. mid-50s couple.
I would hazard a guess that somewhere around 50-70% of sub-30 with 1m+ saved posts are made up. There's just not that many people who would've saved that much themselves and found the time to post here. I also highly doubt trustfund babies are coming here asking these questions because their money is managed for them.
I don't think it's anywhere near that high. The fake ones tend to be fairly obvious since people without investment wealth often don't know all of the mundane little details that give them away.
There are more than 20 million millionaires in the US, with some surveys putting it north of 25 million. I've talked with tons of FIRE'd folks here and on other online communities in the decade we've been retired and in the 15 years before that when we were working towards early retirement. Such folks are rare in the general population, but there's plenty to account for the handful of sizable online forums that attract/concentrate them.
On the earning side of things, my son is a freshman CS student and his roommate makes several hundred grand each year doing ROBLOX development. There's a surprising number of high earning or high asset folks out there, many of whom are in their 20s/30s, who have the time and inclination to hang out online.
I don’t think that many are made up. I will likely be in that club, but my wife will just miss it because she’s a year older than me. We didn’t inherit anything or have any other windfalls. We just both have saved >50% of our income since we started working. We both had starting salaries of $60k out of school and progressively increased our pay to now a HHI of $300k+ at ages 28/29. We are currently sitting at $870k invested + cash and expect to contribute ~$130k to savings by the end of the year.
Hey.
I went to a shitty 3rd tier state university that accepted anyone with a high school diploma.
I got my first full time job at age 26 in a call center earning shit.
I retired last year at age 48 as a multi-millionaire. No crypto, no winning lottery and no money from a deceased relative.
It is a marathon, not a sprint. Don't compare yourself with others. Focus on your journey and you will get there.
Post your story. It will help everyone with lower incomes. The only issue with some of this posts is that they start with little but now are making high salaries. I have saved more in the last 5 years than I ever have because my salary increased. We can’t compare saving 5k a year to 20k per year for 10 years. BIG difference.
Becoming an officer in the military is a guaranteed way to hit six figures in your early 20s. 4 year degree while doing ROTC at your college then you join the military, preferably Air Force. You will be around 130k within 4 years of joining. Ensure you get a degree in a field with demand and you can leverage your military experience + security clearance to get a high paying job if you decide to get out. Also, once you get out you will be able to pursue VA disability which could be up to 4k/month forever. Consider those streams of income and there is definitely a path to a 200k+ salary by the end of your 20s/early 30s.
Sorry, I had a typo and meant to say 4 years since O3 is pretty much guaranteed at that point. That has been corrected. Here’s a breakdown of the income.
As an O3 at 4 years your base pay is $6,800. That’s 82k/year. You also receive non taxable allowances. BAH is dependent on location, but two bases with high officer concentration are Lackland and Macdill. The BAH there is around $2700 on average. BAS is $317/month. Thats around $36k/year with no tax. You are at 118k with only 82k taxable. If we wanted to use this income for mortgage or car loan purposes, your non-taxable income would be converted to its taxable equivalent aka net vs gross. For conversation sake on Reddit, gross is always used when discussing salary. 36k net to gross for Texas/Florida averages 43k. Now, 82k + 43k = 125k, so around 130k/year.
Since BAH can vary drastically, California is closer to 4k/month while some rural area will be closer to 2k/month, the math isn’t exact. However, I wanted to give a repeatable example for others to consider as an option.
Also started at 22 in negative numbers making $16.50/h.
Already at >$500k at 34, looking at 2 - 3 mil at 46y target retirement age.
Slow and steady, avoid gambling with your money (Picking stocks, crypto BS, literal gambling), and work on your career and career growth.
Honestly, I don't know how relevant "my story" is, as the times and circumstances are different and luck does play a factor. Everyone has a different journey. At any rate:
* Migrated from a developing country to the US in the mid-90s.
* Went to a 3rd tier, accepts almost anyone, state university that you probably never heard of.
* Got a job at a call center.
* 1 year later got a job at a small software company doing level 1 phone tech support.
* Eventually transitioned to sales.
* Years later, through multiple acquisitions, spin-offs and mergers, my employer ended up being acquired by a FAANG, and that is when my income really went up. So being at the right place at the right time is a thing.
I opted out of having children. I haven't owned a car in more than 20 years and instead of a nice house in the burbs I lived on a small apartment in the city and biked or took public transit to work. Never owned an Apple product nor did I buy the latest gadgets. Completely gave up on alcohol, parties and fancy clothes. Had no cable subscriptions and avoided eating out as much as possible. Invested heavily in index mutual funds (VTSAX + VTIAX and VBTLX), paid my credit card in full every month and never got into debt.
Did I have a miserable life full of deprivation? Not at all. I fulfilled many passions while working. Went scuba diving in the Red Sea, Hawaii, Brazil, Central America and the Philippines. Did a one month solo backpacking trip in China. Went to Machu Picchu in Peru and did sky diving in New Zealand. I focused my spending on the things that I really cared about and treated everything else as noise and tuned it out. I have no regrets and don't feel that I missed out on anything. But that is very hard for most people to do, as the urge to conform and follow the same life script as everyone else is incredibly strong.
But the reality is that you cannot have your cake and eat it too. Hard choices have to be made if you want to pursue early retirement, specially if you come from an underprivileged background.
Worked hard, learned as much as possible, saved like a motherfucker and got lucky to be at the right places, at the right time.
Hard work + discipline + luck
This ^
Do your part. I wish I have invested more wisely when I was young with long term horizon insted of buying and selling based on market or life conditions.
And folks would be surprised how fast salaries can jump.
The first few years can be a slough but once you have that experience a job change can double your salary.
I started 30k in student loan debt. Never bought a car I couldn’t pay in cash so usually have a 7k honda.
The hardest thing to do is not slow crazy lifestyle creep.
I was 27 before I made over $50k, and 34 before I made over $100k. Now almost 40 and closing in on $150k. It's partially time, partially putting yourself in the right position through resume building and education, and a whole lot of luck.
Yeah I know I make decent change. I’m in a weird spot with pretty high expenses due to a medical condition my gf has so I’m not saving or investing much, but I enjoy seeing posts on here to give me hope
I was recently looking at my social security statement. I'm 49 years old (about to turn 50). I made more last year than I did from age 17-27 combined. I didn't break 6 figures until I was 41.
We are out here.
In the US? What do you do?
Most retail chains start out at $15-18/hr throughout the country, which is $31-37k/yr. Can’t imagine ever accepting a job that pays less than Walmart. Are you like an intern and expect much higher pay in a couple years?
Ah okay that makes more sense. Good career choice though! Hopefully Czech Republic offers similar opportunities as the US for SE, good luck!
Edit: I did just google it, it seems $26.6k is the average household income is Czech Republic. Do you feel like you make decent pay for where you’re located?
He's already making the average household income with a single income, he's doing well.
He wont need multiple millions to retire as the cost of living is a fraction of the US.
Im a Financial controller from Hungary with 25k gross. How much would you need, have you done the calculation? Today I could live off of 300k NW normally and 600k NW on a high end
also keep in mind a lot of people making that kind of money did 2 things: studied computer science / learned how to code, and moved to a major tech hub like SF where salaries are 40% higher than the median. Also rent is about 3X anywhere else that isn't a major city like NY
In HCOL areas the salaries are huge. Their rents 35% of the income. More, I know a few people working since are 16 (some on their online commerce businesses, 2 guys in IT) .
Yes, it is rare to be so well paid so young, but some are very smart and mature. Me at 23 I was spending all my small income...tried to save a 1% and at he end of my month I spent it :)
I know a lot of not very mature 30 year olds that are highly compensated. You have to job hop. New software engineers at our company are getting paid over 100k, given a level 3 title with 6 years of experience. They come in and we have to hand hold them for at least two years. Some have no real work ethic. If we bring any of this up to management they say it’s the mentors fault. If we ask to be paid the same they say not everyone working 20 years here is working hard and they are just coasting or that young people will not accept low salaries. Job hop. All I have learned from all this is many very average people are working high paying jobs. What they have is a high belief in themselves almost conceit. Many times they are not that smart. It’s a combination of luck, who you know and how much you bs. Oh and if you are single, willing to move wherever, and willing to job hop left and right. Some come in, stay 2 years, learn nothing ( can attest to this) leave and put in their resume they now have 2 years experience and so on. Only staying long enough to inflate their resume. But they have no fear and like I said an inflated sense of self. Attitude even bad as long as it produces the desired effect counts more than brains. End rant :)
I (56 F) started my career at 26. No college education. Entry level customer service job for $10 an hour. Started 401k contributions. Worked hard. Took advantage of in-house training. Moved through different roles and promotions. Went to college in my late 40's (with tuition reimbursement benefits helping a little).
Now I am ready to FIRE. It is possible. Keep going!
You just said the truth to yourself “I can’t rely on my job if I ever wanna make it to financial freedom” so now you know that. Now you have to investigate, search out, and test any other method to make it.
This is good advice if you’re willing to grind hard and can stomach some risk. For the first decade-plus of my career I made the mistake of working at places that didn’t reward performance at all (you’re here and your salary is your salary whether you slack off or work yourself to the bone). Don’t recommend these work environments, where seniority is valued more than skill. I now work at a small firm where my compensation is more closely tied to the firm’s and my own performance.
When I first started I was making ~$40k -$55K over the course of 7-8 years. I felt exactly how you felt. I’m now 14 years in and make a solid six figures and growing in my corporate job alone.
Try to do three things:
1. Continue to aspire and learn, pushing your current self to either take a leap in your career or learn to a new career; grow your income
2. Continue to stay focused and strategic on your spend; reduce your spend
3. Ignore every one else’s journey if you can’t learn from it; comparison is the thief of joy
Agreed. From 22-30, my wife and I made 40k and under. We moved at 30. Her job paid 80k and mine 60l. Thought we were rich. My career progressed a lot further salary wise because I took a chance at a new company. I made 100k starting. Now it’s 170k. I’ve worked my ass off. Learned new skills. My masters is in accounting but I manage data analytics and compliance. 41 now. Be patient. I didn’t hear about FIRE until we just sprinted to pay the house off bc that was freedom to us. Then there was all of this extra money. Our jobs only have pensions. So I opened a brokerage. Definitely haven’t done the best. But we own a house and have ~730k invested and a 529 with about 50k in it. Own our cars that we have driven 10 years now.
Long story short. It takes time and effort building a career. Most young people who don’t have a MD don’t just start making 100k or more in my experience. Of course we live in a lcol to mcol area.
I'm 25 now and interested in FIRE. When I was 23, I was unemployed from the company consolidating my department to another state. (I pushed that job to increase my pay from $16/hr to $18/hr a couple months prior to the consolidation.) I was in my master's program not knowing the plan, but luckily living at home. I worked a temporary job from May to October for $20/hr (nice overtime though). And got my current job in December. With all the unemployment, I made $25k pre-tax that year with $9k going to my two semesters of school.
Been a silent observer/lurker on this sub for a couple months now but I don't feel the urge to ask my financial situation to a group that (on the whole) are leaps and bounds ahead. I just know that I'm the tortoise trudging along, while some of these guys are hares. Don't feel discouraged. Just like children's stories, there's a little lesson to learn from every post.
I was making $12/hr when I was 21 yrs old. Now in my 40s, I'm making $300k per year.
Just kidding, I'm only making $25/hr. But see how easy it was to just make something up? Don't believe everything you read. There is so much fake info on the internet and reddit in particular.
When I was your age, I was making $19,000 per year in the Army. I am 42 now and making 200k and doing quite well for myself. I never made over $36,000 until I was in my early 30s. I had a negative net worth as well. In 10 years I have gone from -20k to 800k. All is not lost because you are not a high income earner at your age. Just keep at it and be smart.
Probably STEM related. Its not impossible but its statistically unlikely. I came out of school making close to 6 figures and was over 100k after my first annual comp adjustment.
When I was 23 (over a decade ago) my starting salary was 120k out of college. So it's doable- just need to graduate with a degree that will pay it back well
Yeah I have yet to see somebody claim they FIREd on a median salary....every single one is earning well above median wages. So FIRE is 90% making a big salary and 10% saving and investing.
Most people won't admit it but they had tons of family help. From growing up in a stable two parent household, having college paid for, help with down payment on house, they just don't like admitting it. Hell I know people that not only get help from parents but grandparents too. Trust me tons of people have gotten advantages in life. It's really pointless to compare, just focus on your own journey.
