Note: I wrote this post mainly with corporate jobs in mind because that's my experience. I know many people are far worse off but please humor me.

I feel like there is a distinct divide between those who started earning "good" money pre-COVID, and those whose earning potential was completely stunted by it.

For example, in 2019 I was earning $60k per year (in a M-HCOL area). This was a comfortable enough salary at the time and commensurate with my experience and expected earning trajectory. My sister, who is older and thus had more work experience, had a higher level position earning around $120k.

Then comes COVID and it changes the entire job landscape. Salaries stagnate even more and raises are few and far between. But people who were already making "good" money are more or less fine. Less spending power, but still able to comfortably afford what they need. They're already in advanced career positions and surpassed the threshold for making a comfortable living.

But the people who were still building their careers are screwed. Fewer opportunities, fewer promotions, suppressed salaries. Inflation has real consequences and we are suddenly living paycheck to paycheck and can't afford to save and invest as much as we used to, if at all. When we finally get promoted, the raise still isn't enough to surpass the massive COL increases. Doomed to be perpetually behind.

It just feels like over the past several years there was this invisible "cutoff" point for securing a comfortable living and I missed it. I did the exact same thing my sister did, climbing the corporate ladder in jobs with similar earning potential, but due to sheer luck of timing she was able to secure her bag and mine was ripped from my hands before my career could really take off. I make $80k today, which is far less than I should be making at this point in my career (both in the actual number as well as spending power) but salaries have completely flatlined making it impossible to catch up. By the time I reach the $100k mark, I'll likely only be marginally better off thanks to inflation. I can't help but think if I had simply been born a few years earlier, things would be very different.

Honestly this whole post might just be a big nothing burger and maybe I'm just another whiny millennial but does anyone else feel the same? (PS nothing but love for my dear sis, she deserves every penny she's earned I just wish things turned out similarly for me 🥲🥲)

My monthly grocery trip, I went over my 250 by 10 bucks. I was counting the value of my purchases by adding them up slowly. I must have missed an item I bought, didnt factor in tax, or something. I would have gotten my favorite salads if they weren't out at the store.

Hey guys, I'm pretty new to investing and personal finance in general. I didn't grow up with much financial knowledge, so I'm trying to figure out the best way to start building wealth.

I recently started making decent money at my first real career job, but my company doesn't offer a 401(k) match.

What's the best order to invest my money? Is it still worth contributing to a 401(k) without an employer match, or should I focus on maxing out a Roth IRA first and putting whatever is left into a brokerage account?

I currently don't have either a Roth IRA or a brokerage account. I've just been keeping my savings in a HYSA up until now.

Should I open both? Is there any reason to prioritize a 401(k) over a Roth IRA if there's no company match?

I like to have some flexibility to access my investments before retirement age.

Would appreciate any advice on how you guys approach this. Thanks!

I recently test-drove a Tesla with the latest FSD and was blown away. It felt like a substantial safety improvement to me, although I understand it’s supervised driver assistance and I’m still responsible for driving.

I’m considering selling my truck and leasing a new Model 3. Looking for a reality check on whether I’m rationalizing an expensive want.

Income and retirement
- Live in a medium-cost-of-living area.
- Just received a promotion to $126,000/year, plus an approximately $5,000 variable annual bonus.
- Contribute 8% to my 401(k); employer contributes another 10%, for 18% total.
- Max my HSA annually.
- Estimated monthly take-home after the promotion: approximately $6,850 after taxes, my 8% 401(k) contribution, HSA contributions, and 401(k) loan repayments. This excludes the variable annual bonus; I haven’t received my first paycheck at the new salary yet.

Assets and debt
- My tracking app reports approximately $99,000 net worth, though I need to reconcile how it treats my 401(k) loan.
- Approximately $90,000 in investment accounts, broken down as:
- 401(k): $58,000
- Roth IRA: $24,000
- HSA: $8,000
- Approximately $17,000 in low-interest student loans.
- No credit card debt.
- Truck is worth approximately $22,000 based on purchase offers.

