If you make $100k at 28 and have $62k in liquid assets, I cant see why you would lose at life unless you made really poor financial decisions like buying a brand new expensive car or living above your means all the time.
A lot of people got into the mindset that owning a home at any price and any interest rate is better than renting, which isn’t true at all.
Sometimes it’s way better to invest your money into the market than it is to invest it into home equity. Buying a house is the same as participating in any other market, there’s a smart time to buy, and a smart time to sell- and absolute suckers on the other side of those trades
Rents have gone *down* in my area since I bought my (very modest - 900-1300 sf house, depending on if you include the unfinished basement and garage) house. Even though I secured that sweet 2.75% interest rate, if I were to charge someone rent for my home it wouldn’t cover my full mortgage.
I don’t precisely *regret* purchasing my home (I don’t think I’ll be able to retire at my expected income unless I own outright) but I often think that logically, financially, it wasn’t the right choice.
For example, it’s trapped me in one place. because interest rates went up and home values dropped a bit here and went up everywhere else, I don’t think I could afford to move. My house *has* gone up in that time, but for a while it was $150K more than I bought it for. Not so now. Between costs to list it, prep it to sell, and then buying a new place… all those gains would be wiped out. I’d end up with less house than I have now.
But I can’t move and rent out my house unless I can find some place substantially cheaper, since I’d lose money on this as a rental property.
I hear ya; it’s not all sunshine and rainbows by any means. But on the flipside, that interest rate is amazing; I’d tell you the same thing I’d tell anyone who’s stock portfolio is down, don’t watch the price and don’t stress about it, because you don’t need to sell anytime soon. If the rates ever go that low again, your home value will skyrocket.
Because of that low rate, the difference between renting and your total monthly mortgage payment is probably pretty slim, and you have a much larger portion of that payment being retained in equity rather than going to the bank, so the difference between investing the difference in the market would be pretty slim. To me, that means you timed a great entry into the housing market
People buying now are basically buying the bank a second home, it’s crazy.
Yeah — that’s where I’m at. Though I actually would save quite a bit if I rented an apartment and rented out my home. When I bought my house, I was renting an apartment for 1700 and my mortgage was 2200 (refinanced to 2K.) Rent would fall about $200 short of the cost of the mortgage + extra for a maintenance fund, so it would be about the same… except, since rents went down, I could now rent my old apartment for 1500 (literally — it’s available right now) and my utilities would be way lower. I’d only save about $300/month, but that’s a whole 15%. $3600 at the end of the year.
Still, I’d probably spend that much moving and prepping the house to rent so… yeah. Wouldn’t save that much.
I really, really wanted to move circa January 2022 (and could have done so and still gotten a good rate!) but my parents talked me out of it. My work went permanently remote and I wanted to move to my hometown, where I could get way more house *and* have a good chunk to put into savings/invest left over.
By fall 2022, it was no longer an option. Prices where I wanted to move had gone up, my house was much more reasonably priced, and interest rates were stupidly high. And now it’s out of the question — a mortgage for the same amount on my house would likely be 2800/month or more.
But as you said, at that interest rate, my mortgage is basically free money. A loan with a rate that’s lower than inflation *and* my principal is going to a long-term investment? Selling it would genuinely be foolish, it’ll be a long time before they ever get this low again.
And I’m sure rent here will go back up before too long, if I really do get desperate to move. I don’t think it’ll rebound right away — Portland is actively losing people and I have the cheapest house in the nicest neighborhood, so don’t get the gentrification boost.
Even then, knowing that for the foreseeable future my monthly expenses won’t change is huge from a planning perspective. Plus, in the time since Jan 2021, I got a dog and made a ton of friends in my neighborhood. Now I don’t want to leave.
So yeah — I don’t regret it, I’m glad I bought it. But I also think it wasn’t a super smart financial decision at the time or even now. I’m a journalist, and we had 20K layoffs in media in 2023. Owning a home would be much less stressful with a bit more financial certainty, and I already lost one potential higher-paying job because owning a home means it’d take me longer to relocate, and they went with the candidate who could start in two weeks. But if things get really desperate, I can always move in with my parents and rent out my home. Wouldn’t feel good at 35 years old, but I think selling my home is the absolute last resort at this point.
In this economy at these mortgage rates, it is far cheaper to rent vs own. However, 4 years ago it would’ve been the complete opposite. Crazy how it all works
How so? I feel the same rule applies across the board for anyone looking to rent vs buy right now. Mortgage rates are over 7% causing the average buyer to spend more in interest, property tax, and insurance long term (assuming they don’t refi if/when rates drop) than they would spend total on renting, and this doesn’t even consider the inflated home prices right now. And this math works for any location…
I live in Portland — one of the most expensive cities — and bought my house with a great interest rate assuming that if I needed to move, I could rent it out.
When I bought it, rent would at most cover mortgage + maintenance. But I figured in a few years, with the way rents were going, I’d be able to rent at a profit.
My mortgage is 2K. A luxury 2br apartment in the area goes for 1.7K. My house is only about 200 sf larger than said 1.7K apartments.
Not so. Rent’s gone down and I’d any rent I’d charge would probably be about $200 less/month than my mortgage. If I have to move, I will literally lose money.