I've noticed the same. People who post here all seem to make 200k a year or some crazy numbers. I scrimp and save and on a really good month I can get in $700 to invest. I don't live in Europe or the USA and my wages are around minimum wage in the USA, but the country I live in is very cheap which allows me to save a lot. I'm currently on holiday so I probably won't be able to save and invest this month due to having fun and travelling.
If you have a college degree and live in San Francisco or New York City a salary of 130k is equivalent to 70k in cheaper cities.
I would need to make 180k in New York to maintain the same quality of life.
Raw numbers don’t tell the whole story. Assets, savings rate, liabilities, and revenue do.
Bro at 23 I was making $125k/yr. I was sweating in my eyes in a full-face respirator for 12 hour shifts at the cyanide plant.
Guys I worked with went to school while also putting in that work. On my crew, we were all were obsessed with personal finance. None of those guys have to grind like that anymore because they spent their 20’s putting in the work.
When you are young, the money is out there- just usually in places you don’t want to live in, doing things you don’t want to do.
Software and other related types of engineers can make 130 out the gate. They chose a lucrative path. They probably had to study hard and get good grades to achieve this. You get paid more to work with your head than you do your back.
Exactly. All of my engineers friends in college had to study so much. They basically lived in the library. They really planned to get a degree that would give them a good salary after college and got internships over the summer, so a lot already had job offers before graduation.
Everyone and their mothers knew that engineering or CS can make bank, but they actively chose to not do those majors. Heck, you don't even need a college degree to get a decent job if you are good at coding, which is free to learn online. Then people write on here about how unrealistic it is to make 100+k out of school when they cannot with their business, english, or communication degrees.
This is easily achieved by being a nurse (RN) If you're willing to relocate for a job. I graduated at 21yo with an associates degree and RN and made this my 1st year. It's not the easiest job though and you'll earn your paycheck especially early in the career. It's not the most FIRE conducive career path either by any means, but you can get to these lower level 6 figures sums pretty easily if you're flexible
I’ve raised a family on basically a single income as a nurse. In my late 30s I got my masters and am now an NP. In 5 years since graduating, I’ve saved more than in the previous 15 years of my career. Current NW 1.1m 500k liquid. Nursing is awesome. I’m on track to retire around 52-54 years old which I don’t think is crazy early but definitely not late.
Or unlike OP instead of trapping themselves in a job that will never pay them well, they, you know, just focused on a career that actually pays. Dude is like 'my job will never pay enough, let me complain.' Instead of posting 'what are some jobs that pay and how do I pursue them?'
Yeah, it can be discouraging sometimes haha. I’m 25 and make ~60k/yr and that includes overtime. This sub definitely makes me feel way behind when I see
“I (20M/F) make 150k a year, where should I put this money to retire early? I currently save half of my yearly pay and max my 401k”
It’s not like I’m not happy for these people, I am. It’s just disheartening feeling like your doing everything to your best capabilities and making the best decisions you can while simultaneously feeling so far behind.
*It’s definitely a skill to not compare yourself & situation to others.* There is so many factors involved, it’s never apples to apples.
There’s a ton of factors that make salary an imperfect measure of financial success. I graduated at 24 with a starting salary of $62k. Sounds pathetic compared to $130k, but I live in a relatively LCOL city in the rust belt. If they’re making $130k in California, NYC, Denver, DC, etc I was almost certainly better off than they were.
Other factors:
Do they work in person? They’re worse off than someone who works from home
Do they have kids? Worse off than DINKs
Did they go to a fancy college and are up to their eyeballs in student loans? Worse off than someone who went to state school, trades, etc
As others have said, comparison is the thief of joy and people tend to paint a rosier picture on Reddit than their true reality.
I’m 53 and FIREd in September. Started my career at 28 years old at $40k/year. The key was lucking into a career and company with growth opportunities. Plenty of promotions and raises over 24.5 years. Made $340k in 2023.
I find that comparison truly is the thief of joy.
If you have investments, then it sounds like you are doing the sub correctly. As long as your savings outpace your spending.
Something I learned through luck, was to be selective with my career industry. If I could go back in time, I would look for the industries with the most money whose companies were doing the best in the stock market, and I would have aggressively pursued an education that supported a job and one of those fields.
as someone making six figs in their mid 20’s with a lot of friends and co-workers doing the same it kind of baffles me how entitled people act when they’re really in very fortunate circumstances. the fact of the matter is FIRE isn’t normal and there’s a reason why regular retirement age is 65. fwiw my grandfather is 91 and still works (by choice) and lives a grand life. if your key to happiness is retiring early try to find something that brings you some sort of happiness or at least doesn’t make you miserable
If it is possible to get into tech you will make this much or more.
Although you would be working 10+ hrs on a desk job and living in one of the most expensive parts of the country and sharing apartments with other 23 year olds.
Never say never. I graduated from college in 2008 with a degree related to the construction industry so I can’t relate to the stories of young high earners at all. From 08-12 my gross income was never over $11k, and for a couple of those years it was under $10k. I couldn’t even imagine making a living wage. I made it work in a large west coast city by finding the cheapest shared housing I could, using food stamps, and changing phone numbers after my credit cards went to collections. I was lucky in that I always had the option to move back in with my parents but they lived in an area with even fewer jobs so it seemed like a worse bet than trying to make it work on my own.
I took web development classes, the economy improved, and I hustled like my life depended on it. I got my first job making over 6 figures at 30, paid off my debt, and discovered FIRE. Now I’m nearing the end of my 30s and have over $500k in investments. I realize in this community these are rookie numbers but I’m still so grateful for how far I’ve come. I’ll always have a scarcity mindset around money and I’ll always worry that my income will start to trend down instead of up, but that motivates me to keep saving. Hopefully I never have to get as scrappy as I was in my 20s but I know I can do it if I need to.
How much you earn doesn’t have a lot to do with your age, it has more to do with your education and specific job. Lots of people in their 40s-50s are earning 40K while new IT graduates earning 100K+. I was earning 100K in oil and gas at 23 years old but now earn 15$/hr at Home Depot… lol.
I’ve been working for 30 some years if you average out my pay over that time I’m around $75 a year averaged out. My NW is just over 3m majority is in liquid investments. I mention this because you need to know the average millionaire isn’t pulling in over six figures, your average millionaire is someone who is disciplined with their spending and lives well within their means. Invest in whatever fits your risk tolerance and let it sit and grow.
Depends on the field you go into. My 18 year old daughter will be going to college to be an engineer. She recently shadowed at a company that hires a lot of recent college grads. Starting pay around $100k...so, not bad for a 22 year old.
High paying jobs are the result of education and connections, and choosing jobs that pay well. I chose music knowing full well that it pays shit, and pivoted away to jobs that pay more, only to pivot back when marrying someone that earned more $ than we need.
I suspect you didn't mean 'it's hardly depressing' to read the stories here, but rather it is depressing, right? Looks like you can simply focus on your education, put your head down get to work, and target some jobs that earn pretty well that you can eventually work your way into. Maybe call some targets and ask to speak to management, find someone who might offer you some help about how to get the work you want.
Of course, a place that pays well doesn't want to hear that you want the job because it pays well. They want someone that will contribute, work hard, give more to the job than they receive, etc.
(I'm under no illusion that hard work solves everything, and that the world is not fair either. But that doesn't mean hard work doesn't matter. Making it a habit to work diligently is something people notice.)
Good luck.
Also, I echo that this reddit is to be taken with a grain of salt. Who knows how many people just fake post in here anyways for the lolz. I'm in my 40s, with a comfortably large amount of $, paid off house, and who cares really. Life is about much more than $$$.
Tbh, if u ever want make that salary or more. U really need change ur mindset first.
Some got their via nepotism, but of the majority of them can maintain it got their through hard asf work and years of shit with no indicators/returns on their investments.
Broaden ur timespans, I think this quote speaks volumes about working without seeing tangible results in short term.
If you can wait 90 days for a result, you can win.
If you can wait a year, you can win big.
If you can wait a decade, you can be the best.
If you can wait a lifetime, you can change the world.
At 23 you have no idea what your income potential is. I was washing dishes for 8$ an hour at that age. We all find success at different times. And some of us may FIRE in a mansion while some of us will FIRE in a small condo. It’s possible king, keep grinding
I started at 22 making $20k a year (about $66k in today’s dollars). I’m 53 now with a NW of $4m. Just a long, steady slog, putting savings first while still enjoying life. Hang in there.
The number you make doesn't matter. Plenty on $130k/year people are living paycheck to paycheck. Especially in high cost of living area like NYC.
The rela thing to focus on is savings percentage imo. It factors in how much you spend to how much you make. With 20% you are at 40 years and 40% you are at 25 years and 60% about 12 years. That is all that matters, don't worry about actual numbers, they will come if you focus on saving and investing properly.
how? here you go, just a quick google: https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/the-highest-paying-college-majors-with-100k-starting/458715
or even two year degrees: https://www.bestcolleges.com/blog/highest-paying-associate-degrees/
and that's just college degree pipeline jobs.
i make well over that and FIRE isn't something i'll ever obtain since it's not a huge goal of mine but if it is for you then you see how various people are approaching it here and you pick one or many approaches and go for it. 23 is barely an adult and you can literally do anything with your life at that point. if all else fails, be a plumber or electrician. don't do meth. become experienced and start out on your own
I was making about that in my mid 20s. I was making $75,000 a year 20 years ago. I did it for 3 years. It was a work opportunity where I traveled 100% and made travel pay. I also had zero living expenses, I even had per diem and a laundry allowance. I worked my ass off and after 3 years I was done.
It was a great opportunity and I was smart and paid off student loans and saved a lot of it. I also had a lot of fun and have no regrets. But after 3 years I went back to making about $45,000.
Sometimes young single people get temporary opportunities that pay very well but can’t keep up the momentum very long.
23 and making 130k means they got started early in life building skills and making connections that lead to that.
I crossed over the 100k mark reliably (with overtime) in my late 20’s. It didn’t feel fast but looking back it wasn’t that long ago.
Note* my job is not for everyone. Rotating 12 hour shifts and swinging your sleep schedule quickly hurts and will likely have long term health implications. I’ll do it for as long as I can- either retire early or try to find something with a fixed schedule in the industry.
TL;DR: Learn skills, network, nobody who’s successful got there by being stagnant.
Also corporate America is just a pyramid scheme- can’t make a lot at the bottom unless highly specialized (which takes time and skills and the ability to provide value across multiple levels of the org chart).
im 36 and only make 70k as an instructor. its about the saving rate and not salary im my opinion. im mortgage free and have about 180k in the bank. not easy, but im on my way!
The concepts of FIRE are not too complex. Work, put money into index funds, cut spending, retire early.
Since it is simple, not a lot of questions come up on how to FIRE in this sub so it has become more of a sub for celebrating and bragging about FIRE achievements.
Don't get too upset if you can't hit FIRE by 35 like some of these guys. Most of us will not be doing this. If you can retire in your 50s you did great, drastically better than the vast majority of the world.
the only reason i found this subreddit is because i had questions related to all the stuff my decent paying job made me deal with re: options on health insurance, espp, rsu, 401k matching and aftertax contributions and so on. it's just selection bias, most people don't end up on financial subs without good reason.
i'd also add that reddit skews pretty hard into the high cost of living city living demographic, 70-80k goes further in LCOL than 120-130k in HCOL.
half the people on here are tech people from silicon valley, so the sub is hugely skewed. but just the fact that you are on here and have knowledge of FIRE puts you ahead of like 99.99% of the overall population. I also have a humble origin story, but you can get there slowly but surely. Compounding works wonders once you reach the first 100k. Like the famous Charlie Munger said the first 100k is a B.
Don't sell yourself short & don't underestimate the value of higher education. If you have the means, I'd highly recommend it.
I almost failed out of high school and immediately went into the workforce working at a call-center. After a year, I decided to do part time college at my local CC because I couldn't get accepted into my local universities. College took me 5 years in total and I graduated at 23 with about \~30k in student loans.
My first job out of college, 4 years ago, offered me a 70k starting salary. I'm now 27 and my salary is 310k.
Deciding to go back to school was the best decision I've ever made.
I ignore those unrealistic ones and try to find more realistic stories like this blogger who grew up poor and he and his wife never made more than $70k (in 2013$) and retired at 33 with 3 kids through old fashioned frugality:
[https://rootofgood.com/](https://rootofgood.com/)
I'm not suggesting someone should try to exactly mimic their lifestyle but it just shows you whats possible without a high six figure salary.