I recently took a roughly $26,000 401(k) loan at 7.75% over five years to pay off my truck loan and cover upfront tuition while preserving some cash. Repayment is $120 weekly through payroll, averaging approximately $520/month. My plan allows me to continue scheduled repayments on a monthly basis if I leave the company, rather than requiring an immediate lump-sum payoff.

Of that loan, $7,500 covered my first semester’s tuition. My employer reimburses me after each semester, but I’ll need to roll that money into the next semester’s tuition. After my final semester in summer 2028, the last $7,500 reimbursement will become available for savings or debt repayment.

So the truck has no auto loan, but I still have the associated 401(k) loan obligation.

Monthly budget
- Rent: $1,700
- Student loans: $260
- Current auto insurance: $185
- Phone, internet and utilities: $175
- Gym and subscriptions: $85
- Food & drink: $1,000
- Fun and travel: $1,000
- Shopping: $300
- Gifts: $100

My current spending totals approximately $4,800/month, excluding retirement contributions, HSA contributions, and the 401(k) loan repayment, which are already deducted from my take-home pay. This is before adding the Tesla lease and any expenses I’ve missed.

Proposed Tesla lease
- Three years, 15,000 miles/year.
- Approximately $650/month including estimated taxes and fees.
- $0 down payment, but approximately $1,780 due at delivery, including the first payment.
- FSD and connectivity subscriptions would be additional; I’m budgeting $110/month.
- State Farm quoted approximately $230/month for insurance, versus my current $185.
- My apartment has free EV charging.

Leasing appeals to me because I’m uncomfortable taking on long-term battery-health and resale-value uncertainty. I recognize I’d be adding a substantial monthly obligation and could return the car after three years with no vehicle equity. My fiancée owns her home outright, so I’m not currently saving for a home purchase or another major planned expense, although I still need an emergency fund of my own.

The biggest draw is that driving feels like the riskiest thing I do every day. After trying the latest supervised FSD, I felt significantly safer and less stressed behind the wheel. I understand that feeling isn’t proof it’s safer, and I’d still need to stay attentive and ready to intervene, but the experience is what’s motivating this purchase.

Would selling the truck, keeping roughly $20,000 as an emergency fund, and taking on the lease be a reasonable trade-off given my finances? Or am I letting my enthusiasm justify a monthly expense I’d be better off avoiding?

TL;DR: Just promoted to $126k/year plus a ~$5k variable bonus in a MCOL area. Saving 18% toward retirement including employer contributions, and maxing my HSA, but have no dedicated emergency fund. Considering selling my truck for ~$22k, keeping roughly $20k after upfront costs as an emergency fund, and leasing a new Model 3 for ~$650/month plus FSD and insurance. Still repaying the 401(k) loan used to pay off the truck and fund upfront tuition, plus ~$17k in student loans. FSD felt substantially safer during my test drive, and leasing appeals to me because of battery/resale uncertainty. Reasonable trade-off for liquidity, or am I rationalizing an expensive want?

My child just got a couple grand in birthday money.

We have a 529 with about 8 grand in it right now.

The child may not want to go to college, they are in middle school so still lots of time to figure that out.

Should I just add the $2k to their 529 that we already have or is there a secret third option I should do?

(Yes I already know 36k can be rolled to a Roth, can be used on trade school, and it’s a 10% penalty on the profits to withdraw, I’m just wondering what other people might do, keep all their savings in 529 or do some other investment).

For reference, I’m single and in my mid-40s. I started keeping all of my account balances in a spreadsheet back in 2016 mostly for fun, sort of like a diary, so I could look back at it later and see my financial journey. I had a very spotty employment history before this due to the Great Recession, and felt like I was finally finding my footing with a low-paying but full-time job, after being nearly penniless more than once during my 20s and early 30s.

About a year later I got a better career-type job working in state government, which came with both a pension and a 457(b) individual retirement account—similar to a 401(k)—which is all going to a target date fund. By the rules of the pension any contributions I’ve made to it in excess of payments out can be withdrawn if I separate from state service before retirement, or die. I’ve included that amount in this chart, since it would go to my family if I got hit by a bus, but the payout in retirement will hopefully be more than the ultimate final balance when I retire in another 20 years.

