How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

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Topic Author
RDHlooking4FIRE
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Joined: Tue Mar 14, 2017 11:27 am

How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by RDHlooking4FIRE »

I am 34 years old and I currently save $12000 a year for retirement
dbltrbl
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by dbltrbl »

do the best you can. I had ZERO savings at 34. STAY FRUGAL AND NO TRADING OF FUNDS. You will be fine. More you can save now, better in long run.
achen9291
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by achen9291 »

25 yo, save up to the maximum on retirement accounts. 401k and roth IRA so this year would be $23,500. I don't feel like I can save anymore in taxable.

2014: ~6k (Started career and paid off all debt)
2015: Max @ 23k
2016: ~12k (Got laid off for 8 months)
2017: Max @ 23k (planning on it)
Total current retirement worth : $77.6k It's only about 15k growth from what I initially invested in the 4 years I've been investing which seems to take forever.. Planning to hit 100k sometime in age 26.
Topic Author
RDHlooking4FIRE
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by RDHlooking4FIRE »

It's funny. Talking to people at work I feel like I'm the only one in the world saving for retirement. Reading on here I feel like I am not doing nearly enough.
HIinvestor
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by HIinvestor »

Agree that each person can only do the best s/he can. Folks find themselves in very different circumstances, depending on birth, debts, medical insurance (or lack of it), education, income, obligations, etc.

Some are able to have a full-time and part-time job and save from both while others can barely get enough hours at their part-time job.

One of my relatives works part time and full time and will be turning 30 this month. His net worth is approaching $400k. I’m proud of him. Another has a net worth closer to $0 due to chronic health problems but I’m proud of her too as she does the best she can with the issues she has to deal with and is very positive and upbeat. She’s turning 28 this month.
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Veiled
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by Veiled »

28 saving 20k. achen9291, I'm really impressed by your portfolio and the fact that you're about to hit the first 100k. In comparison, I've only got 16k to show so far total, from starting last year and paying off debts. Shows the value of time!
260chrisb
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by 260chrisb »

55 saving 30K a year.
sjl333
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by sjl333 »

Age: 28
18000 (401K) + $3300 (HSA, invests) + $5500 (roth IRA) = $26,800 / year
Investment Account Total Funds: ~ 140K
Don't have enough cash flow to invest in taxable quite yet. Also, need to save up some cash for possible future expenses (wedding / house, etc).

Looking for ways to increase my salary (currently at $150,000+ total compensation, started at 65K @ 22, rose up quite quickly). But live in HCOL (SoCal), so I definitely need to make more money (shooting for $200K - 250K comp range), or find a spouse that makes money too (still working on this) :D . It is quite expensive living here, also, I am not very frugal :oops:
Last edited by sjl333 on Tue Nov 07, 2017 8:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
jh-1391
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by jh-1391 »

26

With maxing my Roth, my contributions, and my employer's in my 401k, I'm saving about $28k-ish
Eurookat
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by Eurookat »

Sigh I'm 37 and the wife is 35. We put away roughly $33k a year. I wish I could max out her 401k but she doesn't work FT to justify it. I wish I took things a little more seriously 10yrs ago.
paramedic
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by paramedic »

I am 32 years old. For the past (seven? eight?) years, I have done the 401(k) / 403(b) maximum each year - approx $18K - plus the HSA max (approx $3200 per year for me, though I can't recall for how many years).

I don't save into non-tax-advantaged accounts, though, even though I should. I need to change this.
intothegreatunknown
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by intothegreatunknown »

29, $81,700 savings per year

Traditional 401k - $21,000 (including company match)
Roth IRA - $5,500
Taxable - $55,200 ($2,300 bi-monthly)

That said I’m not actually sure I’ll use all of the taxable savings for retirement. I might use it to buy a home at some point.
youngpleb
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by youngpleb »

26 years old, about to pass the $10K threshold next month! Just started my job a couple months ago, but I'm planning to max 401k/IRA/HSA next year. It'll be a challenge but worth it!
bigred77
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by bigred77 »

Wife and I are both 32 and our household saves 42k per year into tax advantages accounts (including employer match).

We’re transitioning into a single income household in 2018 and hope to not have to decrease contributions but the budget is lookin skin tight :shock:
Johm221122
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by Johm221122 »

48 saving 10% or 6k ,but I saved 30+ percent for 20 years, kids change things
Bacchus01
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by Bacchus01 »

44 and 49

401k - 18,000
ROTH - 11,000
HSA - 6500
403b - 5,000
NQ deferred comp - 10,000

That’s 50,500. Plus match of 9,000. Call it 60K tax advantaged

529s - 15,000

Post-tax - depends, but this year around $100k. Plus building about 12,000/yr in equity in some investment RE.