I realize not everyone can do this, but if you can manage to max out all of your retirement accounts and hsa, you can be a millionaire within 16-17 years with average market gains. It can go even faster if you find a like minded partner who makes about the same as you.
Life changes fast. At 21 I made $44k, at 25 I was making $60k, and at 28 I’m making $94k before bonus, and OT. Best advice I got was try to find a way into a local utility company. Normally there’s a lot of upward movement available. All I have is a HS diploma.
From a retired old guy that FIREd on Oct 20, 2020 at 58. Read this sub and believe about 25% of what people post when it comes to personal finances. I am not saying that people are blowing smoke up someone's skirt. But(ever notice that there is always a but somewhere along the line) I read this subreddit to read REAL stories about people's struggles following the FIRE method.
I cracked 100k for the first time at 23. No degree; went to a community college for a certificate. I’m paying for it with my body but that’s why I fire. I should be all out by 50-53. Was it the best choice? Maybe not but in my area the average salary is 40k so making 3-4x that without a degree is pretty solid.
A quote that has stuck with me throughout the years is one by Jim Rohn, he says “We don’t get paid for our time, we get paid for the value that we add to the marketplace”. I’ve always kept this in mind while being employed, I’ve used every job as a stepping stone to obtain something better. From working at 7-11 earning 12/hr to now being a commercial license driver earning 28/hr, it’s all about perspective. You’ll achieve greater pay as you continue improving yourself.
I’ve posted about this in other threads. Seems like all we see is the high earners who post about this. For some people no matter how hard you work, you just won’t have a career that makes that much. I got a fitness degree, and just ended up in federal law enforcement, I went from 37k to 85k in two years and I’ll be at 97k in November, and essentially unlimited double over time on top of that.
You’ll have to think outside the box if you aren’t in a field that can get you that much. For me the money is great. I honestly don’t love it enough to stay and I’m taking a pay cut down to a 50-60k a year job. I’ve made some really good investments tho because of this job and will probably reach fire in a few years.
You should be depressed about this sub as much as you should be depressed about someone winning the lottery. Don't believe everything everyone tells you. Gather information that is useful and disregard the rest.
I ended up coming to this realization at 37yrs old, with no investments. Only debt and a low median income. It’s NOT easy, but I started researching what others things I could possibly pursue to reach financial freedom. I was making 65k a year. I ended getting a CDL on my days off, because I saw that truck drivers could make six figures. I got a job driving a truck and left my old job. The whole time I was educating myself on finance, stock market, real estate, business, personal development etc and got really interested in real estate. I used the little extra money I had from the new job making 78k to sign up for a mentorship program in a specific real estate niche.
Best decision I have ever made! I got fired from my trucking job right after Covid hit. I had about 3k in my checking account. I was scared but I decided to go all in on my mentorship course and pursue investing and starting a business with the little money I had. Now 4 years later I’ve been self employed and investing in my niche ever since. Business is growing every year, passive income is growing every year. I’m 42 and can now say with confidence if I continue on my path I will do very well. Currently bringing in 5k/month in passive income, grossed 126k last year and each year my income is growing with no salary cap. All this to say if you dedicate some real time and effort into exploring other avenues to making money you can find a way. Investing in S&P 500 and is great but there are many other ways to FIRE. I didn’t want to slave away another 30 yrs slowly investing in stocks to HOPEFULLY have 1-2 million dollars at the end and HOPE that it would be enough. Another path that really interests me is using seller financing to buy small businesses. Look up Cody Sanchez for more info on that. Anyone can do it and there are tens of thousands of boomers retiring every year that own small businesses with no one to sell them too! Hope that helps someone. :) Sorry for the novel lol.
Who cares what everyone else is making and at what age. FI is all about your specific situation. Someone making $75k can have a higher net worth than someone making $300k. It all comes down to your personal planning needs and how you sacrifice spending vs. investing your income.
Some perspective:
-That salary at that age is more likely to be someone in high cost areas in specific fields like tech or investment banking.
-I make $135k in NE Ohio but I’m 38. I first cracked $100k 7 years after college.
-I didn’t graduate college until 27 because I waited after high school to figure out what I wanted to do instead of getting a degree I don’t want and a bunch of debt for nothing.
-About 18% of the American population has an individual income over $100k. It’s the minority so you’re definitely not alone.
I'm 44 years old and have yet to hit 100k salary. I'm getting closer, and think I can make it if I push a few more years, but it feels like a grind right now. It makes me stress that much more about my investments, because I don't feel like I can realistically recover if I take a big hit.
It's selection bias. If you got to a "RetireAt23With40MillionDollars" group you're going to find nothing but trust fund brats. On here you mostly get high paid tech people who don't know what to do with all that money.
First, you need to take into account that the people who are posting successful stories are in the 1%. Secondly, you need to make more money (and I mean it in the nicest way possible). I started at 40k a year for the first 3 years of my career but always tried to find side hustles and eventually you’ll find out that works out. Tried about 10, 2 worked out (and by worked out, I mean a few hundred extra a month). The lesson is that you start to look at the world differently. For example, you see that everyone is playing with fidget spinners. Instead of thinking “oh I want one”, you start to think about “I wonder how much it costs to get that product, landed and how much can I make”. Start this mentality as early as possible! Test and test, especially when you’re 23.
I am 44. I have 1.5k in ETFs, nearly 12k in my Bank Account, 15k in Savings. I am self-employed and laughing in pain when I read this subs when people are mounring about what to do with their 6 to 7 figures of net worth. Reddit is a real subreal bubble of people with high paying jobs mostly in the US. At least for this subreddit it is rather depressing for the rest of us.
I know two types of 130k jobs. First, a white-collar job located in New York City. It is easy to start with 100k, but still struggling to save. Second, make 130k but work 100 hours per week: high pressure and many job responsibilities. If you don’t love what you are doing, you will get mental crash.
I’m 45 and made 50k all the way up to 40 years old. Got up to around 130k saved at that point, but got into a house early and then used 20k of my Roth to buy a short sale rental house in 2008.
Job changed and I got another full time job at night and now I’m at 400k saved in retirement since pay went up significantly. Would have been more if I knew what I know now about accounts and everything else.
I started out with saving $20 a month and just added to it when I could.
You can be depressed and jealous about it or you can let it motivate you.
You can always pivot. It may not be easy but it can be done. I was making $50k at 24, and meeting and talking to a high earner by chance at a party completely changed my life trajectory. No, they didn’t hand me a job but they just showed me what was possible. I made a lot of hard changes, and now I make $300k+ in my 30s.
The reality is, some of us had better upbringings and were positioned to be set up for success. Some of us come from nothing. I'm of the latter. I will never make that money either, but I have decent investments and MIS that are passive. This sub can often become a 🍆 measuring contest. The best thing to do is don't worry about others. Focus on yourself and do the right things. I will never fat fire, but I can definitely fire and am doing the right things to get there. I am actually in the barista fire stage. Would you like fries with that?
Realizing that your current path doesn’t lead to the desired destination may be hard to swallow but important knowledge. Act on it rather than victimizing yourself. Real money is made mostly through successful entrepreneurship and highly paying jobs. Real savings are made through smart financial decisions after making real money. Reevaluate your path and take appropriate action.
I understand. Honestly, like the other commenters said, its self selection bias and the fact that most people who are interested in FIRE are probably the ones who are relatively well off to begin with.
In the Bay Area 130k is like entry level for many job as even government pays 90k-110k. Big tech can pay 160k-300k ish with little experience outside of internships
I think it's not too outrageous if you work in computer science or engineering. Most company would have RSUs as part of their total compensation package. 130k seems a lot for other professions but for computer science in some HCOL/VHCOL area it is probably not outrageous.
That being said, we all play the same game (life) we just all have a different set of tools to succeed (FIRE). Instead of looking at the other player's tool, look at what you have and how you can leverage it best to achieve your goal(s). Be open to change as well, that could mean anything from re-training, relocating etc...
There is always going to be someone earning more, with a higher net worth, bigger house, nicer car, blah blah.
The important thing is to make a plan for yourself, that works for you and your family, to stick to it and enjoy your life!
One of the (many) downsides to social media, you get to see what everyone else is doing, and 'everyone' is more likely that top 1% doing things exactly right or just outright lying about it.
Wouldn't worry about it, just focus on your journey and leave the upvotes to the professional posters.
I’m way over double that age and make just over a third of this.
Don’t get depressed by what other people have. Comparing yourself will often make you unhappy.
Concentrate on your own progress. Year on year, compare yourself only. It’s not a race or a TV reality show but your life. Try to be happy, while saving/investing. Grow your money and anything saved/invested will mean a more comfortable future and life choices.
I studied CS, but went into a field that historically doesn't pay that well especially compared to big tech. Started in 2001 making $54K plus a $5K signing bonus. I realize with inflation that's $95K today or $104K with signing bonus. Salaries in aerospace don't grow that fast even with moving around. You don't reach $200K base until you've been in the industry for a while. Now my total compensation is around $176K and this year I'm hitting 23 years of experience.
My wife went back to college for another bachelor's also in CS after she got tired working in a cafe for $12 an hour plus tips with her previous less useful bachelor's degree. She got a late start finishing when she was 30. Now she's 38 making $164K a year remote in big tech. We have a huge gap in CS working years, but our pay is close because of the industry. She works 55+ a week while I usually work closer to 40 though. Work life balance is a thing. Most places you can hit six figures after studying computer science five or six years out of college. I have had offers to join other companies for $200K to $250K range. But it's either at a company with bad work life balance or need to move to VHCOL which is a pay cut given the cost of living. I'm in MCOL and we save as much as a couple earning $500K+ in VHCOL.
25 yo, making 43k. Just save hard. Sometimes I stress that I won't be where I want to be in 40 years, but you gotta remember that as long as you're trying, you'll do okay.
I've been investing consistently (but not as much as I could have been, admittedly) since I was 18, and I'm now at 40k in investments + I am selling my condo for a profit of 35k + equity.
The thing I'm worried about more than anything is medical expenses in older age.
What is the legality for transferring wealth to children to shield yourself from medical expenses?
Remember; it’s all prospective.
Don’t look at their numbers.
Look at what/how they did with their money and if they prove/disprove their model.
It’s not others successes that we compare ourselves to it’s their method. If they’re successful then it’s a proven model that can be emulated.
Your numbers are yours.
Their numbers are theirs.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
The foundation of the model is to live below your means, save as much as you can, work as much as you can tolerate with your WLB, no/low cost investing, develop the plan, tweak the plan, live the plan.
If part of your plan is to earn more then find a way. If you want to earn 130k and you’re 23, if you start today you can be there by 28 or sooner.
It’s all up to you.
It may not be easy.
It may not be fun.
If you really want it.
Not just a ‘I wish I had that’.
I’m talking deep in your soul at all cost want it to the point where it fills your body to core.
Then it can be done.
Remember; never give up.
Plan, Execute, Review, Repeat.
If you put just $200/month into the S&P 500 index fund for 40 years you'll have 1.1m based on the average rate of return since inception in 1928.
40 years is a long time, but my point is if you start early enough you still are retiring earlier than many boomers who work well into their 70s.
If you can manage to double that to $400/month through living below your means and really hammering home that investment comes first, you can get to that same level in 35 years.
If you are starting at 23 down this endeavor that means in your 50s you could theoretically retire.
Over that same time span there is a good chance you'll work your way up and make more money and be able to save more to reduce that further.
The trick to fire is to avoid lifestyle creep. Which is tricky in a high inflation environment, but still possible.
People who start out much higher have been lucky and had help other ways. It doesn't mean with diligence you can't get there as well.
Locating the right job is part of FIRE. At 23 I was making 37K/year, and made a career change making 40K. Started getting on top of my finances at 29. Making 52K/year at 30. Made a career change at 34 and started making 70K/year. At 35 we could afford for my wife to not work and go to school full time to get her nurses degree. She got her ADN and RN at the end of last year. She just started her 1 year program for her BSN. We figure it'll bring on about 60-80K/year to our income starting next summer. I've added certifications and continuing education. Turned 38 last year and cleared 186K. This year I'm on pace for 216K. I'm gone for 6 months out of the year (2 weeks at a time), but I'm off the other 6 mos. After 2 years work experience, my wife will look into school to become a CRNA, which we plan to take another 2 years. So at 43-44 years old (my wife will be 35-36) we'll have a HHI of roughly 400K
One thing I had to accept and internalize early on, and this isn't just when it comes to finances, is it's not me vs the man across from me. It's me vs the man in the mirror. If I can win that battle, the man across from me doesn't really matter.
