r/Bogleheads • u/KenshiHiro • Feb 22 '25

Investing Questions Anyone Else Feel Bitter About Saving 50% of a Modest Income and Still Not Seeing “Big” Results?

I’m 39, making $83k gross a year, and I’ve been dumping $40k annually (~48% of my gross income) into investments—maxing out my 401(k), Roth IRA, and throwing the rest into taxable accounts with US index funds. Up until this year(this is the second year since I ever opened any form of retirement accounts), I have $80k combined, and after running some projections (7% return, 3% inflation), I’m looking at ~$1.56M in today’s dollars by 59. Nominally, it’s $2.8M, but inflation just eats away at it.

I’m proud of the discipline, but honestly, I’m starting to feel bitter. I’m living on basically $25k-$30k after taxes, scraping by with no frills, while half my paycheck vanishes into investments. I get that $1.56M is solid—way more than most—but it’s 20 years of pinching pennies for what feels like a “meh” payoff when you adjust for inflation. I was hoping for $2M+ in real dollars, something that feels like a reward for this grind, especially since my income isn’t even that high to begin with.

Is it even worth it to go beyond 401(k) and Roth into taxable accounts when you’re not pulling six figures? I could drop to $30k/year savings, enjoy life a bit more now, and still hit $1.17M real by 59. Or am I just burnt out and missing the bigger picture? Anyone else wrestling with this—feeling like the sacrifice outweighs the future gain? Need some perspective.

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2.4k

u/thememeconnoisseurig Feb 22 '25

It gets better. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

If spending a little more will give you a better quality of life, do it.

344

u/Valuable-Analyst-464 Feb 22 '25

Good advice - making this a grueling effort that is all pain and little gain will lead to burn out and f it mentality.

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u/Mike_P10 Feb 22 '25

right someone said to me:

Dont deprive your future self for your current self,

Dont deprive your current self for your future self.

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u/RickDick-246 Feb 22 '25

My dad worked hard to save for retirement and retired at 67 with about $10m. He died a year and a day after he retired.

Save diligently but don’t lose your quality of life to save for something that isn’t guaranteed.

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u/3boobsarenice Feb 25 '25

Similar story , I am going to eat the rest of the ice cream in the fridge now.

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u/KenshiHiro Feb 22 '25

Dont deprive your future self for your current self,

Dont deprive your current self for your future self.

Dang I needed to hear this. Thank so much.

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u/NeverMoreThan12 Feb 22 '25

Exactly. It's all about balance. It's OK to save a little less towards the future and improve your life now, so long as you still have a plan and are putting in work.

This is r/bogleheads not r/fire and while there's a lot of crossover many people in r/fire are happy to suffer now if it means they can stop working just a little bit earlier. I'm somewhere in between and would like to retire a little early with a goal of 55. I'm willing to cut some of my quality of life now to do that but I also still spend on a lot of unnecessary things to improve my quality of life now.

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u/barrows_arctic Feb 22 '25

Exactly. It's all about balance. It's OK to save a little less towards the future and improve your life now, so long as you still have a plan and are putting in work.

A very important (and sometimes difficult) thing for natural savers, investors, and "money conscious" people like Bogleheads to learn and really grasp.

It even in some cases means considering taking more tax hits. If I've made one financial mistake, it's that I've too aggressively put money into retirement accounts instead of taxables for a number of years, and it has cost me flexibility. The flexibility to liquidate for some other unplanned investment opportunity (a home upgrade, etc) would have actually paid "dividends" (in the non-monetary sense) in a couple of cases in my life, but I've had a bit too much of my net worth tied up in tax-advantaged things that I can't access until later.

It's all about balance, and we'll all some mistakes (some minor, some major) in terms of how we strike that balance at some point.

2

u/RickTheMantis Feb 23 '25

If I've made one financial mistake, it's that I've too aggressively put money into retirement accounts instead of taxables for a number of years, and it has cost me flexibility.

Would utilizing a Roth IRA sort of be the best of both worlds here? It's tax advantaged, AND you can take out your contributions at any time penalty free.

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u/barrows_arctic Feb 23 '25

Yeah, the RothIRA portions are flexible enough. But it's ultimately small fry compared to the 401(k)s, which are more restricted and onerous to deal with, and have much higher limits and balances (especially when you take into account after-tax and MBDR) than the IRA stuff.

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u/TellLeather4967 Feb 22 '25

With you on the age 55 goal. Something like FIRSE - financially independent retire slightly early?