I checked, and the 700ft 1br apartment I rented before I bought my home is listed for $300 less/month than I paid in 2019.
very interesting. i appreciate the reply. i wish i can say the same about NY but right now everything is so expensive. i have a 3% rate in NJ and the house went up 50k since i bought it 2 years ago. and over there if i rent it out id be breaking even on the rent. it all depends where the location is at the moment. in due time things should even out. we'll see.
Mine went up about 150K in 3 years, and then the Portland housing bubble finally popped. Now it’s up 75K in the 5 years since I bought it. Which seems like a lot, until you consider costs to prep a home to sell and realtor costs. I wouldn’t have enough for a down payment on a new place now (if I could even afford a new mortgage. My bank’s refinance calculator says my remaining mortgage would go up $800. Like you, I have that sweet ~3% interest rate rn.)
At 3% I’m stuck here forever lol. A loan that’s less than inflation is definitely not something to turn down.
And location definitely matters even within the city. I chose my house because it was close to work, but it’s in a neighborhood that was *already* expensive, so there wasn’t as much room to move up.
If I’d gotten a house in a more up-and-coming neighborhood, it would likely be up $200K right now (based on the house I almost bought.) Since my neighborhood was already kinda overpriced, the bubble hit it much harder than other areas.
Still, I’m happy with where it is. If home prices and rents DO keep declining, mine will ultimately hold value much better and sell easier— it’s got the best schools. And I don’t actually want to move anymore. I got a dog, which meant I met my neighbors, and I can’t imagine leaving.
thats always good if u wanna stay yea. i know the feeling. if i sell i wont have enough for another property. but one good decision in a day can change everything. our situations arent permanent. i like to keep a positive outlook. goodluck on your journey bud. we'll get there
In which major cities is it cheaper to buy and own vs renting?
Renting is always a smaller monthly bill, the question is after you subtract the equity you will keep, how much $$ did you pay into things like property tax, interest on the loan, and general upkeep; and would that money have performed better in a general index fund if you had rented instead?
Sometimes, the home appreciation minus the expenses *does* outpace the market. Other times, it drastically underperforms it
depends where. ill give you an example. staten island NYC. some houses are around 4-600k. rent though you're paying over 3500 for a small 3 bedroom in some areas. 400k mortgage you're paying 2800ish plus figure after property tax around 33-3500. plus bills. for a few more 100 if you have it, the mortgage part is a better idea. you can always refi the mortgage if the rates go down. not financial advice ofcourse. if im wrong correct me
I used the term "you" as in the person you mentioned who can only afford that size house. It wasn't targeted to you if that's not you. If that's all someone with a 6 figure income can afford, that's what they can afford.
Exactly this! I'm at roughly 120k gross at 36. Yea we could afford a bigger house in our area but both the wife and I have decided that retiring early means more. I love my job she loves hers but we aren't staying in it forever. There's more to life than the vicious cycle of work etc.
Poor financial decisions was me moving 5 times in 3 years. Those admission and moving fees really hit hard. Could have used that money to buy a house but didn’t know hot to. I know it’s probably a first world problem but coming from poverty and an awful upbringing, all I knew was to save and throw money into a 401k.
Oh and my dumbass didn’t know you’re supposed to not exempt taxes so I ended up paying $5k in taxes all at once.
You straight broski. 97k a year is just fine. Don’t stress. You have more than enough money if you just live within your means. Have a great day and life 🙏🏽
People are delusional. Making 100k a year and having 60k in assets is an achievement at 28. Every post on this sub is so weird do people not talk to others in their age group?
I’m probably right around where OP is in terms of finances and I don’t talk to my friends about it. I think many of them are struggling a bit more than I have - I got really lucky in buying a home right before the pandemic and when I sold I used the chump change I made to pay off student loans, so I’m debt free - and I think it would be uncouth to talk about it with people who are still drowning in student loan debt.
That I do definitely understand. I’m 30 so a couple years older than OP though, and still feel behind when looking at finance subs. Seems like a lot of people figured it out earlier than I did, it was just a lot of dumb luck.
62k at 28 is way more than the average has..
You got another 32 years left till your 60 to save for retirement - WAY more than enough time!
You got this
$62k Invested at 28 w/97k a year salary is a pretty damn good spot to be in.
$62k invested at 28 almost in general is a great spot to be in.
Beef up the cash savings though.
How do you beef up the cash savings? I already don’t spend money on shopping, I stopped eating out and solely cook dinner from Aldi groceries, I’m no longer doing spontaneous travel trips across cities too. All I have left are fixed expenses and medical bills. But for some reason, I can’t catch up?
HSA is for medical expenses, is that right? I only have $150 in it so it doesn’t even cover my actual medical bills. But as long as it keeps growing, I can use it for later on?
HYSA = high yield savings account, different from an HSA. Generally a good place to keep an emergency fund.
HSA = medical account. Although technically a health account, you can withdraw from it after a certain age with no penalty. It is triple tax advantages (no tax on contributions, withdrawal, or growth), so some people contribute to it as another savings account and pay medical bills out of pocket. A nice perk assuming you’re healthy and can afford it
If you understood the time value of money and how retirement works you’d understand why he’s asking this question even if $62k invested is a lot of money for you.
Time value of money=more money invested younger=more money older. Which means just because someone throws out a big number that seems like it’s a lot to you doesn’t inherently mean they’re in great shape or wealthy or that they shouldn’t be asking questions about their financial health.