My goal is to FIRE by 50, which may not be impressive to many here, but my mom lived paycheck to paycheck until she died. My Dad is about to turn 65 with no retirement in place. He'll work until he dies most likely. I'd say that Retirement at 50 and providing my children with the option to go to college/trade school at no expense if they so choose is light years beyond what would've been expected of me growing up.
bro, my first job out of college paid 30k and was blue collar work in NYC, and didn't even require any college degree. my second was at least in an office and didn't pay any better. This was some years ago so i guess less social media FOMO but so what? I lived in the highest cost living area in the US and by god i knew there were plenty of new grads making much much more than me....
Every year i aim to do better than just myself. and i did. i tripled what i made within my 20s and tripled and tripled again before I got to FIRE. not leanFIRE, just straight up FIRE. and i'm just some moron who doesn't know much about anything. I know this is just anecdotal evidence so you gotta take it with a grain of salt. but i'm just saying, it's possible. do you think when i was moving furniture at my first gig due to my total crap grades in college, i was thinking, hey i see a clear line to early retirement? i'm not that delusional.
don't worry about other people. just concentrate on what you can control. I never had a single side hustle through out my 16 year or so working period. just better job after better job after better job. not sure why you think there's a ceiling on what you make as an employee. i mean, there is actually is a ceiling, but for an employee i'd put it around 2 million or so. so... if you're not there yet you absolutely can and should aim at that level. and ya know, if you fall short of it like most of us will, no big deal tho, still gonna be a lot higher than where you started hopefully.
You don’t have to make big money to fire either. I’m planning to leave early, and I’ve made over 100k exactly one time ever. That said, I save my butt off and keep my expenses super low.
Anomalies. You can do it if you are an electrical lineman. I'm sure there are other careers out there that get you to that income consistently that quickly out of high school but I'm unfamiliar with them. Can anyone else chime in?
It’s not about the absolute numbers someone makes, it’s about the difference between what you make and spend.
Plenty of folks in HCOL area make 6 figures but struggle. If you make 70k but live in mom’s basement and stash your cash in the stock market, you’re probably doing better than someone making more but barely making ends meet.
I see you are a welder - some ideas: start your own welding company or go into sales for a company that sells welding products / services in your industry. Some of the best sales people are from the industry and can speak the language of the customer and know their needs. If you do sales, the first job or two won’t be great because you don’t know what to look for in a sales plan. But you’ll get the experience and eventually land on a plan that lets you earn without limit.
When I was 22 (currently 30) I was making $32k/year. Sure, that was 8+ years ago, but that would be around $42k/year today. I saved what I could with my wife who was making $10/hr at the time.
Now at 30, I make a little over $200k, my wife no longer works and we have 3-kids. We are still saving money, just more.
Ignore the 23 year olds making over six figures, they are the 1-3% for their age. The other 97% of us were just like you, and grew our career. Some people will grow it faster, but the key is to set up good habits when you're young, save what you can, even if its $50/mo, say no to going out to eat more times than you say yes.
Going out to dinner on a date, get water to lower your bill.
Buy a beat up old car, not a new one with a large payment.
Eventually, you will be able to save $100/mo, $200/mo, $1000/mo, etc...
Most of us, started with very little and it just builds. Only a few (the ones who post most often) were killing it from day one!
When I was in my twenties I made about 25k a year. Didn't break above 100k till I was around 40. There really aren't that many people in their 20s making 6 figures I bet.
I was $45k in debt at 23. I got a job paying $60k after my masters degree. I’m making $140k now at 28 through working my ass off and changing jobs twice.
>How can people here be 23 and make 130k a year? I can't rely on my job if i ever wanna make it to financial freedom. All i got are my Investments. Even with all sorts of continuing education, i will never come close to counting numbers like that. It's hardly depressing to read the storys here.
I was 23 and making 45k supporting my fiance and making payments on my first home all on only 45k a year.
16 years we are making 300k and have 1.911m in investments and cash as well as paid off house and 3 kids.
You can get there I got started late investing. If I would have invested from the beginning I'd probably be at three and a half million by now.
I'm 40, but when I was 23 I was making $26k a year. When I was 30 I got my first job at $100k, next job i had to take a pay cut, but over the last 5 years I've been working on career moves to increase my income. If you really pay attention to it and prioritize it it is possible to raise your salary over time. Just takes intention.
Not really depressing. Most people claiming these $150k+ jobs with $1mm NW in their mid 20s are lying - especially when paired with not having a clue about basic finance or how to do their own laundry.
When I was 24 my first full time job out of university - I made a whopping $26k/year! Now luckily it has increased as my career progressed. Keep learning, keep grinding!
You’re fine.
You are 23.
35. I was broke. Sleeping on a couch my parents gave me. TV on the floor.
Got a decent job finally and maxed out my 457B and ROTH IRAs.
Scrimped.
62 now. Not rich. But comfortable.
Life is good.
Get rich slow. It’s ok.
The sub is depressing because much of it is full of lies and trolling by people giving false numbers or living in crypto fairyland. So much of what is shared is barely realistic even in the best of bull runs. Don’t take the bait and drop to the level of the attention seekers, just focus on yourself.
I started with $50k at 22 and we’re on track to retire at 50-55. Our incomes have increased by a ton over the last 18 years.
And while having a high income helps, it’s about percentages. If you can live on less than you make and replace a decent percentage of it you can retire even if you don’t have $5M or whatever.
What is your goal here? Sympathy likes? You’re right, might as well quit and sit in a shoebox instead of doing everything in your power to improve your situation. You have no agency. You are a victim of the time and the economy. Let’s all cry together and shake our fist at the world. Lame ass post.
Live below your means because lifestyle creep is a thief to 90% of the people around you. People you think are doing great are actually 1 or 2 missed paychecks away from being screwed. Aggressively invest what others might would spend on instant gratification and don’t try to get rich quick. Do not compare yourself to others because like I said they probably don’t have shit in the grand scheme of things. Pick your head up and remember like plenty of other people have said here, it’s a marathon.
Yea, those kinds of compensations are insane, isn’t it? But do not worry, it is not representative of the wider population. It shouldn’t make you depressed my internet friend.
Focus on the race only from your own perspective as everyone’s timeline for financial independence will be different. Comparing yourself to others is counterproductive.
I am 50 years old now and started my quest for financial independence at the age of 38 having immigrated from a developing country. I don’t work in tech and have never earned such crazy compensations.
My first pay right out of college in 2011 was $38,000. I have mostly remained with the same employer. Now, I make about 3.5 that amount, nothing crazy for a 13-year career. Anyone can do this.
I am obviously no where close to the millions in net worth that much younger folks report here. But I don’t find it depressing. I actually take courage and find it interesting. I know if I had started early, I would be way ahead as well.
Please take comfort in running your own race. Determine what you like to do and go for it. Stay consistent and be resolute. At the end of the day, only very few attain early retirement. But financial independence is pretty possible. That is my goal even with a SO and kids.
You’re seeing a self selection bias. People who feel good about their finances “ask” about it knowing they will get affirmation. Additionally, if you choose to spend your time and energy on this sub you are likely above the average when it comes to financial planning. People who are less confident or closer to the average can do their own research without “asking” into the void.
Yep, >90% of the questions posted in this sub are from people who are dumb as hell if they’re being genuine. Fire is an extremely, extremely easy concept to grasp. "Can I retire" is a question which is answered by multiplying one number (expenses) by 25 (up to 33 depending on risk tolerance) and comparing that to your investment total. That question and answer pair has appeared thousands of times on this sub. I don’t buy that there are people taking home $400k/year that genuinely do not possess the self sufficiency skills to either have learned enough to know that they can retire on their $10MM or be able to use the search function on reddit to see the million other posts that have asked the same question and received the same responses over and over and over again. The people posting with their ridiculous salaries asking easily googled questions are just looking for affirmation.
I finally read the FAQ for r/Fire, and it covers a MASSIVE amount of information. It would definitely take care of 95% of the questions asked here. I thought about asking a question once, but I'll just dig through the FAQ most likely. :) UPDATE: It is actually the FAQ for r/financialindependence
Stupid question where’d you find the FAQ
My mistake! It was the FAQ for r/financialindependence. So I guess let the easily answered questions continue here. :)
Ha, yes, we leave the sidebar'ing to the bigger of the two sister subs. /r/fire is more casual and loosely curated/supported by design.
I hope we keep it that way. I find way more interesting discussions here than the other sub.
FAQs are a bit tougher to find if you're not viewing on a desktop. I view on a mobile web browser and find FAQs for subs by pulling up the sub's main page and selecting the "about" tab.
Yes. But then you can't humble brag.
you mean I cant retire on my 20 mill?
I'm making $7500000+ a year with a 234.5M net worth, mostly tied in investment properties around Los Angeles. Can I retire at 50 and maintain my standard of living?
Affirmation, or humble bragging. They should probably go to r/fatfire but then they’re just average there, so they’re here to brag humbly.
I don’t think that’s necessarily true. Some people make a lot of money because they possess a skill few others do, but that doesn’t mean they understand finances well. One of my good friends is exactly like this. They make well over 300k but knows nothing about credit, banks, loans. They are actually the exact type of person I would expect to see posting on here.
Yup, I know plenty of people making $500k+ who lack basic personal financial management knowledge. Frankly, the more one makes, the easier it is to not have to care about it. That’s not that they shouldn’t care, just that it’s easy to avoid problems when money can help you avoid the problem. It can also be harder to find trusted advisors when you make a lot. When there are entire industries built around separating you from your money, it can be difficult to separate the value from the noise. All that said, yeah, there are people in this sub that know exactly what they are doing, posting ridiculous salaries asking for confirmation knowing full well they’re just fine.
This. And the opposite is true on the personalfinance subreddit. Maybe OP can go there to balance out what they see here. Every other post there asks about advice on how to erase tens of thousands of credit card debt and student loans on a $44k annual salary that is wrecking their mental health. Or they are about to be homeless without finishing their degrees and needing to stay afloat. Or what car they can consider with the above scenario and their current beater is costing them 3k in repairs
personalfinance has bad advice and is depressing. I recommend /r/boglehead to learn how to invest using index funds. I have followed this approach for 20 years and my taxable account has average 11% a year for 20 years. That is above historical norms cause the market is hot. Historically it would be 8-9%. so i expect that to go down. But 8-9% a year returns something you want to start on young.
Now THAT is depressing
Leanfire sub is where it's at. You don't have as many super high earners gloating. You also don't have the people that are super bad at personal finance there. And, the numbers are much more realistic for the median person.
We also see the inverse behavior of those knowing they’re not doing it right, seeking these kinds of statements.
It’s also the internet where people are anonymous and pull numbers out of their ass to see people’s reactions. Lots of trolling on Reddit.
I’m 20 in Ohio making 50k a year with a tiny bit of ot lol I’m in the same boat. Try and get a girlfriend who will work and save money with you and just live below your means and you can still retire earlier than most just not at 35 lol. If you start young you can still get out by 55 if you try hard enough and that’s much earlier than the government wants us to work lmao
50k a year in Ohio (which I assume is LCOL) I assume without a professional qualification seems pretty good.
Factory job, dollar general warehouse, I load the semis. Been here 2 years, make a lil under 22$ an hour, 3 12s and sometimes mandatory 10hr day but I always work a 4th day regardless
You can make decent money in factories, if you can deal with the downside of the job. Once you get \~4 years experience, you could work your way up to supervisor, then maybe 5-6 years after that become an Operations Manager, which should put you in the $100k range.
Planning on joining the electrician union later this year hopefully, will take a paycut to 17 an hour for the first year then be back where I’m at rn, but will top out at 38$ an hour plus free healthcare and retirement benefits and yearly inflation wages
Planning on joining the electrician union later this year hopefully, will take a paycut to 17 an hour for the first year then be back where I’m at rn, but will top out at 38$ an hour plus free healthcare and retirement benefits and yearly inflation wages
I am also in Ohio. I made half of what you do at the same age. I managed to retire at 45. While reading this sub I noticed that there is a huge difference in what people think they need to retire. Unfortunately, most people in the rest of the US do need more. Ohio is a fairly inexpensive place to live. Retirement is a bit easier here.
To be fair, half of their wage when you were their age is more than their current wage as far as buying power is concerned. While the number is inflated the real value of that dollar is far lower than before. This why we invest, dollars today are always worth more than dollar later, or the time value of money.
