After A Decade Of Saving I Only Have $140K In My Retirement Account. When Will Things Turn Around?

It’s really frustrating to work hard to save money and then look at your account balance and feel like you’ve made no progress. This is a situation that a Reddit user is facing right now.

The Redditor said they make $80K a year, started saving at age 30, and contribute 11% of their income to their retirement plan. Yet, despite saving for a decade, their account only has $140K in it at age 40. 

The poster is frustrated because the online calculators say he should have three times his salary saved — but he doesn’t. He doesn’t know why he’s so behind when he’s investing a lot and he’s wondering if he’ll ever get ahead.  

The good news is, he’s making the right moves — and if he stays the course, he should end up financially successful. 

Comparing yourself to others isn’t the right move when managing your money

The Reddit user is right that it’s generally recommended that you have between two and three times your salary saved by 40. So, he’s a little behind. That’s probably because he didn’t start saving until 30 when it’s ideal to start as young as possible. Contributing 11% also isn’t bad, but it’s usually best to aim for around 15% of your earnings if you want to be on track to ensure financial security as a retiree. 

Despite that, though, the Redditor should not be upset because he has failed to comply with a random rule of thumb on the Internet that doesn’t take his personal situation or life goals into account. In fact, looking at this rule could be detrimental to him because it could discourage him from continuing to invest when he’s making the right moves now and doing his best to set himself up for the future. 

If this poster saves diligently over time, even if it’s just 11% of his income instead of 15% which would be ideal, he’s most likely going to end up with a lot more money than most people have in retirement. He’s also going to have plenty of money to retire — probably not to retire early but at a reasonable age. 

There are a lot of “ideal” numbers and scenarios on the Internet, but very few people actually meet these ideals. Some people start saving late but catch up, by making larger contributions later. Others save late and just work longer because they had things they were trying to accomplish in the present. 

None of this is necessarily bad as long as you are making conscious, smart spending choices and working toward a goal you’ve set for yourself based on what you want your future to look like. 

What should you do to make sure you’re on track?

Rather than feeling frustrated that he’s not living up to the “standard,” the Reddit user would be better served by getting advice from a financial advisor who can help him set a personalized goal and make a targeted plan to achieve that objective. 

Working with an advisor can help him decide how much he should save based on his objectives. An advisor can also assist with creating a budget, and determining when and how to invest.

Finally, an advisor can help the poster to look forward at projections to see exactly how much his hard work is going to pay off so he can stay motivated and keep saving for the financial independence he deserves. 

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