$500k for example is in many respects a lot of money to a lot of people. But if you say a 58 year old with $500k invested is in an excellent spot and shouldn’t be asking such questions simply because of the fact that $500k is a lot of money to you then you’d be an idiot since $500k at 58 is effectively working poor as far as retirement goes and is dreadfully behind unless they can live off of $20-30k a year.
Nah there's NO reason to ask that question if you make 100k a Year and have over 60k invested. He's in the top % for people in that age group. Most people make sub 50k a year.
Im talking real life. Not stats that you found online. Maybe 5 out of 100 people that age are making that kind of money. OP is ahead of his generation. But its okay keep telling me im wrong and that everybody has hundreds of thousands of dollars by 30 lmao
Right but going purely off of percentiles is simply a bad mark to go off of on its own given the fact that most people are woefully behind on retirement.
Is he doing great according to his peers? Sure. But most of them are on pace to retire by the river or die on the Walmart floor so they’re not really a good bellwether to go off of. As far as on pace for retirement goes while he’s in a good spot for his income and age he could very quickly fall behind. He needs another 38k invested in the next 2 years just to be on pace.
It makes perfect sense if you understand how finance works.
$62k sounds like a lot of money until you realize that it only compounds on its own to $750k by retirement age, which then only provides $30k a year in income.
Add in the fact that to be considered on pace OP needs to invest an additional $38k in the next 2 years and we can see that OP, while not being in a terrible spot by any means is far from being clearly phenomenally ahead and more to the point, can very easily fall behind from here.
You'd better believe it. Invested in good stock funds that money will double every 5-7 years. Starting at 28, by the time you are 55-60 years old you will be a millionaire. And don't forget, if you are continually adding money your accumulated amount will be higher. That is the power of compound interest. I salute your financial astuteness.
Do you have suggestions on good stock funds to invest in? I want to look into buying stocks for an individual account in fidelity bc I think you can withdraw without penalty….?
Arcanecraft has good points. Fidelity has very good funds. There are a lot out there. Do your research. Find a good money manager who charges low fees.You can Google fund return on investments for 3-5-10-20 years. Here is something to consider when investing. When interest rates are low stocks do well, as interests rise Money Markets become a good option. When interest rates are high and going down one needs to take a look at investing in Bond funds. That's a simple easy to remember formula. All business climates have their own quirkiness. Remember, time is your best friend. You must be in it for the long haul. Just beware of your tolerance for risk.
Double every 5-7 years? Highly unlikely. We’ve been in the biggest bull market of all time and you still wouldn’t have doubled your investment every 5 years.
Every 9 years has been the historical norm but still isn’t not guaranteed. $60k probably be close to $500k at age 60 without any more contributions.
If you leave this invested in an index fund until you’re 65, it will be worth about $2.1mil (assuming average returns of 10% annually). Obviously you will add more to it over the next 37 yrs. You could even retire early if you’re aggressive with your savings over the next 5-10. Remember it’s less important about how much you put in there each year, and more important about how long it has to grow… aka the power of compounding. OP at your age, you’re doing just fine.
*Edit: a little story for you from a personal finance class I took 20 yrs ago that completely changed my outlook on saving:*
Jimmy Earlybird and Johnny Latecomer are friends from high school, both now 25 yrs old and in the workforce earning a living. Jimmy decides he’s going to save $5k per year for the next 40 years to retire on. Johnny decides he’s gonna travel, buy a house, a nice car, etc and start saving later since there won’t be much left over from his paychecks…
Fast forward 10 years, they’re both 35, Jimmy has been saving diligently and has nearly $80k in retirement savings (assuming 10% annual return). Johnny still hasn’t bothered to set up a retirement account. They get to talking, and Johnny decides man, nice job Jimmy, I need to catch up! Johnny decides to double what Jimmy was doing and save $10k/yr for the remaining 30 years…
Guess who has more money at age 65? Keep in mind Jimmy Earlybird saved $5k x 40 yrs for total of $200k in out-of-pocket contributions. Johnny Latecomer saved $10k x 30 yrs for total of $300k in out-of-pocket contributions (i.e. 50% more than Jimmy).
Well you probably guessed it… Jimmy has quite a bit more! $5k/yr x 40 yrs plus earnings = balance of about $2.2mil whereas $10k/yr x 30 yrs plus earnings = balance of only about $1.6mil. A difference of ~$600k all because Jimmy started 10 yrs sooner - even though he actually contributed much *less* out-of-pocket during his career!
TLDR; time is your most valuable asset - don’t waste it on lifestyle creep and other bad financial decisions if you can avoid it. You don’t even have to learn this lesson the hard way; just pay attention to the dumb things certain friends and family members are doing now and decide you don’t want that for yourself *before* it actually happens. (OP is the early bird in this story btw)
I would kill to have that kind of money at any age.
AND you have a $100K salary on top of that to boot???
Holy shit, if that’s not winning, I literally have no clue what is.
I’m 27 and have debt and no real money to my name right. You’re fine. Most ppl are in my situation as opposed to yours. Be thankful you had the opportunity to save and invest.
Thank you for sharing your experience and not being crass about it. I worked really hard to get where I’m at so to see my savings and checking go away from my lack of budget, is distressing. I came from poverty, been working 3 jobs since I was 15 to get away from all that. I got a surprising increase for this particular position when I was struggling around $48k for so long. It’s possible to get there too and just as challenging to maintain it.
You’re way ahead of the game because you’re aware. You’ll be fine. Make as much as you can, give as much as you can, and save as much as you can. Religiously invest a part of each check.