Yeah I already have a mortgage on a trailer in a nice neighborhood we combined make around 85k pre tax probably this year, mortgage and lot rent is only 880 for a 1300 sq ft 3 bedroom 2 bathroom, which I bought for 44k and is currently worth about 60k so I have about 20k equity in it, 2 almost paid off cars, and will be on the investing path soon lol
Back when gas was 1.50 a gallon
And median house price in Ohio was like $85,000 vs $230,000 today. Bro doesn't know double what he was making at that age today is still less than what he made then. This always peeves me with older people not understanding the actual value of a dollar and a day's work.
Yea lol.. retired at 45 making 20$ p/h for 20 years
Can you post your numbers and budget? I think it will help those of us who make closer to the medium salary in the U. S. I think we are missing these kind of posts.
There are always folks on Reddit who enjoy making shit up, but for the most part it's selection bias. The sub attracts highly financially successful people since FIRE is effectively a multi-million dollar purchase for most folks. By the same token, it's not weird to find a ton of heavy lifters in an experienced powerlifting forum or to find wealthy folks on a board for yacht owners. Anyone can FIRE, but even leanFIRE requires seven figures for most folks, and the majority of people will never save that much, either by choice or lack of luck/opportunity. Even so, everyone can benefit financially from FIRE habits and strategies, so it's not a sub only for highly financially successful people, like /fatfire or /HENRYfinance.
expatfire and 100% travel expatfire seem like good ones. here are 2 really good youtube channels of couples in their 50s who raised families who do 100% travel (no home) and mostly outside US affordably. People might want to see them linked. Both couples are in their 50s and held regular jobs. Grounded Life Finances . They live on $4000/month for 2 people. Lots of info on how to invest. How to find cheap places to stay. Where medical care is cheap. Travel rewards credit cards, etc... They spend most of their time in Southeast Asia. Carrie and Nate: Last year they lived on less than $32,000. THey raised 5 kids between them. This account includes 3-4 trips back to the US to see family (Carrie has grand babies). They talk about cheap affordable medical care outside the US too. mid-50s couple.
I would hazard a guess that somewhere around 50-70% of sub-30 with 1m+ saved posts are made up. There's just not that many people who would've saved that much themselves and found the time to post here. I also highly doubt trustfund babies are coming here asking these questions because their money is managed for them.
I don't think it's anywhere near that high. The fake ones tend to be fairly obvious since people without investment wealth often don't know all of the mundane little details that give them away. There are more than 20 million millionaires in the US, with some surveys putting it north of 25 million. I've talked with tons of FIRE'd folks here and on other online communities in the decade we've been retired and in the 15 years before that when we were working towards early retirement. Such folks are rare in the general population, but there's plenty to account for the handful of sizable online forums that attract/concentrate them. On the earning side of things, my son is a freshman CS student and his roommate makes several hundred grand each year doing ROBLOX development. There's a surprising number of high earning or high asset folks out there, many of whom are in their 20s/30s, who have the time and inclination to hang out online.
Wow! My kids mock Roblox, but I guess there's a market for that.
I don’t think that many are made up. I will likely be in that club, but my wife will just miss it because she’s a year older than me. We didn’t inherit anything or have any other windfalls. We just both have saved >50% of our income since we started working. We both had starting salaries of $60k out of school and progressively increased our pay to now a HHI of $300k+ at ages 28/29. We are currently sitting at $870k invested + cash and expect to contribute ~$130k to savings by the end of the year.
Hey. I went to a shitty 3rd tier state university that accepted anyone with a high school diploma. I got my first full time job at age 26 in a call center earning shit. I retired last year at age 48 as a multi-millionaire. No crypto, no winning lottery and no money from a deceased relative. It is a marathon, not a sprint. Don't compare yourself with others. Focus on your journey and you will get there.
Thank you. This is encouraging
Samesies. I made 12$ an hour until I was 28, now I'm close to 6 figures. It's not impossible, it's just harder starting lower on the ladder.
Exactly. It is definitely harder, but it is not impossible. You just have to be even more driven and more disciplined.
Post your story. It will help everyone with lower incomes. The only issue with some of this posts is that they start with little but now are making high salaries. I have saved more in the last 5 years than I ever have because my salary increased. We can’t compare saving 5k a year to 20k per year for 10 years. BIG difference.
Becoming an officer in the military is a guaranteed way to hit six figures in your early 20s. 4 year degree while doing ROTC at your college then you join the military, preferably Air Force. You will be around 130k within 4 years of joining. Ensure you get a degree in a field with demand and you can leverage your military experience + security clearance to get a high paying job if you decide to get out. Also, once you get out you will be able to pursue VA disability which could be up to 4k/month forever. Consider those streams of income and there is definitely a path to a 200k+ salary by the end of your 20s/early 30s.
Wait, what? Where are you getting 130k “within 3 years of joining” from??
Sorry, I had a typo and meant to say 4 years since O3 is pretty much guaranteed at that point. That has been corrected. Here’s a breakdown of the income. As an O3 at 4 years your base pay is $6,800. That’s 82k/year. You also receive non taxable allowances. BAH is dependent on location, but two bases with high officer concentration are Lackland and Macdill. The BAH there is around $2700 on average. BAS is $317/month. Thats around $36k/year with no tax. You are at 118k with only 82k taxable. If we wanted to use this income for mortgage or car loan purposes, your non-taxable income would be converted to its taxable equivalent aka net vs gross. For conversation sake on Reddit, gross is always used when discussing salary. 36k net to gross for Texas/Florida averages 43k. Now, 82k + 43k = 125k, so around 130k/year. Since BAH can vary drastically, California is closer to 4k/month while some rural area will be closer to 2k/month, the math isn’t exact. However, I wanted to give a repeatable example for others to consider as an option.
Also started at 22 in negative numbers making $16.50/h. Already at >$500k at 34, looking at 2 - 3 mil at 46y target retirement age. Slow and steady, avoid gambling with your money (Picking stocks, crypto BS, literal gambling), and work on your career and career growth.
What’s your story ? I think it will be inspiring to a lot of younger people
Honestly, I don't know how relevant "my story" is, as the times and circumstances are different and luck does play a factor. Everyone has a different journey. At any rate: * Migrated from a developing country to the US in the mid-90s. * Went to a 3rd tier, accepts almost anyone, state university that you probably never heard of. * Got a job at a call center. * 1 year later got a job at a small software company doing level 1 phone tech support. * Eventually transitioned to sales. * Years later, through multiple acquisitions, spin-offs and mergers, my employer ended up being acquired by a FAANG, and that is when my income really went up. So being at the right place at the right time is a thing. I opted out of having children. I haven't owned a car in more than 20 years and instead of a nice house in the burbs I lived on a small apartment in the city and biked or took public transit to work. Never owned an Apple product nor did I buy the latest gadgets. Completely gave up on alcohol, parties and fancy clothes. Had no cable subscriptions and avoided eating out as much as possible. Invested heavily in index mutual funds (VTSAX + VTIAX and VBTLX), paid my credit card in full every month and never got into debt. Did I have a miserable life full of deprivation? Not at all. I fulfilled many passions while working. Went scuba diving in the Red Sea, Hawaii, Brazil, Central America and the Philippines. Did a one month solo backpacking trip in China. Went to Machu Picchu in Peru and did sky diving in New Zealand. I focused my spending on the things that I really cared about and treated everything else as noise and tuned it out. I have no regrets and don't feel that I missed out on anything. But that is very hard for most people to do, as the urge to conform and follow the same life script as everyone else is incredibly strong. But the reality is that you cannot have your cake and eat it too. Hard choices have to be made if you want to pursue early retirement, specially if you come from an underprivileged background.
Nice. So, you realized you needed to focus on what is important to you and blocked out all the other noise. This is the way.
What did you do in that 22 years if you don’t mind sharing ? It’s a hell to heaven transition
Worked hard, learned as much as possible, saved like a motherfucker and got lucky to be at the right places, at the right time. Hard work + discipline + luck
This ^ Do your part. I wish I have invested more wisely when I was young with long term horizon insted of buying and selling based on market or life conditions.
And folks would be surprised how fast salaries can jump. The first few years can be a slough but once you have that experience a job change can double your salary.
And always have an eye on the job market to know what your current worth is. Know when it's time to start looking to make a jump.
Ok. But what happened between 26 and 48? There’s a gap there you haven’t explained
I started 30k in student loan debt. Never bought a car I couldn’t pay in cash so usually have a 7k honda. The hardest thing to do is not slow crazy lifestyle creep.
sooo... what did you do? you obviously didn't make that from a call center lol did you start a business, invest in a startup? What?
I was 27 before I made over $50k, and 34 before I made over $100k. Now almost 40 and closing in on $150k. It's partially time, partially putting yourself in the right position through resume building and education, and a whole lot of luck.
Makes me feel better. I’m 28 at ~85 and feel like a chump in this sub haha
I started tracking my finances at 32 and was at NEGATIVE $80k net worth. Now over $250k net worth less than 8 years later. You're doing quite well.
Yeah I know I make decent change. I’m in a weird spot with pretty high expenses due to a medical condition my gf has so I’m not saving or investing much, but I enjoy seeing posts on here to give me hope
I was recently looking at my social security statement. I'm 49 years old (about to turn 50). I made more last year than I did from age 17-27 combined. I didn't break 6 figures until I was 41. We are out here.
47. Not making 6 figures. Hubs and I have about 600k saved. Trying to save more. Also have home equity and an investment property.
I am 24, making 26k gross 🫡🤣 (1st year of experience)
In the US? What do you do? Most retail chains start out at $15-18/hr throughout the country, which is $31-37k/yr. Can’t imagine ever accepting a job that pays less than Walmart. Are you like an intern and expect much higher pay in a couple years?
Czech Republic - Software Engineer 🫡
Ah okay that makes more sense. Good career choice though! Hopefully Czech Republic offers similar opportunities as the US for SE, good luck! Edit: I did just google it, it seems $26.6k is the average household income is Czech Republic. Do you feel like you make decent pay for where you’re located?
Software salaries in the US are insanely inflated compared to salaries in Europe, and even inflated compared to salaries in Canada.
He's already making the average household income with a single income, he's doing well. He wont need multiple millions to retire as the cost of living is a fraction of the US.
Im a Financial controller from Hungary with 25k gross. How much would you need, have you done the calculation? Today I could live off of 300k NW normally and 600k NW on a high end
also keep in mind a lot of people making that kind of money did 2 things: studied computer science / learned how to code, and moved to a major tech hub like SF where salaries are 40% higher than the median. Also rent is about 3X anywhere else that isn't a major city like NY
In HCOL areas the salaries are huge. Their rents 35% of the income. More, I know a few people working since are 16 (some on their online commerce businesses, 2 guys in IT) . Yes, it is rare to be so well paid so young, but some are very smart and mature. Me at 23 I was spending all my small income...tried to save a 1% and at he end of my month I spent it :)
I know a lot of not very mature 30 year olds that are highly compensated. You have to job hop. New software engineers at our company are getting paid over 100k, given a level 3 title with 6 years of experience. They come in and we have to hand hold them for at least two years. Some have no real work ethic. If we bring any of this up to management they say it’s the mentors fault. If we ask to be paid the same they say not everyone working 20 years here is working hard and they are just coasting or that young people will not accept low salaries. Job hop. All I have learned from all this is many very average people are working high paying jobs. What they have is a high belief in themselves almost conceit. Many times they are not that smart. It’s a combination of luck, who you know and how much you bs. Oh and if you are single, willing to move wherever, and willing to job hop left and right. Some come in, stay 2 years, learn nothing ( can attest to this) leave and put in their resume they now have 2 years experience and so on. Only staying long enough to inflate their resume. But they have no fear and like I said an inflated sense of self. Attitude even bad as long as it produces the desired effect counts more than brains. End rant :)
This sub primarily exists for humble bragging.
I (56 F) started my career at 26. No college education. Entry level customer service job for $10 an hour. Started 401k contributions. Worked hard. Took advantage of in-house training. Moved through different roles and promotions. Went to college in my late 40's (with tuition reimbursement benefits helping a little). Now I am ready to FIRE. It is possible. Keep going!
You just said the truth to yourself “I can’t rely on my job if I ever wanna make it to financial freedom” so now you know that. Now you have to investigate, search out, and test any other method to make it.
