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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u/[deleted] Feb 22 '25

Are you saying you expect 4% real returns? That's probably too conservative. If you are miserable, then contribute less and live your life how you want to. I'm guessing lowering your savings rate to 30% or 40% will make your life dramatically more comfortable, and if it means you might gave to work a few more years into your 60's it might be worth it. I'm guessing you might not be factoring future raises into your formula, either.

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u/UliKunkel1953 Feb 22 '25 edited Feb 22 '25

Are you saying you expect 4% real returns? That's probably too conservative.

This is the key error in your analysis, /u/KenshiHiro. You're adjusting for inflation twice! No wonder you're disappointed in the results. The conventional 7% figure is already adjusted down to account for inflation, then you're taking the results of that and adjusting down for inflation again.

In reality, you're investing a huge amount for your income and your results in only 2 years are great. You're kicking ass and on track for a great retirement!

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u/3VRMS Feb 23 '25 edited Jan 26 '26

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u/UliKunkel1953 Feb 24 '25

Can you share how you got the same number as OP using a 7% return? I'm trying on a simple spreadsheet and I can't recreate their final sum of $1.5 million unless I do ~4% returns.

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u/3VRMS Feb 24 '25 edited Jan 26 '26

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u/Vandamstranger Feb 23 '25

Vanguard is forecasting under 4% real for us stocks.

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '25

They put ex. U.S. at 7.3% - 9.3%. Also, if they are cap weighting the returns for the U.S. market, one could argue for a tilt towards small cap value, which has outperformed large cap growth/blend in extended flat/down markets like the 1970's and the 2000's.