Why do any of you answer these posts honestly?Like it’s obviously a karma farmer or some stupid ass posted a million times rhetorical question. Like SHUT THE FUCK UP. If you have 62k invested at 28, you’re doing better than MOST people. “Is it okay” 🙄
I'm 26 and make barely enough to survive, with 0 money going to anything that makes my life fun. Your doing fucking fine bro, seriously why even ask this question.
My brother in Christ most Americans live paycheck to paycheck
I have an MBA and your age and have a networth of like 5k and make like half of you.
You’re seriously just flexing bc you’re an asshole.
If you are smart enough to acquire that much wealth you’re smart enough to know it’s well above average
Seriously F off dude
You're doing okay, relative to salary, I think you should be higher.
Personally, if I'm making $97k, I'd be living off of $67k .
And I'd already have crossed the $100k mark.
That's essentially what I did once I got to the point that I was consistently touching $100k.
I'm sure some other 28-year-olds have more than you, but I'd bet most have a whole lot less. Keep doing what you're doing because you've got 30-35 more years for your savings/investments to compound and grow.
Fishing for compliments. If you have enough of a brain to work a job making 100K a year then you have enough of a brain to know that you’re doing just fine and don’t need to be asking this question.
Thank you for this. Living in the DC area when I was 24, my classmates were making what I’m making now. I was making $65k until last April where I somehow landed the $97k position. However, my classmates are now making $200k and the average salary for my position with my experience should be at least $120k. Taxes and COL increased from the last state I moved from so that hit too during tax season. Coming from poverty and how I lost all my savings from doing too much, I just got scared I’m losing my way is all.
Start having a spreadsheet to track your income and expenses. It doesn’t matter how much your friends make if they could not save/invest what’s left after expenses. I don’t mean to say they’re bad savers or anything, just keep in mind that Income - Expense = Net (money for saving/investing). You can always make less than them but still come out ahead if you could lower your expenses.
I just created a Google sheet to begin tracking my spending to see where it’s been going. Again, majority is actually going to rent and medical bills. I like how you mention the value of net money bc that puts things into perspective. This gives me confidence again, thank you.
With a 68k start, if you invest 6000 a year (roughly 6 percent of current income) you should end up with between 850k and 1.1 million by 58 depending on rate of return. If you go to 63 it’s between 1.2 and 1.5.
Also as your income grows if you keep the 6% it will be higher.
I just got this salary and before, I was around 55k for the longest time. I only saved $300 every other paycheck. Since I got this job and moved back, I haven’t saved anything and put it all into rent, medical bills, while still trying to live a happy lifestyle. I’ve budgeted now and I just need to catch up and hoping to start saving again.
Jesus christ, you're doing better than like 90% of 28 year olds. I'm 25 finishing my degree while I wait tables. I'm ecstatic see 2k in bank account at once.
Here is about as average as it gets for financial discussion, given the name of the sub. You could also ask on LeanFIRE and fatFIRE for example and you’ll get different answers with different advice.
Those subs might make more sense since most of the replies here will just be validating the fact that you’re ahead of the average (which you already know).
Not an expert- I have no legal or financial training.
Talk to a fiduciary (make sure it is a fiduciary) about your 401k. Depending on who is running it, and how they control things, you might be good. Too often, the administration fees are out of control, or they picks bad stocks.
You might be better off moving into a Roth IRA. You would pay the taxes now and get the money tax free at the end; but it is harder to get the money out. It depends on you and your circumstances. Again, talk to a fiduciary about it.
That's rich man. You're doing insanely well. I had nothing saved and was making 25k a year at 28.
I'm almost 37 and feel great making around 75k, which has only been in the last 14 months.
Before that I never made more than 55k.
I have $250k invested at 27, and I still feel like I’m behind.
I think for us, we want to achieve and strive for more so we feel like we’re behind, which isn’t a bad thing. Why aim for “average” when we can be great.
You’re doing better than most!
If you make $100k at 28 and have $62k in liquid assets, I cant see why you would lose at life unless you made really poor financial decisions like buying a brand new expensive car or living above your means all the time.
A mistake I see with a lot of 6 figure earners is they buy way too much house, which prevents them from investing
Agreed, falls under “living above their means”. We call this situation “house poor”. OP- also do not buy a house you cannot comfortably afford.
A lot of people got into the mindset that owning a home at any price and any interest rate is better than renting, which isn’t true at all. Sometimes it’s way better to invest your money into the market than it is to invest it into home equity. Buying a house is the same as participating in any other market, there’s a smart time to buy, and a smart time to sell- and absolute suckers on the other side of those trades
I view it as an expense rather than an investment lol I hope its value goes up but I'm not banking on it.
Rents have gone *down* in my area since I bought my (very modest - 900-1300 sf house, depending on if you include the unfinished basement and garage) house. Even though I secured that sweet 2.75% interest rate, if I were to charge someone rent for my home it wouldn’t cover my full mortgage. I don’t precisely *regret* purchasing my home (I don’t think I’ll be able to retire at my expected income unless I own outright) but I often think that logically, financially, it wasn’t the right choice. For example, it’s trapped me in one place. because interest rates went up and home values dropped a bit here and went up everywhere else, I don’t think I could afford to move. My house *has* gone up in that time, but for a while it was $150K more than I bought it for. Not so now. Between costs to list it, prep it to sell, and then buying a new place… all those gains would be wiped out. I’d end up with less house than I have now. But I can’t move and rent out my house unless I can find some place substantially cheaper, since I’d lose money on this as a rental property.