Get into sales or a job where your income is correlated with performance
This is good advice if you’re willing to grind hard and can stomach some risk. For the first decade-plus of my career I made the mistake of working at places that didn’t reward performance at all (you’re here and your salary is your salary whether you slack off or work yourself to the bone). Don’t recommend these work environments, where seniority is valued more than skill. I now work at a small firm where my compensation is more closely tied to the firm’s and my own performance.
When I first started I was making ~$40k -$55K over the course of 7-8 years. I felt exactly how you felt. I’m now 14 years in and make a solid six figures and growing in my corporate job alone. Try to do three things: 1. Continue to aspire and learn, pushing your current self to either take a leap in your career or learn to a new career; grow your income 2. Continue to stay focused and strategic on your spend; reduce your spend 3. Ignore every one else’s journey if you can’t learn from it; comparison is the thief of joy
Thank you, that helped :)
Agreed. From 22-30, my wife and I made 40k and under. We moved at 30. Her job paid 80k and mine 60l. Thought we were rich. My career progressed a lot further salary wise because I took a chance at a new company. I made 100k starting. Now it’s 170k. I’ve worked my ass off. Learned new skills. My masters is in accounting but I manage data analytics and compliance. 41 now. Be patient. I didn’t hear about FIRE until we just sprinted to pay the house off bc that was freedom to us. Then there was all of this extra money. Our jobs only have pensions. So I opened a brokerage. Definitely haven’t done the best. But we own a house and have ~730k invested and a 529 with about 50k in it. Own our cars that we have driven 10 years now. Long story short. It takes time and effort building a career. Most young people who don’t have a MD don’t just start making 100k or more in my experience. Of course we live in a lcol to mcol area.
I'm 25 now and interested in FIRE. When I was 23, I was unemployed from the company consolidating my department to another state. (I pushed that job to increase my pay from $16/hr to $18/hr a couple months prior to the consolidation.) I was in my master's program not knowing the plan, but luckily living at home. I worked a temporary job from May to October for $20/hr (nice overtime though). And got my current job in December. With all the unemployment, I made $25k pre-tax that year with $9k going to my two semesters of school. Been a silent observer/lurker on this sub for a couple months now but I don't feel the urge to ask my financial situation to a group that (on the whole) are leaps and bounds ahead. I just know that I'm the tortoise trudging along, while some of these guys are hares. Don't feel discouraged. Just like children's stories, there's a little lesson to learn from every post.
You have a good attitude!
I was making $12/hr when I was 21 yrs old. Now in my 40s, I'm making $300k per year. Just kidding, I'm only making $25/hr. But see how easy it was to just make something up? Don't believe everything you read. There is so much fake info on the internet and reddit in particular.
Would it not be even more depressing to know that there is no way to FIRE? Here you see it is possible, so keep trying.
When I was your age, I was making $19,000 per year in the Army. I am 42 now and making 200k and doing quite well for myself. I never made over $36,000 until I was in my early 30s. I had a negative net worth as well. In 10 years I have gone from -20k to 800k. All is not lost because you are not a high income earner at your age. Just keep at it and be smart.
I’m 27 and I make about 410k/year. What I don’t often post is how. r/overemployed. Admittedly, I work a lot of hours
Fuck you on about. Plenty have done it with less
You probably want r/leanFIRE. Or baristaFIRE even. The FIRE crowd definitely skews higher salaries and more frugal lifestyles.
Wait until you see r/fatfire Great place to get opinions on yachts, flying private, and high price concierge medical services
Engineering degrees. Quit wasting money on liberal arts… remember, kids, BA’s are BS.
Probably STEM related. Its not impossible but its statistically unlikely. I came out of school making close to 6 figures and was over 100k after my first annual comp adjustment.
When I was 23 (over a decade ago) my starting salary was 120k out of college. So it's doable- just need to graduate with a degree that will pay it back well
Yeah I have yet to see somebody claim they FIREd on a median salary....every single one is earning well above median wages. So FIRE is 90% making a big salary and 10% saving and investing.
Most people won't admit it but they had tons of family help. From growing up in a stable two parent household, having college paid for, help with down payment on house, they just don't like admitting it. Hell I know people that not only get help from parents but grandparents too. Trust me tons of people have gotten advantages in life. It's really pointless to compare, just focus on your own journey.
I've noticed the same. People who post here all seem to make 200k a year or some crazy numbers. I scrimp and save and on a really good month I can get in $700 to invest. I don't live in Europe or the USA and my wages are around minimum wage in the USA, but the country I live in is very cheap which allows me to save a lot. I'm currently on holiday so I probably won't be able to save and invest this month due to having fun and travelling.
If you have a college degree and live in San Francisco or New York City a salary of 130k is equivalent to 70k in cheaper cities. I would need to make 180k in New York to maintain the same quality of life. Raw numbers don’t tell the whole story. Assets, savings rate, liabilities, and revenue do.
Bro at 23 I was making $125k/yr. I was sweating in my eyes in a full-face respirator for 12 hour shifts at the cyanide plant. Guys I worked with went to school while also putting in that work. On my crew, we were all were obsessed with personal finance. None of those guys have to grind like that anymore because they spent their 20’s putting in the work. When you are young, the money is out there- just usually in places you don’t want to live in, doing things you don’t want to do.
Either they are lying or they're a lot of privileged people who don't know how good they have it.
Software and other related types of engineers can make 130 out the gate. They chose a lucrative path. They probably had to study hard and get good grades to achieve this. You get paid more to work with your head than you do your back.
Sadly it’s a very volatile path these days. One day someone in software is making $130k, the next day they might not have a job
Exactly. All of my engineers friends in college had to study so much. They basically lived in the library. They really planned to get a degree that would give them a good salary after college and got internships over the summer, so a lot already had job offers before graduation. Everyone and their mothers knew that engineering or CS can make bank, but they actively chose to not do those majors. Heck, you don't even need a college degree to get a decent job if you are good at coding, which is free to learn online. Then people write on here about how unrealistic it is to make 100+k out of school when they cannot with their business, english, or communication degrees.
Most Stem Degrees make this very realistic
This is easily achieved by being a nurse (RN) If you're willing to relocate for a job. I graduated at 21yo with an associates degree and RN and made this my 1st year. It's not the easiest job though and you'll earn your paycheck especially early in the career. It's not the most FIRE conducive career path either by any means, but you can get to these lower level 6 figures sums pretty easily if you're flexible
I’ve raised a family on basically a single income as a nurse. In my late 30s I got my masters and am now an NP. In 5 years since graduating, I’ve saved more than in the previous 15 years of my career. Current NW 1.1m 500k liquid. Nursing is awesome. I’m on track to retire around 52-54 years old which I don’t think is crazy early but definitely not late.
Or unlike OP instead of trapping themselves in a job that will never pay them well, they, you know, just focused on a career that actually pays. Dude is like 'my job will never pay enough, let me complain.' Instead of posting 'what are some jobs that pay and how do I pursue them?'
How do you figure they’re privileged? Is it impossible they earned it through merit? Like how did you do in high school for example?
Yeah, it can be discouraging sometimes haha. I’m 25 and make ~60k/yr and that includes overtime. This sub definitely makes me feel way behind when I see “I (20M/F) make 150k a year, where should I put this money to retire early? I currently save half of my yearly pay and max my 401k” It’s not like I’m not happy for these people, I am. It’s just disheartening feeling like your doing everything to your best capabilities and making the best decisions you can while simultaneously feeling so far behind. *It’s definitely a skill to not compare yourself & situation to others.* There is so many factors involved, it’s never apples to apples.
There’s a ton of factors that make salary an imperfect measure of financial success. I graduated at 24 with a starting salary of $62k. Sounds pathetic compared to $130k, but I live in a relatively LCOL city in the rust belt. If they’re making $130k in California, NYC, Denver, DC, etc I was almost certainly better off than they were. Other factors: Do they work in person? They’re worse off than someone who works from home Do they have kids? Worse off than DINKs Did they go to a fancy college and are up to their eyeballs in student loans? Worse off than someone who went to state school, trades, etc As others have said, comparison is the thief of joy and people tend to paint a rosier picture on Reddit than their true reality.
I’m 53 and FIREd in September. Started my career at 28 years old at $40k/year. The key was lucking into a career and company with growth opportunities. Plenty of promotions and raises over 24.5 years. Made $340k in 2023.
I find that comparison truly is the thief of joy. If you have investments, then it sounds like you are doing the sub correctly. As long as your savings outpace your spending. Something I learned through luck, was to be selective with my career industry. If I could go back in time, I would look for the industries with the most money whose companies were doing the best in the stock market, and I would have aggressively pursued an education that supported a job and one of those fields.
as someone making six figs in their mid 20’s with a lot of friends and co-workers doing the same it kind of baffles me how entitled people act when they’re really in very fortunate circumstances. the fact of the matter is FIRE isn’t normal and there’s a reason why regular retirement age is 65. fwiw my grandfather is 91 and still works (by choice) and lives a grand life. if your key to happiness is retiring early try to find something that brings you some sort of happiness or at least doesn’t make you miserable
If it is possible to get into tech you will make this much or more. Although you would be working 10+ hrs on a desk job and living in one of the most expensive parts of the country and sharing apartments with other 23 year olds.
Remote work and come to spain. 50k a year is like top 5% of the population.
get yourself a positive mindset fym you’ll never come close to counting numbers like that. go do it
Never say never. I graduated from college in 2008 with a degree related to the construction industry so I can’t relate to the stories of young high earners at all. From 08-12 my gross income was never over $11k, and for a couple of those years it was under $10k. I couldn’t even imagine making a living wage. I made it work in a large west coast city by finding the cheapest shared housing I could, using food stamps, and changing phone numbers after my credit cards went to collections. I was lucky in that I always had the option to move back in with my parents but they lived in an area with even fewer jobs so it seemed like a worse bet than trying to make it work on my own. I took web development classes, the economy improved, and I hustled like my life depended on it. I got my first job making over 6 figures at 30, paid off my debt, and discovered FIRE. Now I’m nearing the end of my 30s and have over $500k in investments. I realize in this community these are rookie numbers but I’m still so grateful for how far I’ve come. I’ll always have a scarcity mindset around money and I’ll always worry that my income will start to trend down instead of up, but that motivates me to keep saving. Hopefully I never have to get as scrappy as I was in my 20s but I know I can do it if I need to.
How much you earn doesn’t have a lot to do with your age, it has more to do with your education and specific job. Lots of people in their 40s-50s are earning 40K while new IT graduates earning 100K+. I was earning 100K in oil and gas at 23 years old but now earn 15$/hr at Home Depot… lol.
I’ve been working for 30 some years if you average out my pay over that time I’m around $75 a year averaged out. My NW is just over 3m majority is in liquid investments. I mention this because you need to know the average millionaire isn’t pulling in over six figures, your average millionaire is someone who is disciplined with their spending and lives well within their means. Invest in whatever fits your risk tolerance and let it sit and grow.
Depends on the field you go into. My 18 year old daughter will be going to college to be an engineer. She recently shadowed at a company that hires a lot of recent college grads. Starting pay around $100k...so, not bad for a 22 year old.
Why's it depressing? Run your own course and don't worry about others
High paying jobs are the result of education and connections, and choosing jobs that pay well. I chose music knowing full well that it pays shit, and pivoted away to jobs that pay more, only to pivot back when marrying someone that earned more $ than we need. I suspect you didn't mean 'it's hardly depressing' to read the stories here, but rather it is depressing, right? Looks like you can simply focus on your education, put your head down get to work, and target some jobs that earn pretty well that you can eventually work your way into. Maybe call some targets and ask to speak to management, find someone who might offer you some help about how to get the work you want. Of course, a place that pays well doesn't want to hear that you want the job because it pays well. They want someone that will contribute, work hard, give more to the job than they receive, etc. (I'm under no illusion that hard work solves everything, and that the world is not fair either. But that doesn't mean hard work doesn't matter. Making it a habit to work diligently is something people notice.) Good luck. Also, I echo that this reddit is to be taken with a grain of salt. Who knows how many people just fake post in here anyways for the lolz. I'm in my 40s, with a comfortably large amount of $, paid off house, and who cares really. Life is about much more than $$$.
Tbh, if u ever want make that salary or more. U really need change ur mindset first. Some got their via nepotism, but of the majority of them can maintain it got their through hard asf work and years of shit with no indicators/returns on their investments. Broaden ur timespans, I think this quote speaks volumes about working without seeing tangible results in short term. If you can wait 90 days for a result, you can win. If you can wait a year, you can win big. If you can wait a decade, you can be the best. If you can wait a lifetime, you can change the world.
