PSA: Save early

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was 30 when this article came out. https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/13/magazine/commute-to-nowhere.html?unlocked_article_code=1.-Ew.mYN6.kn_DsrXdiLD4&smid=em-share. It made such an impression on me that I’ve been saving like crazy ever since.

OMG I couldn't help looking up whatever happened to the man who was the PhD in Chemistry from Stanford/Northrop Grumman scientist. He ended up teaching high school chemistry for 18 years!

[Anonymous]

My biggest financial regret is that I didn’t start saving aggressively, or at all, when I got my first professional job right out of college. I was living with a bunch of roommates and going out for drinks every night, never could be bothered to make it to HR to open the 401(k) WITH A MATCH THAT I NEVER BOTHERED TO GET. When I finished my MBA I started saving, but that was in my late 20s and I missed out on all of that money from plus time compounding. Now I’m pushing 50 and I don’t want to calculate how much I lost but I think it’s probably a year or two of retiring earlier, and I wouldn’t have missed that cash at 22. Young people, be smarter than me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why didn't you start early OP?

This is not helpful.

OP, so sorry this happened to you. I'm glad you ramped up saving in the last 5 years, and wish you well getting a new job. Def apply for unemployment ASAP.

What? OP is not asking for helpful tips. It's a PSA!! Read the dang title.

PP is responding to someone questioning why OP didn't save sooner. There's nothing she/he can do about that now so it IS an unhelpful question/comment. The answer is it's too late to do something about it now. But younger people can do better, hence OP's decision to post.

Disagree. Asking OP what their barriers were IS helpful to others. So they can maybe see how to get over them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My biggest financial regret is that I didn’t start saving aggressively, or at all, when I got my first professional job right out of college. I was living with a bunch of roommates and going out for drinks every night, never could be bothered to make it to HR to open the 401(k) WITH A MATCH THAT I NEVER BOTHERED TO GET. When I finished my MBA I started saving, but that was in my late 20s and I missed out on all of that money from plus time compounding. Now I’m pushing 50 and I don’t want to calculate how much I lost but I think it’s probably a year or two of retiring earlier, and I wouldn’t have missed that cash at 22. Young people, be smarter than me.

I started saving at 22. I wasn't at first, but my dad made me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My biggest financial regret is that I didn’t start saving aggressively, or at all, when I got my first professional job right out of college. I was living with a bunch of roommates and going out for drinks every night, never could be bothered to make it to HR to open the 401(k) WITH A MATCH THAT I NEVER BOTHERED TO GET. When I finished my MBA I started saving, but that was in my late 20s and I missed out on all of that money from plus time compounding. Now I’m pushing 50 and I don’t want to calculate how much I lost but I think it’s probably a year or two of retiring earlier, and I wouldn’t have missed that cash at 22. Young people, be smarter than me.

Same same

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saving early is for the rich.

We both worked, but money was siphoned away to paying student loans, saving for a down payment, paying for that expensive house, childcare, paying for kids, and saving for college.

Sure we started saving for college and increasing retirement savings in parallel b/c we can’t get loans for retirement, but saddling our kids with loans is an unpleasant trade off.

Where does this early come into play? Our down payment for a standard 40s special in the DMV was $140k. That took forever to save for.

You don't need an "expensive" house, especially with student loans.

Hey boomer. ALL homes are expensive now, at least if you want safe and okay schools.

No, not "all" houses are expensive now. But, even if they are, then you should rent till you can afford it. You chose to get an expensive house even with your student loans, so now you have sacrificed your retirement.

Pay now or pay later. You chose to pay for it later.

And I'm not a boomer.

Where are the cheap houses with safe communities and good schools?

hartford suburbs

That’s great for people’s whose careers make Hartford make sense (insurance?). For those of us with DC type jobs, thanks for playing?

Then you cannot afford a home. You are not entitled to own a home just because you think you should be able to afford it. But, if you want to buy a home, that's fine. Just know that with your salary you cannot afford to do all of the following:

- pay for the home
- pay for childcare
- pay for your student loan
- pay for nice things
- save for retirement

Like most people, we have to pick and choose.

This PSA of OP's is to tell you that you should start saving early. Whether you listen to that advice and forgo one of the above is entirely up to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My biggest financial regret is that I didn’t start saving aggressively, or at all, when I got my first professional job right out of college. I was living with a bunch of roommates and going out for drinks every night, never could be bothered to make it to HR to open the 401(k) WITH A MATCH THAT I NEVER BOTHERED TO GET. When I finished my MBA I started saving, but that was in my late 20s and I missed out on all of that money from plus time compounding. Now I’m pushing 50 and I don’t want to calculate how much I lost but I think it’s probably a year or two of retiring earlier, and I wouldn’t have missed that cash at 22. Young people, be smarter than me.

I started saving at 22. I wasn't at first, but my dad made me.