I’ve noted most of my significant milestones and major expenditures—many of which are directly tied to buying a house a few years ago, following the death of my father. I had been saving cash in a HYSA for a downpayment for about 3 years before that, and the house I bought has needed a bunch of work as you can see. I’ve avoided going into any debt, except for the mortgage on the house (@5.75% w/ ~26 years left). I also picked up a masters degree between 2019–2023, although my job covered about 3/4 of the tuition so it’s not really visible on the chart. And I’ve been promoted a couple of times.

It’s neither the most extreme nor complex financial history, but I’ve seen a lot of people ask if it’s too late to turn things around in their 30s or 40s, so I thought it might be of interest to people to see how things can change over 10 years. I make a decent wage (I just hit 6-figures this year), generally buy what I please but don’t spend lavishly, and avoid taking on more risk than I think I can handle. I don’t expect to live high on the hog at any point in my life, but assuming I continue on this path and the world doesn’t end, I project being able to retire around age 65 and live comfortably in retirement.

So my vehicle registration came up, so I had to take care of that. My quarterly water bill came in, had to take care of that, and my shoes were totally worn out with holes in the bottom rendering them a hazard to walk in. Figured a TV antenna is cheaper than going to a sports bar to watch playoff baseball and wasting gas to get to my mom's house for football games.

Almost every month, besides my job there is extra income coming in from somewhere. Whether its overtime, refund checks, or dividends. On a very good month, my expenses are low 3000s, on a bad month its 4000s.

UPDATE ON THE WATER BILL: Well the plumber came out, cost me 357.75 and couldnt find anything. Couldn't find the water meter either, so he called someone from the town to come check it out, and they didnt show up so he left. I dont know what's going on. Im not interested in spending more money in finding out for now.

What I do know, is that there is no leaks inside my house, if there is, its incredibly well hidden somewhere. There is no water damage, no leaky faucets, no flowing toilets, no leaks in the sinks, or tub, or shower head. So wherever this "leak" is its well hidden. Its also possible the water bill is normal. IDK

Edit 2: I canceled audiobooks.com, changed my life insurance policy to something cheaper, and canceled Netflix. Im now paying 31 dollars a month for the same coverage instead of 68. So overall 61.86 saved this month. Im going to see about driving around less and spending less on gas too

How do you determine how much to put in?

kept wondering why some months felt fine and others felt like I was drowning even on the same paycheck

turned out it wasnt the monthly stuff. it was the once or twice a year stuff hitting all at once, car insurance, registration, that kind of thing. I added it all up one night and it was a stupid amount, like over three grand a year just hiding in random months

what actually helped was adding it up for the whole year, dividing by 12, and moving that chunk to a separate savings account every payday like it was just another bill. boring escrow account basically. then when the bill shows up its already paid for and the month doesnt blow up

probably obvious to a lot of people here but it took me way too long to stop treating those as surprises when they happen literally every year

I’ve seen figures quoted from Vanguard and Fidelity of 4 - 6 percent annualised equity growth for ten or fifteen years.

Do you believe the growth will be this poor, after decades of double digit returns? Or do you think it’s overly pessimistic.

Is the future really so bleak?

I’m 41, turning 42 this month. Single father with a son starting college in 2028. I make $240k base (As in actual cash). I do not count my RSUs. I just started making 240K in 2025.

I haev roughly $80k in a brokerage account, $90k in a retirement account, $20K in another retirement account and $53k set aside for my sons college.

I rent....my rent total is $2150

I can add $500 a month to my brokerage while keeping up with retirement (I max) and college contributions (I contribute $800 a month). I like traveling and going out - a LOT, it keeps me from not keeling over (as in having an actual nervous breakdown) from the work stress.