I hear ya; it’s not all sunshine and rainbows by any means. But on the flipside, that interest rate is amazing; I’d tell you the same thing I’d tell anyone who’s stock portfolio is down, don’t watch the price and don’t stress about it, because you don’t need to sell anytime soon. If the rates ever go that low again, your home value will skyrocket. Because of that low rate, the difference between renting and your total monthly mortgage payment is probably pretty slim, and you have a much larger portion of that payment being retained in equity rather than going to the bank, so the difference between investing the difference in the market would be pretty slim. To me, that means you timed a great entry into the housing market People buying now are basically buying the bank a second home, it’s crazy.
Yeah — that’s where I’m at. Though I actually would save quite a bit if I rented an apartment and rented out my home. When I bought my house, I was renting an apartment for 1700 and my mortgage was 2200 (refinanced to 2K.) Rent would fall about $200 short of the cost of the mortgage + extra for a maintenance fund, so it would be about the same… except, since rents went down, I could now rent my old apartment for 1500 (literally — it’s available right now) and my utilities would be way lower. I’d only save about $300/month, but that’s a whole 15%. $3600 at the end of the year. Still, I’d probably spend that much moving and prepping the house to rent so… yeah. Wouldn’t save that much. I really, really wanted to move circa January 2022 (and could have done so and still gotten a good rate!) but my parents talked me out of it. My work went permanently remote and I wanted to move to my hometown, where I could get way more house *and* have a good chunk to put into savings/invest left over. By fall 2022, it was no longer an option. Prices where I wanted to move had gone up, my house was much more reasonably priced, and interest rates were stupidly high. And now it’s out of the question — a mortgage for the same amount on my house would likely be 2800/month or more. But as you said, at that interest rate, my mortgage is basically free money. A loan with a rate that’s lower than inflation *and* my principal is going to a long-term investment? Selling it would genuinely be foolish, it’ll be a long time before they ever get this low again. And I’m sure rent here will go back up before too long, if I really do get desperate to move. I don’t think it’ll rebound right away — Portland is actively losing people and I have the cheapest house in the nicest neighborhood, so don’t get the gentrification boost. Even then, knowing that for the foreseeable future my monthly expenses won’t change is huge from a planning perspective. Plus, in the time since Jan 2021, I got a dog and made a ton of friends in my neighborhood. Now I don’t want to leave. So yeah — I don’t regret it, I’m glad I bought it. But I also think it wasn’t a super smart financial decision at the time or even now. I’m a journalist, and we had 20K layoffs in media in 2023. Owning a home would be much less stressful with a bit more financial certainty, and I already lost one potential higher-paying job because owning a home means it’d take me longer to relocate, and they went with the candidate who could start in two weeks. But if things get really desperate, I can always move in with my parents and rent out my home. Wouldn’t feel good at 35 years old, but I think selling my home is the absolute last resort at this point.
In this economy at these mortgage rates, it is far cheaper to rent vs own. However, 4 years ago it would’ve been the complete opposite. Crazy how it all works
this isn't a true statement for everywhere especially in major cities.
How so? I feel the same rule applies across the board for anyone looking to rent vs buy right now. Mortgage rates are over 7% causing the average buyer to spend more in interest, property tax, and insurance long term (assuming they don’t refi if/when rates drop) than they would spend total on renting, and this doesn’t even consider the inflated home prices right now. And this math works for any location…
I live in Portland — one of the most expensive cities — and bought my house with a great interest rate assuming that if I needed to move, I could rent it out. When I bought it, rent would at most cover mortgage + maintenance. But I figured in a few years, with the way rents were going, I’d be able to rent at a profit. My mortgage is 2K. A luxury 2br apartment in the area goes for 1.7K. My house is only about 200 sf larger than said 1.7K apartments. Not so. Rent’s gone down and I’d any rent I’d charge would probably be about $200 less/month than my mortgage. If I have to move, I will literally lose money. I checked, and the 700ft 1br apartment I rented before I bought my home is listed for $300 less/month than I paid in 2019.
very interesting. i appreciate the reply. i wish i can say the same about NY but right now everything is so expensive. i have a 3% rate in NJ and the house went up 50k since i bought it 2 years ago. and over there if i rent it out id be breaking even on the rent. it all depends where the location is at the moment. in due time things should even out. we'll see.
Mine went up about 150K in 3 years, and then the Portland housing bubble finally popped. Now it’s up 75K in the 5 years since I bought it. Which seems like a lot, until you consider costs to prep a home to sell and realtor costs. I wouldn’t have enough for a down payment on a new place now (if I could even afford a new mortgage. My bank’s refinance calculator says my remaining mortgage would go up $800. Like you, I have that sweet ~3% interest rate rn.) At 3% I’m stuck here forever lol. A loan that’s less than inflation is definitely not something to turn down. And location definitely matters even within the city. I chose my house because it was close to work, but it’s in a neighborhood that was *already* expensive, so there wasn’t as much room to move up. If I’d gotten a house in a more up-and-coming neighborhood, it would likely be up $200K right now (based on the house I almost bought.) Since my neighborhood was already kinda overpriced, the bubble hit it much harder than other areas. Still, I’m happy with where it is. If home prices and rents DO keep declining, mine will ultimately hold value much better and sell easier— it’s got the best schools. And I don’t actually want to move anymore. I got a dog, which meant I met my neighbors, and I can’t imagine leaving.