We are making our kids. We have had long conversations of why it's important to save early on, ie, the power of compounding, even if it's just $100 per month. We started an IRA for DC who started working at 16/17.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My biggest financial regret is that I didn’t start saving aggressively, or at all, when I got my first professional job right out of college. I was living with a bunch of roommates and going out for drinks every night, never could be bothered to make it to HR to open the 401(k) WITH A MATCH THAT I NEVER BOTHERED TO GET. When I finished my MBA I started saving, but that was in my late 20s and I missed out on all of that money from plus time compounding. Now I’m pushing 50 and I don’t want to calculate how much I lost but I think it’s probably a year or two of retiring earlier, and I wouldn’t have missed that cash at 22. Young people, be smarter than me.

I know someone who was living in NYC, paid pretty well, was partying a lot. They had massive credit card debt and student loans.

At late 30s, they realized that they could not sustain this, so they moved to a lcol state. They had to "get away" from their party friends so that they could stop going out.

I don't know what this person's financial situation is now, but having spoken to them recently, it does not appear that they are saving all that much for retirement.. still. They are now 50.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was 30 when this article came out. https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/13/magazine/commute-to-nowhere.html?unlocked_article_code=1.-Ew.mYN6.kn_DsrXdiLD4&smid=em-share. It made such an impression on me that I’ve been saving like crazy ever since.

OMG I couldn't help looking up whatever happened to the man who was the PhD in Chemistry from Stanford/Northrop Grumman scientist. He ended up teaching high school chemistry for 18 years!

That article just spooked me. Wish I read it earlier!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was 30 when this article came out. https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/13/magazine/commute-to-nowhere.html?unlocked_article_code=1.-Ew.mYN6.kn_DsrXdiLD4&smid=em-share. It made such an impression on me that I’ve been saving like crazy ever since.

OMG I couldn't help looking up whatever happened to the man who was the PhD in Chemistry from Stanford/Northrop Grumman scientist. He ended up teaching high school chemistry for 18 years!

That man’s name? Walter White

[Anonymous]

Started saving at 23 with my first software job and -40k net worth from student loans, hit 1M at 31 recently. Didn’t grow up with money but reading a few articles about FIRE and compound interest in college got me hooked on saving/investing.

It blows my mind how the average person doesn’t understand or care about investing, the math behind it is very simple. I think part of it is I’m just a very lazy person and don’t want to work until I’m 60. It’s not the working that I don’t like, it’s not having complete control of my time and energy.

[Anonymous]

I had no one in my life speak to me about retirement savings when I was younger. I just knew I had to save, because of my own personal experience. Yet, between living in a HCOL area making very little to then making something and wanting to actually live for the first time in my life and then being SAHM for 11 years, I have saved very little. To make matters worse, my DH is not the saver, I am! He only has some money in a 401K and IRAs because I made him do it!

I knew I should have been saving more when I was younger and I now have a lot of regret. However, unless someone had an adult guiding them, or better yet, making them, it was very challenging for people our age who were starting out in the 90s during transition from pensions to 401K. Whatever little I invested I did very poorly. However, it pains me to think about how much more expensive our retirement will be, because we are starting so late.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Started saving at 23 with my first software job and -40k net worth from student loans, hit 1M at 31 recently. Didn’t grow up with money but reading a few articles about FIRE and compound interest in college got me hooked on saving/investing.

It blows my mind how the average person doesn’t understand or care about investing, the math behind it is very simple. I think part of it is I’m just a very lazy person and don’t want to work until I’m 60. It’s not the working that I don’t like, it’s not having complete control of my time and energy.

You came of age with the internet with access to tons of information and after all the kinks with 401Ks had been worked out. In the 90s it wasn't that way. We neither had access to information and 401Ks sucked intentionally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had no one in my life speak to me about retirement savings when I was younger. I just knew I had to save, because of my own personal experience. Yet, between living in a HCOL area making very little to then making something and wanting to actually live for the first time in my life and then being SAHM for 11 years, I have saved very little. To make matters worse, my DH is not the saver, I am! He only has some money in a 401K and IRAs because I made him do it!

I knew I should have been saving more when I was younger and I now have a lot of regret. However, unless someone had an adult guiding them, or better yet, making them, it was very challenging for people our age who were starting out in the 90s during transition from pensions to 401K. Whatever little I invested I did very poorly. However, it pains me to think about how much more expensive our retirement will be, because we are starting so late.

Being a SAHM for 11 years was a very expensive choice. Not saying it wasn’t worth it, but the opportunity costs are high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had no one in my life speak to me about retirement savings when I was younger. I just knew I had to save, because of my own personal experience. Yet, between living in a HCOL area making very little to then making something and wanting to actually live for the first time in my life and then being SAHM for 11 years, I have saved very little. To make matters worse, my DH is not the saver, I am! He only has some money in a 401K and IRAs because I made him do it!

I knew I should have been saving more when I was younger and I now have a lot of regret. However, unless someone had an adult guiding them, or better yet, making them, it was very challenging for people our age who were starting out in the 90s during transition from pensions to 401K. Whatever little I invested I did very poorly. However, it pains me to think about how much more expensive our retirement will be, because we are starting so late.

Being a SAHM for 11 years was a very expensive choice. Not saying it wasn’t worth it, but the opportunity costs are high.

My DH was making good money then. Also, the way I looked at childcare is that either you pay someone to do it or you do it yourself and I chose to do it myself.