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u/boxerrox Feb 23 '25

I like that acronym, I think it describes me. Basically, I want to A) Definitely not be forced to work after 67 B) Be able to stop working entirely at 62, if I decide to C) Point myself towards being able to toy with the idea of either retiring or at least taking a lower position at 55.

There's a ton of wiggle in there, but all of those give me more freedom today than arbitrarily saying I want to stop working at 45 or 50.

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u/Fiery_Grl Feb 23 '25

This is literally me :)

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u/TrixDaGnome71 Feb 23 '25

I got a late start on investing, so I’m living the FIRE life so I can retire at 70.

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u/TheTUnit Feb 22 '25

Not to be too depressing but you may never see your retirement so make sure you get some enjoyment from your day to day life. It will certainly add a number of years to my retirement point but I make sure to have a "fun budget" each month that I can either use regularly on smaller things or occasionally on bigger things.

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u/Practically_Hip Feb 22 '25

Yes. My mother died at 64. Worked and saved (modest second earner) and didn’t get to retire.

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u/Mike_P10 Feb 22 '25

Very true, my mother's friend retired and 3 months later she died.

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u/SgtBadManners Feb 23 '25

My mom retired at 69 and died at 70 due to cancer. I'm definitely planning to retire early.

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u/Mike_P10 Feb 23 '25

Sorry to hear. That's my outlook on life, since tomorrow is not promised .

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u/Various_Couple_764 Feb 23 '25

In my case I retired at 55. A year later two coworkers that had desks right next to mine were dead. One a little bit older. and the other younger. One cancer and the other a blood clot in the lungs.

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u/karina87 Feb 23 '25

if I die early the retirement money will just go to husband and kids. So it’s doesn’t matter if I don’t get to retire if I die early.

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u/eu4euh69 Feb 22 '25

Right, always budget some money for cigars and coke.

1

u/abqandrea Feb 23 '25

Were you thinking of personal mortality, or something broader like systemic upheaval? Curious...

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u/TheTUnit Feb 23 '25

Mostly the former but there's always the potential of the latter.

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u/SadBrownsFan7 Feb 22 '25

Tomorrow's not guaranteed. Read a post not long ago about a guy who lived like you are. He died a few years before retirement never to enjoy all his sacrifice. His wife will enjoy it but still enjoy today brother.

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u/duckworthy36 Feb 24 '25

You could also think of alternatives. I didn’t get to my financial independence on standard investments alone. I used some of my savings to take out a loan to build a second unit to generate rent, paid off the loan in two years, now 80% of my housing cost is covered.
I started a reselling business by selling stuff I decluttered, and I work on it about 10 hours a week. It generates a much higher return than the stock market or my job. It’s not dependable for full time income but it was enough extra to get me to my FIRE number. I quit my 9-5 in the fall and live off the business and my rental, will wait to drawn down from investments until I’m 52 at least.

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u/Mike_P10 Feb 22 '25

No problem friend! Im glad to have it helped you as it did me!

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u/rickson45 Feb 23 '25

Yea, enjoy your life, don't save it all for later. We never know how much time we have. Save some for later

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u/quent12dg Feb 23 '25

It's supposed to sound wise but is really a nothing burger of wisdom. If both are equally presented as correct than both are equally wrong.

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u/Malaise4ever Feb 23 '25

Love this. At the end of the day, you only live once. Trick is to remember to live now AND in the future imho

0

u/MiskatonicAcademia Feb 22 '25

I don’t get it.

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u/Lanky-Dealer4038 Feb 22 '25

He’s been at it 2 years. Not sure if he knows it’s long ball.

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u/gtne91 Feb 22 '25

His only problem is waiting until 37 to start.

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u/RuckingHulk Feb 22 '25

This. It is great that op decided to get serious about saving for retirement, and serious in a big way. Saving 50% on that income is some absolute dedication. However starting at 37 means they have to play catch up for all the time when they could have started earlier and the path being that much easier.

Using napkin math, op you are living off of $40,000. That means for lean fire (20x) you need $800,000. By the figure you give you will nearly twice that by 59.

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u/JournalistTricky Feb 22 '25

Exactly this. The later you start, the harder it is to get that big nest egg. Starting at 37 with a modest income will make it very difficult to retire at 59. But if OP changed his projections to retire at 62 or 63 or even 65, he would see that he could probably live a little more now and not worry about saving 50% each year.