**Reason I'm so bad off (no excuses, just truth): I made $10.50 an hour up until age 31 (had nothing saved for retirement, barely knew what a 401k was). I spent my early and mid-thirties fumbling around as my salary rose. I love women and wine..I mean, damn man damn. Finally buckled down in my late 30s, and well..here I am.

Be brutally honest — can I make something of this...at all? Basically, I want to be 50 healthy, and solidly upper middle class, in a HCOL city. Is this possible?

It seems like the default option for college is just go take out a mortgage sized loan at 18 years old and have fun paying it back.

No one ever seems to talk about alternative paths (aside from your parents paying for it)

For example you can join the military and get free college, I know some are against that path, which is fine, and in which case employer reimbursement is another avenue that it seems like no one even knows exist.

I graduated highschool and got a entry level corporate desk job, company I worked for offered college tuition reimbursement as one of their random benefits, well I ended up getting my bachelors and my masters 100% for free just from work paying for it.

Whenever I tell people that, most don’t even know it’s an option or that it’s something many places offer.

Throughout the years I’ve heard many examples of this… Someone will say “how does that person afford such a nice car!” Or “man they have such a nice boat, or RV or XYZ hobby!” And the typically reply usually ends up being “they have a ton of debt” or “they make payments on everything”

It’s always some reply in which it’s presumed the individual is just terrible with money or in massive debt, it’s never just the simple fact that yeah, that person just makes a shitload of money, the end.

Are some people in debt? Yes of course. But at the same time, there are genuine families who make 2,3,4,500k a year in household income and it just is what it is.

I keep reading about the “Great Wealth Transfer” that is going to happen between boomers and their kids, with trillions set to move in the next decade or so. My parents are broke so I’m not receiving anything. I’m now worried that once other people my age (late 20s - 30s) start receiving big inheritances, this will drive home prices up, despite the high mortgage rates, since more people will be able to make all cash offers.

Is this a real concern? Are home prices likely to rise because of this?

For background, I'm 31 and live in a HCOL area (southern California)

Edit: Since the average Redditor in this sub are doomers who don’t read the chart and will find every uninformed means of finding fault:

YES, IT ACCOUNTS FOR INFLATION. And yes, CPI does include housing, which is the biggest slice of its index at 36%.

I have most of my nest egg sitting in an account I've been collecting about 4.4% for the past six months, which will expire on October 15th.

I currently bank with about 5 physical banks and typically prefer sitting with a banker to open HYSAs or CDs so I can leave with a paper (and a folder) with all the details.

The best deal I see now is via ETrade - 4.25% guaranteed for six months plus an $800 bonus for over $100k. I'm a middle-aged Gen Xer and not extremely comfortable clicking a deposit of about twice that much.

I realize that people transfer many millions online every day. My own brother invested $400k online all at once, probably a few times, but he makes beaucoup bucks and would sue the platform if something glitched.

Anyway, I'm asking if readers here would be comfortable transferring your "life savings" just by clicking buttons. I'm assuming nearly a 100% Yes response.

Im currently 31 but havent been putting money into a 401k or any retirement saving account since I personally don't want to live to 60, which is the minimum age you can take out money from penalty free.

Hi all - I am looking to get car insurance and wanted to know, what are the limits the average middle class person has? I read online 100/300 for liability is minimum and then 100k for property. But then when you go to the insurance subreddit, they say that’s way too low and to get 250/500 minimum. I wanted to ask here, what are regular people doing? And also, what’s your deductible while you’re at it? Do you keep it higher to keep costs down or keep it low and pay more yearly? Thanks!

Who are the people taking out car loans with $787 monthly payments?

I once had an $800 monthly payment, but that was for a 36 month term.

I think car loans are now stretching to 84 months!

edit - so I'm seeing many cases where many of you are paying $800 a month for a 0% rate (or very low), and in those instances, it's not a bad move (you're not the group I'm wondering about) There are lots of people making $800 payments for 84 month terms, and those were the ones I was wondering about. I took an $800 loan on a car myself, but only for 36 months for much the same reasons. There's a difference between strategically doing it, and doing it to afford something fancy.