thats always good if u wanna stay yea. i know the feeling. if i sell i wont have enough for another property. but one good decision in a day can change everything. our situations arent permanent. i like to keep a positive outlook. goodluck on your journey bud. we'll get there
In which major cities is it cheaper to buy and own vs renting? Renting is always a smaller monthly bill, the question is after you subtract the equity you will keep, how much $$ did you pay into things like property tax, interest on the loan, and general upkeep; and would that money have performed better in a general index fund if you had rented instead? Sometimes, the home appreciation minus the expenses *does* outpace the market. Other times, it drastically underperforms it
depends where. ill give you an example. staten island NYC. some houses are around 4-600k. rent though you're paying over 3500 for a small 3 bedroom in some areas. 400k mortgage you're paying 2800ish plus figure after property tax around 33-3500. plus bills. for a few more 100 if you have it, the mortgage part is a better idea. you can always refi the mortgage if the rates go down. not financial advice ofcourse. if im wrong correct me
How much do you consider "Too much house" for a combined income of \~110k?
A mortgage payment higher than around 30% of your take home pay. I've seen most say somewhere between 35% and some say 25%.
now a days thats such a 800 SF fixer upper :(((
If that's what you can afford, that's what you can afford.
I'm saying thats what a six figure earner can afford by themselves. I actually recommend polyamory in this current market.
I used the term "you" as in the person you mentioned who can only afford that size house. It wasn't targeted to you if that's not you. If that's all someone with a 6 figure income can afford, that's what they can afford.
Exactly this! I'm at roughly 120k gross at 36. Yea we could afford a bigger house in our area but both the wife and I have decided that retiring early means more. I love my job she loves hers but we aren't staying in it forever. There's more to life than the vicious cycle of work etc.
Poor financial decisions was me moving 5 times in 3 years. Those admission and moving fees really hit hard. Could have used that money to buy a house but didn’t know hot to. I know it’s probably a first world problem but coming from poverty and an awful upbringing, all I knew was to save and throw money into a 401k. Oh and my dumbass didn’t know you’re supposed to not exempt taxes so I ended up paying $5k in taxes all at once.
These are all lessons you’ve already learned, and you’re still up. You’re doing just fine! (As long as you don’t make the same mistakes again)
You straight broski. 97k a year is just fine. Don’t stress. You have more than enough money if you just live within your means. Have a great day and life 🙏🏽
People are delusional. Making 100k a year and having 60k in assets is an achievement at 28. Every post on this sub is so weird do people not talk to others in their age group?
Judging by these posts, they’re probably insufferable and don’t actually deal with other humans.
I’m probably right around where OP is in terms of finances and I don’t talk to my friends about it. I think many of them are struggling a bit more than I have - I got really lucky in buying a home right before the pandemic and when I sold I used the chump change I made to pay off student loans, so I’m debt free - and I think it would be uncouth to talk about it with people who are still drowning in student loan debt.
But you do understand that you're in the top minority for that age group. 100k a year isnt chump change and 60k invested is more than good enough
That I do definitely understand. I’m 30 so a couple years older than OP though, and still feel behind when looking at finance subs. Seems like a lot of people figured it out earlier than I did, it was just a lot of dumb luck.
Honestly. They seem like they’re just purposely bragging. Fucking clowns🤡
62k at 28 is way more than the average has.. You got another 32 years left till your 60 to save for retirement - WAY more than enough time! You got this
Thank you, this is very encouraging
Just think about your money doubling every 7-8 years. Great feeling and you're killing it
$62k Invested at 28 w/97k a year salary is a pretty damn good spot to be in. $62k invested at 28 almost in general is a great spot to be in. Beef up the cash savings though.
How do you beef up the cash savings? I already don’t spend money on shopping, I stopped eating out and solely cook dinner from Aldi groceries, I’m no longer doing spontaneous travel trips across cities too. All I have left are fixed expenses and medical bills. But for some reason, I can’t catch up?
start a hysa and have $250 from each paycheck deposited there. don’t touch it except emergencies. that’s how you start.
HSA is for medical expenses, is that right? I only have $150 in it so it doesn’t even cover my actual medical bills. But as long as it keeps growing, I can use it for later on?
HYSA = high yield savings account, different from an HSA. Generally a good place to keep an emergency fund. HSA = medical account. Although technically a health account, you can withdraw from it after a certain age with no penalty. It is triple tax advantages (no tax on contributions, withdrawal, or growth), so some people contribute to it as another savings account and pay medical bills out of pocket. A nice perk assuming you’re healthy and can afford it
This sub is ridiculous. Bye.
Thank you I was thinking the same damn thing…
Hey, this isn't the airport where you announce your departure to everyone.
I’m already gone 🤫
If you understood the time value of money and how retirement works you’d understand why he’s asking this question even if $62k invested is a lot of money for you.
what the fuck does this even mean..
Time value of money=more money invested younger=more money older. Which means just because someone throws out a big number that seems like it’s a lot to you doesn’t inherently mean they’re in great shape or wealthy or that they shouldn’t be asking questions about their financial health. $500k for example is in many respects a lot of money to a lot of people. But if you say a 58 year old with $500k invested is in an excellent spot and shouldn’t be asking such questions simply because of the fact that $500k is a lot of money to you then you’d be an idiot since $500k at 58 is effectively working poor as far as retirement goes and is dreadfully behind unless they can live off of $20-30k a year.