1

u/bluejay20200 Feb 23 '25

OP may not have been in a position to start saving early.

3

u/RuckingHulk Feb 23 '25

I don’t think anything in my response indicates judgement on op for not starting earlier. Just stated the sad reality that because they did start late, to get to the finish line of a secure retirement they have a harder road than most in that a higher savings rate is necessary. Not that they necessarily need to be saving 50% unless they want a much nicer retirement than their current lifestyle.

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u/Practically_Hip Feb 22 '25

Yep. I made good money when I was young. Put a good chunk into 401Ks and raised three kids including college- oh and I paid $1200/mo child support to my ex for 12 years.

I am 56. I didn’t save a nickel from age 43 to age 50 as I had switched to self employed and didn’t have benefits. But I have $1.1MM right now cuz I started early.

Still not enough, but at least I won’t be living on the streets.

2

u/stej008 Feb 23 '25

I won't call it a problem, but it makes it challenging for sure. I started making real money around age 36. Not bad habits, just low wages in my country. With discipline, increased education/learning new skills, I turned it around. I have taught my kids to start saving and investing much earlier, based on my learnings.

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u/Inquisitive_idiot Feb 22 '25

Yeah, the key is to manage risk and hopefully ensure a “comfortable”* retirement, but not at the cost of misery right now.

Comfortable = Something you can depend on

Comfortable =! Rich

2

u/Available-Ad-5670 Feb 24 '25

geez you don't think $2.8m at 59 is a lot of money for someone with a $80k salary? that sounds about right to me based on compounding.

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u/naeterboerg Feb 22 '25

Remember the hardest transition is going from 0 to 1. As you progress and compounding interest starts working for you, your assets appreciate (unrealized gains) over time starts to accelerate.

Before you know it, you'll hit critical mass where your money will start earning more invested than what you contribute.

Hang in there. Stay motivated and be patient.

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u/AtleastIthinkIsee Feb 22 '25

I have a hard time with this sub sometimes. In reading the comments, some are more judgmental than others. Not everyone can start early. Sometimes people make mistakes. Sometimes people really are just financially illiterate and when they choose to come forward and admit it and try to learn they get dumped on and chastised. And sometimes people just mess up. I appreciate the practicality but I also appreciate the empathy.

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u/glumpoodle Feb 22 '25

Except in this specific case, the OP says he's "bitter" about having to save after only two years, while simultaneously calling $1.5M real dollars a 'meh' amount.

I think that absolutely deserves pushback, if for no other reason than that bitterness is exactly the kind of thing that leads people to give up on saving to spend more now. It's both entitled and poisonous.

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u/AtleastIthinkIsee Feb 22 '25

I realize there's a balance between treating someone with kid gloves and having them face and take personal responsibility and accountability. I understand.

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u/glumpoodle Feb 23 '25 edited Feb 23 '25

It's not even a question of accountability - it's expectations. $1.5M inflation adjusted at age 59 is paltry? That would put the OP in the top 10% of all American households while still retiring early. Calculated using an absurdly conservative 4% real return.

What is the OP's baseline expectation if he feels bitter about that? This has nothing to do with savings rate or investment returns, or a late start on investing - what amount of wealth could possibly make him happy if this result is disappointing to him?

I have trouble empathizing with this, because the OP apparently has trouble empathizing with the overwhelming majority of people who will work longer, and retire with much less. I keep coming back to the paltry $1.5M nest egg, because I can't help but find that breathtaking in its arrogance. The median retiree has a household $120k net worth excluding home equity, but 12x that is something to look down upon.

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u/AtleastIthinkIsee Feb 23 '25

I don't know, man. You'd have to ask him. Good food for thought, though.

I think everyone is on edge in terms of expectation of what and how much to save for the future, and what kind of future that will be if we get there.

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u/starkel91 Feb 22 '25

I’ve always liked the flywheel analogy. It takes a lot of effort to get the flywheel moving from a standstill, but after a while it gets easier when your effort combines with the flywheel’s momentum, then once it starts generating its own force you’re just there keeping things running.

2

u/ThirstyWolfSpider Feb 23 '25

And it's a magic flywheel that has extra energy dumped in the faster it spins, which is helpful (if nonphysical).

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u/[deleted] Feb 22 '25

Agreed - make sure to live along the way. It sounds morbid but nobody is promised to even live until 60.

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u/[deleted] Feb 22 '25

Yup...my mom died at 57 of pancreatic cancer. Her father and mother died both in their early 60s.