Wife puts 100% of her PT pay in a 403b. I put 100% of my bonus + any extras in post-tax. Average $175/yr total.
Last edited by Bacchus01 on Wed Nov 08, 2017 6:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Thrifty Femme
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by Thrifty Femme »

Average age 41
Tax advantaged
36,000 401k x 2 +
5845 vested match +
6750 HSA +
11,000 roth IRA +
22,000 Mega Backdoor roth
81,595

Taxable
12,173

Total is 94,103. I never bothered to total up before. Now I don't feel so bad about the vacation we are about to take for Christmas!
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randomizer
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by randomizer »

40s.

Used to save a ton, but then went and bought a house.

Hope to get back to saving again one day.
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rocket354
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by rocket354 »

Age 38, single. $32k goes into tax-advantaged accounts, including employer match. Another $20k or so gets invested otherwise, but it remains to be seen if that's for retirement (current plan is for the long-term, but if I were to have kids or suddenly decide to start a business plans may change).
Drengr
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by Drengr »

36. $23500

Wife is 32. $23500
darrvao777
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by darrvao777 »

32 years old, >$500000+ for retirement annually
PFInterest
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by PFInterest »

Why are you comparing dollar amounts? Percents are more telling.
Some dot com anything is going to crush you so what does it matter?
bradshaw1965
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by bradshaw1965 »

52 and 46

401K 42k + 6% match
HSA 6750
Roth 12k
Taxable 20k some of this will eventually be mid-term savings auto, etc.

Much easier since last kid is done with college.
Last edited by bradshaw1965 on Tue Nov 07, 2017 9:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Slacker
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by Slacker »

Both around 40...but don't tell my wife I said she was around 40 :twisted:

Dual low six figure income.

Target 42% gross savings rate including employer contributions. We had medical bills of around 12% of gross this year so we'll likely only be able to save around 38% gross by Dec 31.
Hoping to save 44% of gross salary next year to make up a bit for the lowish saving this year.
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Tyrobi
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by Tyrobi »

Age: 38

Pre and aftertax 401k - $54,000
2x Roth IRA - $11,000
HSA - $6,750

$71,750/year (single earner in a family of 4)
Three-fund portfolio | "Simplicity is the master key to financial success." John C. Bogle
SCV_Lawyer
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by SCV_Lawyer »

Age: 48/49

401(k) + KEOGH: $54K
Cash Balance Plan: $33K
Backdoor Roth: $5.5K
HSA: $7K
Firm Equity: $23.5K
Taxable: $96K
Extra Mortgage Amortization: $150K
529s: $21K

Total: $390K
windycityheat
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by windycityheat »

Haven't been saving nearly as much as I should.

This year $22,000. Next year $33,000.
Stupendous
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by Stupendous »

36 and $45K-$50K.
Last edited by Stupendous on Wed Nov 08, 2017 10:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Edie
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by Edie »

Editing my post because I went back and looked at my spreadsheet :) I don't have any records for my spouse's 401k contributions, but we rolled it into a traditional IRA in 2015 after job terminated due to disability.

2011, first year (month, really), gained access to 401k in December at 33 after 6 months in first real job, contributed $540

2012, first full year, contributed $5,590 to 401k

2013, contributed $9,345 to 401k, started Roth IRA contributions $1,300 --- total $10,645

2014, contributed $14,290 to 401k, Roth IRA $5500, spouse Roth IRA $6500 --- total $26,290

2015, switched jobs, my total contributions between 401k/457 for the year were $7,590, plus pension contribution $3,340, Roth IRA $2,640, spouse Roth IRA $600 --- total $14,170 (spouse disabled in September of prior year, and big hospital bills)

2016, contributed $8,150 to 457, pension contribution $10,276, Roth IRA $2,060, spouse Roth IRA $2,000, spouse traditional IRA $1,300 (retained the saver's credit by adding into traditional before April) --- total $23,786

2017, contributed $18,000 to 457, pension contribution $10546, Roth IRA $5,500, hopefully spouse Roth/trad IRA $6,500 (but minimum $2,000 for saver's credit) by April (have to wait until December to know split needed, last year a bonus threw us out of whack) --- total between $36,046 and $40,546

I wish more places were like Bogleheads, where it's okay/encouraged to talk about saving money. More people would be saving for retirement if they had this type of influence in their lives, imho.
Last edited by Edie on Wed Nov 08, 2017 8:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
Ron Ronnerson
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by Ron Ronnerson »

