How much should someone have saved up after 5 years in their career?

[brianmanahan]

What if you don't live for another 20+ years? Then you just worked and scrimped for nada.

well that would stink, but i guess i wouldnt care since i would be dead?

 

[her209]

Idealy, enough to be able to survive a year or so. But that's hard to achieve. I'm ashamed to say that after 5 years of working I barely have anything saved. By the time the bills come out and everything I maybe have 100 bucks left over.

Though with my new job I make more money, so for the past few pay checks I've been having like 500 left over at the end of the pay. I have 5k or so in my savings right now. I need to somehow come up with 15k or so by summer to redo the outside basement walls/weeping tiles. I also need a new car, hoping to find a good deal on a used one for like 5k-10k. Either way by the time I get a new car and finish the weeping tiles I'll be in debt for a bit.

I've been brainstorming various projects so I can make more money on the side, as my new job will give me more time off. Shift work FTW.

Didn't you buy a house???

 

[darkxshade]

What if you don't live for another 20+ years? Then you just worked and scrimped for nada.

That's why you write a will to your chauffeur and doorman. Get the joy of spending the cash or die knowing you're sticking it to the ex. :sneaky:

 

[Kelvrick]

no joke, thats basically what i have done, saving > %60 for retirement, the rest for savings, and living on maybe 500$ a month. sucks now but i will thank myself 20 years from now

You sound like the other extreme of spending all your money. Rough estimate, I'm probably only net $15k or so after 6 years. Got some fun trips to vegas, have a trip to hawaii this year, europe next year. Would have a lot more if I didn't buy a house 2 years ago, put 25k in to renovate the house and had a 35k wedding last year.

Fuck if I'm not more comfortable living now than if I was in an apartment with a crappy car and no memories with my good friends.

 

[Jeff7]

is this another hoarders thread?

Thank you. I don't feel quite so bad about my apartment now.
:sneaky:
No pics, even though I do know where my camera is.

 

[Deeko]

Interest, capital gains & 401k company match over 5 years?

Those things help, but not enough to get the numbers he suggests.

no joke, thats basically what i have done, saving > %60 for retirement, the rest for savings, and living on maybe 500$ a month. sucks now but i will thank myself 20 years from now

His example is saving almost 90%, not 60%. And frankly, unless you're living with your parents (which I can't recommend to anyone for more than maybe a year after college), its not likely you can live on $500 / month, without literally living like a hobo.

I realize this is Anandtech, where everyone is rich, has perfect credit, and saves all of their money - but lets be realistic here. Are there examples of people that legitimately have over 150K saved in 5 years, despite not even making 200K? Sure...but its extremely rare, extremely difficult, and frankly, probably pretty miserable.

Saving money is good. You want to save as much as you can. But at the same time - you don't want to waste your 20s living in squalor and misery. Its about striking a balance.

 

[brianmanahan]

you don't want to waste your 20s living in squalor and misery

why not? i think its a perfectly viable strategy which will greatly pay off in 20 years

 

[Fenixgoon]

do you have your own place yet? And I don't mean renting... cause that screws you financially if you did that at 18. Don't move out of mom & dad's the 1st chance you get... save for a few years after you get a full time job = win.

it's funny because i lived at home for a year, and everyone just out of school said "that sucks so bad" but everyone who had been out of school said "sweet merciful crap stay as long as you can and SAVE!"

 

[Deeko]

why not? i think its a perfectly viable strategy which will greatly pay off in 20 years

Conversely, why live in squalor and misery if you don't have to? You can save money in a reasonable fashion, enough to have plenty of resources in your 40s, without essentially throwing away a decade of the prime of your life.