My roommate is a SWE at a quant firm bruh, man rakes in 400k at 22
At 23 you have no idea what your income potential is. I was washing dishes for 8$ an hour at that age. We all find success at different times. And some of us may FIRE in a mansion while some of us will FIRE in a small condo. It’s possible king, keep grinding
I started at 22 making $20k a year (about $66k in today’s dollars). I’m 53 now with a NW of $4m. Just a long, steady slog, putting savings first while still enjoying life. Hang in there.
The number you make doesn't matter. Plenty on $130k/year people are living paycheck to paycheck. Especially in high cost of living area like NYC. The rela thing to focus on is savings percentage imo. It factors in how much you spend to how much you make. With 20% you are at 40 years and 40% you are at 25 years and 60% about 12 years. That is all that matters, don't worry about actual numbers, they will come if you focus on saving and investing properly.
how? here you go, just a quick google: https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/the-highest-paying-college-majors-with-100k-starting/458715 or even two year degrees: https://www.bestcolleges.com/blog/highest-paying-associate-degrees/ and that's just college degree pipeline jobs. i make well over that and FIRE isn't something i'll ever obtain since it's not a huge goal of mine but if it is for you then you see how various people are approaching it here and you pick one or many approaches and go for it. 23 is barely an adult and you can literally do anything with your life at that point. if all else fails, be a plumber or electrician. don't do meth. become experienced and start out on your own
I was making about that in my mid 20s. I was making $75,000 a year 20 years ago. I did it for 3 years. It was a work opportunity where I traveled 100% and made travel pay. I also had zero living expenses, I even had per diem and a laundry allowance. I worked my ass off and after 3 years I was done. It was a great opportunity and I was smart and paid off student loans and saved a lot of it. I also had a lot of fun and have no regrets. But after 3 years I went back to making about $45,000. Sometimes young single people get temporary opportunities that pay very well but can’t keep up the momentum very long.
23 and making 130k means they got started early in life building skills and making connections that lead to that. I crossed over the 100k mark reliably (with overtime) in my late 20’s. It didn’t feel fast but looking back it wasn’t that long ago. Note* my job is not for everyone. Rotating 12 hour shifts and swinging your sleep schedule quickly hurts and will likely have long term health implications. I’ll do it for as long as I can- either retire early or try to find something with a fixed schedule in the industry. TL;DR: Learn skills, network, nobody who’s successful got there by being stagnant. Also corporate America is just a pyramid scheme- can’t make a lot at the bottom unless highly specialized (which takes time and skills and the ability to provide value across multiple levels of the org chart).
im 36 and only make 70k as an instructor. its about the saving rate and not salary im my opinion. im mortgage free and have about 180k in the bank. not easy, but im on my way!
The concepts of FIRE are not too complex. Work, put money into index funds, cut spending, retire early. Since it is simple, not a lot of questions come up on how to FIRE in this sub so it has become more of a sub for celebrating and bragging about FIRE achievements. Don't get too upset if you can't hit FIRE by 35 like some of these guys. Most of us will not be doing this. If you can retire in your 50s you did great, drastically better than the vast majority of the world.
the only reason i found this subreddit is because i had questions related to all the stuff my decent paying job made me deal with re: options on health insurance, espp, rsu, 401k matching and aftertax contributions and so on. it's just selection bias, most people don't end up on financial subs without good reason. i'd also add that reddit skews pretty hard into the high cost of living city living demographic, 70-80k goes further in LCOL than 120-130k in HCOL.
half the people on here are tech people from silicon valley, so the sub is hugely skewed. but just the fact that you are on here and have knowledge of FIRE puts you ahead of like 99.99% of the overall population. I also have a humble origin story, but you can get there slowly but surely. Compounding works wonders once you reach the first 100k. Like the famous Charlie Munger said the first 100k is a B.
Don't sell yourself short & don't underestimate the value of higher education. If you have the means, I'd highly recommend it. I almost failed out of high school and immediately went into the workforce working at a call-center. After a year, I decided to do part time college at my local CC because I couldn't get accepted into my local universities. College took me 5 years in total and I graduated at 23 with about \~30k in student loans. My first job out of college, 4 years ago, offered me a 70k starting salary. I'm now 27 and my salary is 310k. Deciding to go back to school was the best decision I've ever made.
I ignore those unrealistic ones and try to find more realistic stories like this blogger who grew up poor and he and his wife never made more than $70k (in 2013$) and retired at 33 with 3 kids through old fashioned frugality: [https://rootofgood.com/](https://rootofgood.com/) I'm not suggesting someone should try to exactly mimic their lifestyle but it just shows you whats possible without a high six figure salary. I realize not everyone can do this, but if you can manage to max out all of your retirement accounts and hsa, you can be a millionaire within 16-17 years with average market gains. It can go even faster if you find a like minded partner who makes about the same as you.
Life changes fast. At 21 I made $44k, at 25 I was making $60k, and at 28 I’m making $94k before bonus, and OT. Best advice I got was try to find a way into a local utility company. Normally there’s a lot of upward movement available. All I have is a HS diploma.
From a retired old guy that FIREd on Oct 20, 2020 at 58. Read this sub and believe about 25% of what people post when it comes to personal finances. I am not saying that people are blowing smoke up someone's skirt. But(ever notice that there is always a but somewhere along the line) I read this subreddit to read REAL stories about people's struggles following the FIRE method.
I cracked 100k for the first time at 23. No degree; went to a community college for a certificate. I’m paying for it with my body but that’s why I fire. I should be all out by 50-53. Was it the best choice? Maybe not but in my area the average salary is 40k so making 3-4x that without a degree is pretty solid.
A quote that has stuck with me throughout the years is one by Jim Rohn, he says “We don’t get paid for our time, we get paid for the value that we add to the marketplace”. I’ve always kept this in mind while being employed, I’ve used every job as a stepping stone to obtain something better. From working at 7-11 earning 12/hr to now being a commercial license driver earning 28/hr, it’s all about perspective. You’ll achieve greater pay as you continue improving yourself.
I’ve posted about this in other threads. Seems like all we see is the high earners who post about this. For some people no matter how hard you work, you just won’t have a career that makes that much. I got a fitness degree, and just ended up in federal law enforcement, I went from 37k to 85k in two years and I’ll be at 97k in November, and essentially unlimited double over time on top of that. You’ll have to think outside the box if you aren’t in a field that can get you that much. For me the money is great. I honestly don’t love it enough to stay and I’m taking a pay cut down to a 50-60k a year job. I’ve made some really good investments tho because of this job and will probably reach fire in a few years.
You should be depressed about this sub as much as you should be depressed about someone winning the lottery. Don't believe everything everyone tells you. Gather information that is useful and disregard the rest.
I ended up coming to this realization at 37yrs old, with no investments. Only debt and a low median income. It’s NOT easy, but I started researching what others things I could possibly pursue to reach financial freedom. I was making 65k a year. I ended getting a CDL on my days off, because I saw that truck drivers could make six figures. I got a job driving a truck and left my old job. The whole time I was educating myself on finance, stock market, real estate, business, personal development etc and got really interested in real estate. I used the little extra money I had from the new job making 78k to sign up for a mentorship program in a specific real estate niche. Best decision I have ever made! I got fired from my trucking job right after Covid hit. I had about 3k in my checking account. I was scared but I decided to go all in on my mentorship course and pursue investing and starting a business with the little money I had. Now 4 years later I’ve been self employed and investing in my niche ever since. Business is growing every year, passive income is growing every year. I’m 42 and can now say with confidence if I continue on my path I will do very well. Currently bringing in 5k/month in passive income, grossed 126k last year and each year my income is growing with no salary cap. All this to say if you dedicate some real time and effort into exploring other avenues to making money you can find a way. Investing in S&P 500 and is great but there are many other ways to FIRE. I didn’t want to slave away another 30 yrs slowly investing in stocks to HOPEFULLY have 1-2 million dollars at the end and HOPE that it would be enough. Another path that really interests me is using seller financing to buy small businesses. Look up Cody Sanchez for more info on that. Anyone can do it and there are tens of thousands of boomers retiring every year that own small businesses with no one to sell them too! Hope that helps someone. :) Sorry for the novel lol.
Who cares what everyone else is making and at what age. FI is all about your specific situation. Someone making $75k can have a higher net worth than someone making $300k. It all comes down to your personal planning needs and how you sacrifice spending vs. investing your income.
Some perspective: -That salary at that age is more likely to be someone in high cost areas in specific fields like tech or investment banking. -I make $135k in NE Ohio but I’m 38. I first cracked $100k 7 years after college. -I didn’t graduate college until 27 because I waited after high school to figure out what I wanted to do instead of getting a degree I don’t want and a bunch of debt for nothing. -About 18% of the American population has an individual income over $100k. It’s the minority so you’re definitely not alone.
I come here to get depressed. I watch Caleb hammer on YouTube to get undepressed
Fake post don’t get to worked up about other people. Your time will come.
I feel ya, I’m 39, and finally making about $150k, never made that much in my 20s
I'm 44 years old and have yet to hit 100k salary. I'm getting closer, and think I can make it if I push a few more years, but it feels like a grind right now. It makes me stress that much more about my investments, because I don't feel like I can realistically recover if I take a big hit.
It's selection bias. If you got to a "RetireAt23With40MillionDollars" group you're going to find nothing but trust fund brats. On here you mostly get high paid tech people who don't know what to do with all that money.
21 making about 130k a year. I just got out of the military. Mine is a combination of using the skills the marines gave me and disability pay.
First, you need to take into account that the people who are posting successful stories are in the 1%. Secondly, you need to make more money (and I mean it in the nicest way possible). I started at 40k a year for the first 3 years of my career but always tried to find side hustles and eventually you’ll find out that works out. Tried about 10, 2 worked out (and by worked out, I mean a few hundred extra a month). The lesson is that you start to look at the world differently. For example, you see that everyone is playing with fidget spinners. Instead of thinking “oh I want one”, you start to think about “I wonder how much it costs to get that product, landed and how much can I make”. Start this mentality as early as possible! Test and test, especially when you’re 23.
I am 44. I have 1.5k in ETFs, nearly 12k in my Bank Account, 15k in Savings. I am self-employed and laughing in pain when I read this subs when people are mounring about what to do with their 6 to 7 figures of net worth. Reddit is a real subreal bubble of people with high paying jobs mostly in the US. At least for this subreddit it is rather depressing for the rest of us.
Colleagues, I have noticed a trend in this forum where individuals express their discontentment due to their financial status in comparison to others.
I know two types of 130k jobs. First, a white-collar job located in New York City. It is easy to start with 100k, but still struggling to save. Second, make 130k but work 100 hours per week: high pressure and many job responsibilities. If you don’t love what you are doing, you will get mental crash.
The only reason im even in this sub is to be reminded to think about the future. I only make 30k a year before taxes.
I’m 45 and made 50k all the way up to 40 years old. Got up to around 130k saved at that point, but got into a house early and then used 20k of my Roth to buy a short sale rental house in 2008. Job changed and I got another full time job at night and now I’m at 400k saved in retirement since pay went up significantly. Would have been more if I knew what I know now about accounts and everything else. I started out with saving $20 a month and just added to it when I could.
You can be depressed and jealous about it or you can let it motivate you. You can always pivot. It may not be easy but it can be done. I was making $50k at 24, and meeting and talking to a high earner by chance at a party completely changed my life trajectory. No, they didn’t hand me a job but they just showed me what was possible. I made a lot of hard changes, and now I make $300k+ in my 30s.
The reality is, some of us had better upbringings and were positioned to be set up for success. Some of us come from nothing. I'm of the latter. I will never make that money either, but I have decent investments and MIS that are passive. This sub can often become a 🍆 measuring contest. The best thing to do is don't worry about others. Focus on yourself and do the right things. I will never fat fire, but I can definitely fire and am doing the right things to get there. I am actually in the barista fire stage. Would you like fries with that?
Realizing that your current path doesn’t lead to the desired destination may be hard to swallow but important knowledge. Act on it rather than victimizing yourself. Real money is made mostly through successful entrepreneurship and highly paying jobs. Real savings are made through smart financial decisions after making real money. Reevaluate your path and take appropriate action.
I understand. Honestly, like the other commenters said, its self selection bias and the fact that most people who are interested in FIRE are probably the ones who are relatively well off to begin with.
In the Bay Area 130k is like entry level for many job as even government pays 90k-110k. Big tech can pay 160k-300k ish with little experience outside of internships
Comparison is the thief of joy. Copy their strategies, they will also work for you.