Age 43 and 43. We contribute enough to stay in the 15% tax bracket.
457b: 18k
403b: 6k
Roth IRAs: 11k
Pension Contributions: 10.5k
Total: 45.5k

Other Contributions:
SEP IRA: 7k (wife's employer)
Pension Contributions: 15k (my employer)
Pension Contributions: 9k (state)
Total: 31k

My pension and wife's social security should cover most of our retirement expenses. We save the amount that we do because not doing so would mean we'd pay 38% tax on that money (25% federal, 8% state, 5% child tax credit phaseout) and we don't like the idea of paying so much tax.
Jit
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by Jit »

We save $82k/yr

Him, 41,
401k 27k w matching
After tax 401k 14k

Her 41
401k 27k w matching
After tax 401k 14k
WanderingDoc
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by WanderingDoc »

Age 32
Saving about $90K/yr. post tax
Each year, ~$20K into equities (50/50 split trad/Roth TSP and a Roth IRA currently), rest into real estate.
I'm not looking to get rich quick (stocks), I'm not looking to get rich slow (indexing), I'm looking to get rich, for sure (real estate) | Don't wait to buy real estate. Buy real estate.. and wait.
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Noobvestor
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by Noobvestor »

Late 30s and I save less than nothing each year currently. I sold some businesses in my early 30s and am counting on the resulting portfolio to grow (it has a lot so far, knock on wood), and use that large nest egg to justify living a bit below my technical means (in terms of income). I work on stuff I enjoy doing in a high cost of living area and the work I do currently doesn't fully pay the bills and I'm OK with that for now. Time will tell. I do shovel taxable investments over to tax-deferred/post-tax ones each year, so I'm slowly growing those retirement accounts.
"In the absence of clarity, diversification is the only logical strategy" -= Larry Swedroe
Momus
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by Momus »

33 yo single. 140k gross in CA. I save about 70k/yr to portfolio. Currently total portfolio including 401k is around 1.1-1.2M.
Zedon
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by Zedon »

Well I am playing catchup.
age 43
Only maxed out Roth IRA up until 39, was about all I could afford.
Last 3.5 years saving ~40k a year after a big raise, max roth ira, max 401k, max 457b.
Still a long ways behind but I do have a good pension if I keep working here, been here 18 years so far. Just need 2 more to vest.
If all goes well, retire at 55 with 60% of salary in a pension, the retirement accounts will be gravy. Could stay longer.
WVbaron
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by WVbaron »

RDHlooking4FIRE wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2017 7:39 pm It's funny. Talking to people at work I feel like I'm the only one in the world saving for retirement. Reading on here I feel like I am not doing nearly enough.
This is sooo true! I joined this forum about a year ago and read it almost every day. It is such a good source of motivation and keeps me focused on my savings goals.
dekecarver
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by dekecarver »

52 and 48
Invest ~35% of gross
mmcmonster
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by mmcmonster »

Wife and I are 46 years old.

We're saving 47% of gross, most of it in taxable account. We do max out the IRAs and put a lot in the kids 529s as well.

(Making up for a decade of bad financial advice and hoping to slow down at work in 6 years.)
Last edited by mmcmonster on Wed Nov 08, 2017 5:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
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oldcomputerguy
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by oldcomputerguy »

Age 62. Retired. Zilch.

:twisted:

(Actually, that's not quite true. Since I don't have an income, I myself am saving nothing at present. DW is still working, pushing enough into her 401k to get the max match, then we push some into our Roth IRAs. But we're getting within a couple of years of both being retired, so that'll change pretty soon.)

Before I punched out, she was putting in about 11,000 a year into her 401k and I was maxing out mine.
There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way. (Christopher Morley)
hightower
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by hightower »

35 y/o physician
So far this year we have saved 65k or so. We are aggressively paying off debt though. Once the debt pay off is over (9-12 months), we'll hopefully be saving at least 120k/yr or more if I can stand it. My plan is 1 year debt pay off, then another 4-5 years of aggressive savings/working extra. 5 years from now I'll re-evalute the progress we've made and decide if I want to cut back at work or not.
tl24
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by tl24 »

30 and 27

403b (his and hers), 457: 18k, 1k, and 14k, respectively.
Roths (x 2): 11k total
Total = 44k

If including employee contributions to pension and the employer 403b match and defined benefit plan, then an additional 2k, 3.5k, 4k respectively. :mrgreen:

Whatever is left over, I put some of it in taxable for future house projects/repairs or cars (my nemesis). I would have loved to be able to comfortably max out all 3 tax-deferred accounts though..