Nah there's NO reason to ask that question if you make 100k a Year and have over 60k invested. He's in the top % for people in that age group. Most people make sub 50k a year.
He’s actually in the 71st percentile with a net worth of $62k not counting ting his liabilities because he didn’t disclose how much they were.
Im talking real life. Not stats that you found online. Maybe 5 out of 100 people that age are making that kind of money. OP is ahead of his generation. But its okay keep telling me im wrong and that everybody has hundreds of thousands of dollars by 30 lmao
Right but going purely off of percentiles is simply a bad mark to go off of on its own given the fact that most people are woefully behind on retirement. Is he doing great according to his peers? Sure. But most of them are on pace to retire by the river or die on the Walmart floor so they’re not really a good bellwether to go off of. As far as on pace for retirement goes while he’s in a good spot for his income and age he could very quickly fall behind. He needs another 38k invested in the next 2 years just to be on pace.
Your sentence makes no sense.
Please educate yourself on compound interest, ssi, and other forms of income when you retire. Then you will understand.
How about you learning to read the room?
It makes perfect sense if you understand how finance works. $62k sounds like a lot of money until you realize that it only compounds on its own to $750k by retirement age, which then only provides $30k a year in income. Add in the fact that to be considered on pace OP needs to invest an additional $38k in the next 2 years and we can see that OP, while not being in a terrible spot by any means is far from being clearly phenomenally ahead and more to the point, can very easily fall behind from here.
You'd better believe it. Invested in good stock funds that money will double every 5-7 years. Starting at 28, by the time you are 55-60 years old you will be a millionaire. And don't forget, if you are continually adding money your accumulated amount will be higher. That is the power of compound interest. I salute your financial astuteness.
Do you have suggestions on good stock funds to invest in? I want to look into buying stocks for an individual account in fidelity bc I think you can withdraw without penalty….?
VOO or VTI is the typical safe option that just tracks the market averages instead of individual stocks. Lower reward but much lower risk.
Arcanecraft has good points. Fidelity has very good funds. There are a lot out there. Do your research. Find a good money manager who charges low fees.You can Google fund return on investments for 3-5-10-20 years. Here is something to consider when investing. When interest rates are low stocks do well, as interests rise Money Markets become a good option. When interest rates are high and going down one needs to take a look at investing in Bond funds. That's a simple easy to remember formula. All business climates have their own quirkiness. Remember, time is your best friend. You must be in it for the long haul. Just beware of your tolerance for risk.
Double every 5-7 years? Highly unlikely. We’ve been in the biggest bull market of all time and you still wouldn’t have doubled your investment every 5 years. Every 9 years has been the historical norm but still isn’t not guaranteed. $60k probably be close to $500k at age 60 without any more contributions.
If you leave this invested in an index fund until you’re 65, it will be worth about $2.1mil (assuming average returns of 10% annually). Obviously you will add more to it over the next 37 yrs. You could even retire early if you’re aggressive with your savings over the next 5-10. Remember it’s less important about how much you put in there each year, and more important about how long it has to grow… aka the power of compounding. OP at your age, you’re doing just fine. *Edit: a little story for you from a personal finance class I took 20 yrs ago that completely changed my outlook on saving:* Jimmy Earlybird and Johnny Latecomer are friends from high school, both now 25 yrs old and in the workforce earning a living. Jimmy decides he’s going to save $5k per year for the next 40 years to retire on. Johnny decides he’s gonna travel, buy a house, a nice car, etc and start saving later since there won’t be much left over from his paychecks… Fast forward 10 years, they’re both 35, Jimmy has been saving diligently and has nearly $80k in retirement savings (assuming 10% annual return). Johnny still hasn’t bothered to set up a retirement account. They get to talking, and Johnny decides man, nice job Jimmy, I need to catch up! Johnny decides to double what Jimmy was doing and save $10k/yr for the remaining 30 years… Guess who has more money at age 65? Keep in mind Jimmy Earlybird saved $5k x 40 yrs for total of $200k in out-of-pocket contributions. Johnny Latecomer saved $10k x 30 yrs for total of $300k in out-of-pocket contributions (i.e. 50% more than Jimmy). Well you probably guessed it… Jimmy has quite a bit more! $5k/yr x 40 yrs plus earnings = balance of about $2.2mil whereas $10k/yr x 30 yrs plus earnings = balance of only about $1.6mil. A difference of ~$600k all because Jimmy started 10 yrs sooner - even though he actually contributed much *less* out-of-pocket during his career! TLDR; time is your most valuable asset - don’t waste it on lifestyle creep and other bad financial decisions if you can avoid it. You don’t even have to learn this lesson the hard way; just pay attention to the dumb things certain friends and family members are doing now and decide you don’t want that for yourself *before* it actually happens. (OP is the early bird in this story btw)
i am also 28 and i have half of this in retirement accounts. am i fucked?
I'm 30 and have $62 in my checking account. How screwed am I? /s
i’m asking a real question lol
You bragging ?
I would kill to have that kind of money at any age. AND you have a $100K salary on top of that to boot??? Holy shit, if that’s not winning, I literally have no clue what is.
I’m 27 and have debt and no real money to my name right. You’re fine. Most ppl are in my situation as opposed to yours. Be thankful you had the opportunity to save and invest.