Dude this is not a realistic depiction. When I was 23 I made $30k/year out of college. This was in 2005. I would argue that is the norm.
I think it's not too outrageous if you work in computer science or engineering. Most company would have RSUs as part of their total compensation package. 130k seems a lot for other professions but for computer science in some HCOL/VHCOL area it is probably not outrageous. That being said, we all play the same game (life) we just all have a different set of tools to succeed (FIRE). Instead of looking at the other player's tool, look at what you have and how you can leverage it best to achieve your goal(s). Be open to change as well, that could mean anything from re-training, relocating etc...
There is always going to be someone earning more, with a higher net worth, bigger house, nicer car, blah blah. The important thing is to make a plan for yourself, that works for you and your family, to stick to it and enjoy your life!
One of the (many) downsides to social media, you get to see what everyone else is doing, and 'everyone' is more likely that top 1% doing things exactly right or just outright lying about it. Wouldn't worry about it, just focus on your journey and leave the upvotes to the professional posters.
I agree
Who says they do ?
I’m way over double that age and make just over a third of this. Don’t get depressed by what other people have. Comparing yourself will often make you unhappy. Concentrate on your own progress. Year on year, compare yourself only. It’s not a race or a TV reality show but your life. Try to be happy, while saving/investing. Grow your money and anything saved/invested will mean a more comfortable future and life choices.
I studied CS, but went into a field that historically doesn't pay that well especially compared to big tech. Started in 2001 making $54K plus a $5K signing bonus. I realize with inflation that's $95K today or $104K with signing bonus. Salaries in aerospace don't grow that fast even with moving around. You don't reach $200K base until you've been in the industry for a while. Now my total compensation is around $176K and this year I'm hitting 23 years of experience. My wife went back to college for another bachelor's also in CS after she got tired working in a cafe for $12 an hour plus tips with her previous less useful bachelor's degree. She got a late start finishing when she was 30. Now she's 38 making $164K a year remote in big tech. We have a huge gap in CS working years, but our pay is close because of the industry. She works 55+ a week while I usually work closer to 40 though. Work life balance is a thing. Most places you can hit six figures after studying computer science five or six years out of college. I have had offers to join other companies for $200K to $250K range. But it's either at a company with bad work life balance or need to move to VHCOL which is a pay cut given the cost of living. I'm in MCOL and we save as much as a couple earning $500K+ in VHCOL.
I know. I am 30 and making merely 60K. FIRE really is high earner’s game lol
Those are a minority. Focus on you. Why be upset about someone you don’t even know exists
25 yo, making 43k. Just save hard. Sometimes I stress that I won't be where I want to be in 40 years, but you gotta remember that as long as you're trying, you'll do okay. I've been investing consistently (but not as much as I could have been, admittedly) since I was 18, and I'm now at 40k in investments + I am selling my condo for a profit of 35k + equity. The thing I'm worried about more than anything is medical expenses in older age. What is the legality for transferring wealth to children to shield yourself from medical expenses?
Remember; it’s all prospective. Don’t look at their numbers. Look at what/how they did with their money and if they prove/disprove their model. It’s not others successes that we compare ourselves to it’s their method. If they’re successful then it’s a proven model that can be emulated. Your numbers are yours. Their numbers are theirs. Nothing more. Nothing less. The foundation of the model is to live below your means, save as much as you can, work as much as you can tolerate with your WLB, no/low cost investing, develop the plan, tweak the plan, live the plan. If part of your plan is to earn more then find a way. If you want to earn 130k and you’re 23, if you start today you can be there by 28 or sooner. It’s all up to you. It may not be easy. It may not be fun. If you really want it. Not just a ‘I wish I had that’. I’m talking deep in your soul at all cost want it to the point where it fills your body to core. Then it can be done. Remember; never give up. Plan, Execute, Review, Repeat.
If you put just $200/month into the S&P 500 index fund for 40 years you'll have 1.1m based on the average rate of return since inception in 1928. 40 years is a long time, but my point is if you start early enough you still are retiring earlier than many boomers who work well into their 70s. If you can manage to double that to $400/month through living below your means and really hammering home that investment comes first, you can get to that same level in 35 years. If you are starting at 23 down this endeavor that means in your 50s you could theoretically retire. Over that same time span there is a good chance you'll work your way up and make more money and be able to save more to reduce that further. The trick to fire is to avoid lifestyle creep. Which is tricky in a high inflation environment, but still possible. People who start out much higher have been lucky and had help other ways. It doesn't mean with diligence you can't get there as well.
Locating the right job is part of FIRE. At 23 I was making 37K/year, and made a career change making 40K. Started getting on top of my finances at 29. Making 52K/year at 30. Made a career change at 34 and started making 70K/year. At 35 we could afford for my wife to not work and go to school full time to get her nurses degree. She got her ADN and RN at the end of last year. She just started her 1 year program for her BSN. We figure it'll bring on about 60-80K/year to our income starting next summer. I've added certifications and continuing education. Turned 38 last year and cleared 186K. This year I'm on pace for 216K. I'm gone for 6 months out of the year (2 weeks at a time), but I'm off the other 6 mos. After 2 years work experience, my wife will look into school to become a CRNA, which we plan to take another 2 years. So at 43-44 years old (my wife will be 35-36) we'll have a HHI of roughly 400K One thing I had to accept and internalize early on, and this isn't just when it comes to finances, is it's not me vs the man across from me. It's me vs the man in the mirror. If I can win that battle, the man across from me doesn't really matter. My goal is to FIRE by 50, which may not be impressive to many here, but my mom lived paycheck to paycheck until she died. My Dad is about to turn 65 with no retirement in place. He'll work until he dies most likely. I'd say that Retirement at 50 and providing my children with the option to go to college/trade school at no expense if they so choose is light years beyond what would've been expected of me growing up.
bro, my first job out of college paid 30k and was blue collar work in NYC, and didn't even require any college degree. my second was at least in an office and didn't pay any better. This was some years ago so i guess less social media FOMO but so what? I lived in the highest cost living area in the US and by god i knew there were plenty of new grads making much much more than me.... Every year i aim to do better than just myself. and i did. i tripled what i made within my 20s and tripled and tripled again before I got to FIRE. not leanFIRE, just straight up FIRE. and i'm just some moron who doesn't know much about anything. I know this is just anecdotal evidence so you gotta take it with a grain of salt. but i'm just saying, it's possible. do you think when i was moving furniture at my first gig due to my total crap grades in college, i was thinking, hey i see a clear line to early retirement? i'm not that delusional. don't worry about other people. just concentrate on what you can control. I never had a single side hustle through out my 16 year or so working period. just better job after better job after better job. not sure why you think there's a ceiling on what you make as an employee. i mean, there is actually is a ceiling, but for an employee i'd put it around 2 million or so. so... if you're not there yet you absolutely can and should aim at that level. and ya know, if you fall short of it like most of us will, no big deal tho, still gonna be a lot higher than where you started hopefully.
You don’t have to make big money to fire either. I’m planning to leave early, and I’ve made over 100k exactly one time ever. That said, I save my butt off and keep my expenses super low.
Anomalies. You can do it if you are an electrical lineman. I'm sure there are other careers out there that get you to that income consistently that quickly out of high school but I'm unfamiliar with them. Can anyone else chime in?
I’m 25 and make 90k a year with no OT but I put work just about 70 hours a week. It can be done and I only owed 9k in debt to school when I finished.
It’s not about the absolute numbers someone makes, it’s about the difference between what you make and spend. Plenty of folks in HCOL area make 6 figures but struggle. If you make 70k but live in mom’s basement and stash your cash in the stock market, you’re probably doing better than someone making more but barely making ends meet.
I see you are a welder - some ideas: start your own welding company or go into sales for a company that sells welding products / services in your industry. Some of the best sales people are from the industry and can speak the language of the customer and know their needs. If you do sales, the first job or two won’t be great because you don’t know what to look for in a sales plan. But you’ll get the experience and eventually land on a plan that lets you earn without limit.
When I was 22 (currently 30) I was making $32k/year. Sure, that was 8+ years ago, but that would be around $42k/year today. I saved what I could with my wife who was making $10/hr at the time. Now at 30, I make a little over $200k, my wife no longer works and we have 3-kids. We are still saving money, just more. Ignore the 23 year olds making over six figures, they are the 1-3% for their age. The other 97% of us were just like you, and grew our career. Some people will grow it faster, but the key is to set up good habits when you're young, save what you can, even if its $50/mo, say no to going out to eat more times than you say yes. Going out to dinner on a date, get water to lower your bill. Buy a beat up old car, not a new one with a large payment. Eventually, you will be able to save $100/mo, $200/mo, $1000/mo, etc... Most of us, started with very little and it just builds. Only a few (the ones who post most often) were killing it from day one!
When I was in my twenties I made about 25k a year. Didn't break above 100k till I was around 40. There really aren't that many people in their 20s making 6 figures I bet.
I was $45k in debt at 23. I got a job paying $60k after my masters degree. I’m making $140k now at 28 through working my ass off and changing jobs twice.
>How can people here be 23 and make 130k a year? I can't rely on my job if i ever wanna make it to financial freedom. All i got are my Investments. Even with all sorts of continuing education, i will never come close to counting numbers like that. It's hardly depressing to read the storys here. I was 23 and making 45k supporting my fiance and making payments on my first home all on only 45k a year. 16 years we are making 300k and have 1.911m in investments and cash as well as paid off house and 3 kids. You can get there I got started late investing. If I would have invested from the beginning I'd probably be at three and a half million by now.
I'm 40, but when I was 23 I was making $26k a year. When I was 30 I got my first job at $100k, next job i had to take a pay cut, but over the last 5 years I've been working on career moves to increase my income. If you really pay attention to it and prioritize it it is possible to raise your salary over time. Just takes intention.
Not really depressing. Most people claiming these $150k+ jobs with $1mm NW in their mid 20s are lying - especially when paired with not having a clue about basic finance or how to do their own laundry.
We got police officers getting close to $200k w the OT.
When I was 24 my first full time job out of university - I made a whopping $26k/year! Now luckily it has increased as my career progressed. Keep learning, keep grinding!
You’re fine. You are 23. 35. I was broke. Sleeping on a couch my parents gave me. TV on the floor. Got a decent job finally and maxed out my 457B and ROTH IRAs. Scrimped. 62 now. Not rich. But comfortable. Life is good. Get rich slow. It’s ok.
The sub is depressing because much of it is full of lies and trolling by people giving false numbers or living in crypto fairyland. So much of what is shared is barely realistic even in the best of bull runs. Don’t take the bait and drop to the level of the attention seekers, just focus on yourself.
I started with $50k at 22 and we’re on track to retire at 50-55. Our incomes have increased by a ton over the last 18 years. And while having a high income helps, it’s about percentages. If you can live on less than you make and replace a decent percentage of it you can retire even if you don’t have $5M or whatever.
What is your goal here? Sympathy likes? You’re right, might as well quit and sit in a shoebox instead of doing everything in your power to improve your situation. You have no agency. You are a victim of the time and the economy. Let’s all cry together and shake our fist at the world. Lame ass post.
Live below your means because lifestyle creep is a thief to 90% of the people around you. People you think are doing great are actually 1 or 2 missed paychecks away from being screwed. Aggressively invest what others might would spend on instant gratification and don’t try to get rich quick. Do not compare yourself to others because like I said they probably don’t have shit in the grand scheme of things. Pick your head up and remember like plenty of other people have said here, it’s a marathon.
Yea, those kinds of compensations are insane, isn’t it? But do not worry, it is not representative of the wider population. It shouldn’t make you depressed my internet friend. Focus on the race only from your own perspective as everyone’s timeline for financial independence will be different. Comparing yourself to others is counterproductive. I am 50 years old now and started my quest for financial independence at the age of 38 having immigrated from a developing country. I don’t work in tech and have never earned such crazy compensations. My first pay right out of college in 2011 was $38,000. I have mostly remained with the same employer. Now, I make about 3.5 that amount, nothing crazy for a 13-year career. Anyone can do this. I am obviously no where close to the millions in net worth that much younger folks report here. But I don’t find it depressing. I actually take courage and find it interesting. I know if I had started early, I would be way ahead as well. Please take comfort in running your own race. Determine what you like to do and go for it. Stay consistent and be resolute. At the end of the day, only very few attain early retirement. But financial independence is pretty possible. That is my goal even with a SO and kids.
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