Not sure if we will be able to keep this up once we have kids, but really hoping that we will be able to!
Yooper
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by Yooper »

dbltrbl wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2017 7:32 pm do the best you can.
This is spot on. My mantra (when working), was "Save until it hurts. And then just a little bit more..." But it's a very individual thing. Again, do the best YOU can and you'll sleep well at night knowing there's nothing more you could have done. Don't worry about others, it could have the opposite effect and instead of encouraging you, you get discouraged because you feel you're not measuring up.
benevo
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by benevo »

RDHlooking4FIRE wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2017 7:39 pm It's funny. Talking to people at work I feel like I'm the only one in the world saving for retirement. Reading on here I feel like I am not doing nearly enough.
+infinity THIS!
Jags4186
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by Jags4186 »

I’m 31 my wife is 32. I we save beyond our retirement accounts but that money will likely go towards things like house downpayment, replacement vehicles, kids when they show up, etc.

401k: $38500 between the 2 of us (she gets a match which is about $2500–I don’t until I’m on my new job for 1 year) — this is divided by 26 biweekly paychecks
HSA: $6750 — company contributes $600 of that — biweekly contributions
Roth IRAs: $11000 — although we might just squeak over the income limits this year so I might have to take the money out. I do this lump sum January 2.

YTD we’ve saved $48,027 in addition to the above. I usually owe taxes because I do a lot of bank bonus chasing—I will probably have to cough $3000-$4000 of this up to federal/state income taxes. YTD we have $11,503 in interest income.
Last edited by Jags4186 on Wed Nov 08, 2017 7:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
ZapRowsdower
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by ZapRowsdower »

I'll be 39 next week, currently have:

416k in 401k(This would be much more, but I'm still recovering from a divorce)
13k in Roth
10k in HSA
63k in Taxable

Savings each year:
18k in 401k plus ~10k employer match
5500 in Roth
6750 in HSA
2400 in 529s
17k in Taxable
So total for me is about 50k plus my 10k employer match.

As others have said this site has been instrumental in me upping my game, a couple years ago I was 401k only.
katzmandu
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by katzmandu »

46

401k - max + profit sharing + some after tax contributions this year for Mega-Backdoor (1st time)
ROTH - max

Verifiably, 30k to tax advantaged this year, but I'd say maybe 35k with post tax (bank acct + Megabackdoor)

Doing this on my lonesome in NYC so not too bad, all things considered.
ROIGuy
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by ROIGuy »

RDHlooking4FIRE wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2017 7:39 pm It's funny. Talking to people at work I feel like I'm the only one in the world saving for retirement. Reading on here I feel like I am not doing nearly enough.
It's who you spend your time with that will either raise or lower your bar of success.
katzmandu
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by katzmandu »

benevo wrote: Wed Nov 08, 2017 7:02 am
RDHlooking4FIRE wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2017 7:39 pm It's funny. Talking to people at work I feel like I'm the only one in the world saving for retirement. Reading on here I feel like I am not doing nearly enough.
+infinity THIS!
+1 as well. I pass along what I read here to my colleagues who sit by me and even the ones who listen and go 'Mmmhmm' think about it for 2 seconds before going back to their lives changing nothing. What can you do but try and help? Its up to any of us to do the math, arrange things accordingly and stay the course as best we can.
Rainmaker41
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by Rainmaker41 »

Will be 27 at the end of 2017.

We will save $11k in Roth IRAs and $18.5k in a 401k-type plan in 2018, out of a joint gross income of ~ $73k; 40% savings rate.

No kids, no mortgage, and fortunate to be debt free. That may not be the case forever, so we are trying to get ahead now while we can.
85% Global Stock, 15% US Fixed Income
Grt2bOutdoors
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Re: How old are you and how much do you save for retirement a year

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

Yooper wrote: Wed Nov 08, 2017 6:49 am
dbltrbl wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2017 7:32 pm do the best you can.
This is spot on. My mantra (when working), was "Save until it hurts. And then just a little bit more..." But it's a very individual thing. Again, do the best YOU can and you'll sleep well at night knowing there's nothing more you could have done. Don't worry about others, it could have the opposite effect and instead of encouraging you, you get discouraged because you feel you're not measuring up.
+1. Don't worry about what others save, just focus on yourself. You can't save 300K if you're making $125K gross, so what is the relevance of what others are saving?
"One should invest based on their need, ability and willingness to take risk - Larry Swedroe" Asking Portfolio Questions
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