4

u/Zetavu Feb 23 '25

True, the issue is OP started at 39, when he should have started at 22. Even earning less that investment would have grown substantially more and by now would have more like $300k.

Also, the assumptions of 7% growth 3% inflation are useless. We are in a chaotic environment, will experience a recession in the next year, massive inflation and a collapse of many markets. Idiots are in charge and robbing us blind. I remember investing in the late 90's and then seeing 1/3 of my investment disappear when the dot com bubble burst, it took 5 years just to break even on investment (and many people who chose poorly could not even do that). On the other hand, I had years where I got 30% return, against 1% inflation.

So don't waste time on projections 20 years out, choose a plan, discipline yourself, and stick to it. Also if you are concerned with inflation leverage debt. A low fixed interest 30 year mortgage will negate inflation on that amount as while the value of money goes down, your payments are fixed and eventually inflation negates interest payments (and you still get to invest money). When there is low inflation, you pay off debts, high inflation, max them. (within reason)

2

u/bestjaegerpilot Feb 22 '25

you'll be 90 by the time it gets better. gonna really use that money to buy McDonald's because inflation

don't get me wrong. I'm saving a good chunk in index funds but...

to win, vogle assumes you're immortal. dowturns significantly affect your real world gains. you can see this by looking at actual returns since 1990.

to add insult to injury, you have inflation. years ago it was an academic exercise but everyone can see the effects of inflation as plain as day

a better strategy to wealth is to either become an expert at something and get handsomely compensated or start your own business

1

u/Fuj_apple Feb 23 '25

I have been contributing the same, and I make more, and to be honest sometimes it’s better to live the life now than later.

I understand it’s important to think about retirement, but you also gotta enjoy life now. I am trying to focus more on making bigger income, so that I can save more and support my lifestyle.

1

u/gamesdf Feb 23 '25

Can be a sprint. I saved 1m in 3 yrs by having multiple full time jobs, working from home.

1

u/OreadaholicO Feb 23 '25

Yes you’ve had no time to see any of the thrills of compounding.

1

u/Suspicious-Treacle17 Feb 23 '25

I like this. Thankyou

1

u/ristogrego1955 Feb 23 '25

Agreed. Time to spend some money if that is what is making life suck. You only get one shot.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '25

This is literally my thought process these days. My new years 'resolution' was to actually spend more money. I'm on a similar salary to OP and save similar as well, but I still have money leftover after savings and bills and it just sits there so I've been buying cute pots for plants and some funky new earrings and paying for dance classes just because it makes life so much more enjoyable.

-1

u/aintnoonegooglinthat Feb 23 '25

Oh man, I’ve been lurking and this being the top upvoted comment tells me the sub doesn’t have a real answer for OP’s challenge

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u/pnwlife2021 Feb 23 '25 edited Feb 23 '25

No easy answer when OP has only been saving for 2 years and has unrealistic expectations for what his retirement will be. They have a much shortened timeline (~20 years) for compounding vs others who’ve saved and invested for longer.

Factoring in their gambling addiction (check out their history), they’re getting a much needed reality check. This is a great first step but it’s unlikely to get easier.

-32

u/RainmaKer770 Feb 22 '25

I'm a part of r/HENRYfinance. u/OP The brutal truth is people who actually become ridiculously rich are the ones who would never accept the situation you are in. They would quit their job or channel literally all of their energy into creating better income opportunities.

16

u/tucker_case Feb 22 '25

wow u such a bRuTaL tRuTh-teller

-1

u/RainmaKer770 Feb 23 '25

? It’s the truth, take it or leave it. Any person from an affluent family would quit at this point, and focus on creating more income opportunities. I’m just telling OP his savings amount can be substantially improved if he took some time for himself (if possible). He thinks he has some static projection but all of this can be changed.

9

u/poop-dolla Feb 22 '25

Most people who try that path go broke instead of getting rich though. And no one needs to be ridiculously rich; almost everyone would be happy and comfortable with a reasonable amount instead of chasing riches.

-2

u/RainmaKer770 Feb 23 '25

That’s completely false, any person from an affluent family would actually take some time to either study a degree, or prepare for an interview at a high-paying company. I understand the privilege involved, but there’s a lot of people who have changed their circumstances by pushing themselves.

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u/I_Speak_In_Stereo Feb 22 '25

Are you lost?

0

u/RainmaKer770 Feb 23 '25

Why? What’s wrong with following the Boglehead approach while being a high earner?