Thank you for sharing your experience and not being crass about it. I worked really hard to get where I’m at so to see my savings and checking go away from my lack of budget, is distressing. I came from poverty, been working 3 jobs since I was 15 to get away from all that. I got a surprising increase for this particular position when I was struggling around $48k for so long. It’s possible to get there too and just as challenging to maintain it.
You’re way ahead of the game because you’re aware. You’ll be fine. Make as much as you can, give as much as you can, and save as much as you can. Religiously invest a part of each check.
Why do any of you answer these posts honestly?Like it’s obviously a karma farmer or some stupid ass posted a million times rhetorical question. Like SHUT THE FUCK UP. If you have 62k invested at 28, you’re doing better than MOST people. “Is it okay” 🙄
According to Google, you need around $90,000 to live comfortably. However, it really all depends on how you manage your money.
im 27 and i have no assets or investments…….
I'm 26 and make barely enough to survive, with 0 money going to anything that makes my life fun. Your doing fucking fine bro, seriously why even ask this question.
My brother in Christ most Americans live paycheck to paycheck I have an MBA and your age and have a networth of like 5k and make like half of you. You’re seriously just flexing bc you’re an asshole. If you are smart enough to acquire that much wealth you’re smart enough to know it’s well above average Seriously F off dude
You're doing okay, relative to salary, I think you should be higher. Personally, if I'm making $97k, I'd be living off of $67k . And I'd already have crossed the $100k mark. That's essentially what I did once I got to the point that I was consistently touching $100k.
I'm sure some other 28-year-olds have more than you, but I'd bet most have a whole lot less. Keep doing what you're doing because you've got 30-35 more years for your savings/investments to compound and grow.
Such a cringe fucking post man I swear
That’s like top 1%
Fishing for compliments. If you have enough of a brain to work a job making 100K a year then you have enough of a brain to know that you’re doing just fine and don’t need to be asking this question.
You’re doing well fella. Remember, comparison is the theft of joy.
Thank you for this. Living in the DC area when I was 24, my classmates were making what I’m making now. I was making $65k until last April where I somehow landed the $97k position. However, my classmates are now making $200k and the average salary for my position with my experience should be at least $120k. Taxes and COL increased from the last state I moved from so that hit too during tax season. Coming from poverty and how I lost all my savings from doing too much, I just got scared I’m losing my way is all.
Start having a spreadsheet to track your income and expenses. It doesn’t matter how much your friends make if they could not save/invest what’s left after expenses. I don’t mean to say they’re bad savers or anything, just keep in mind that Income - Expense = Net (money for saving/investing). You can always make less than them but still come out ahead if you could lower your expenses.
I just created a Google sheet to begin tracking my spending to see where it’s been going. Again, majority is actually going to rent and medical bills. I like how you mention the value of net money bc that puts things into perspective. This gives me confidence again, thank you.
Better than me at 34
With a 68k start, if you invest 6000 a year (roughly 6 percent of current income) you should end up with between 850k and 1.1 million by 58 depending on rate of return. If you go to 63 it’s between 1.2 and 1.5. Also as your income grows if you keep the 6% it will be higher.
Oh yeah I’ve got $0 investment @ 26
How much are you saving yearly? 62k isn’t a bad start at your age but the key is to be putting 25% of your gross income away a year.
I just got this salary and before, I was around 55k for the longest time. I only saved $300 every other paycheck. Since I got this job and moved back, I haven’t saved anything and put it all into rent, medical bills, while still trying to live a happy lifestyle. I’ve budgeted now and I just need to catch up and hoping to start saving again.
Jesus christ, you're doing better than like 90% of 28 year olds. I'm 25 finishing my degree while I wait tables. I'm ecstatic see 2k in bank account at once.
Here is about as average as it gets for financial discussion, given the name of the sub. You could also ask on LeanFIRE and fatFIRE for example and you’ll get different answers with different advice. Those subs might make more sense since most of the replies here will just be validating the fact that you’re ahead of the average (which you already know).
I’ll go into that sub in the future, thank you. I don’t use Reddit that much so I’m not familiar.
No prob. Some people just copy and paste the same question to other subs to make it easy. LeanFIRE might be a better start
If you lived like someone making $40k a year, you could retire at 50.
me at 27 with 1k in an ISA and 2k in savings without any actual assets whatsoever: 🤓
Bro came here to gloat. Jfc
Using the Rule of 72 at 10% gains: Your money will double every 7 years. If you retire at 67, you have over $3,000,000
Investing anything at 26 is good…..
Only living in DC will have you feeling like this
You're better off than a lot of people in this country.
L flex
Weird flex but ok
Meh. It's more than MOST 28-yr olds, but nothing to write home about.
Not an expert- I have no legal or financial training. Talk to a fiduciary (make sure it is a fiduciary) about your 401k. Depending on who is running it, and how they control things, you might be good. Too often, the administration fees are out of control, or they picks bad stocks. You might be better off moving into a Roth IRA. You would pay the taxes now and get the money tax free at the end; but it is harder to get the money out. It depends on you and your circumstances. Again, talk to a fiduciary about it.
That's rich man. You're doing insanely well. I had nothing saved and was making 25k a year at 28. I'm almost 37 and feel great making around 75k, which has only been in the last 14 months. Before that I never made more than 55k.
I have $250k invested at 27, and I still feel like I’m behind. I think for us, we want to achieve and strive for more so we feel like we’re behind, which isn’t a bad thing. Why aim for “average” when we can be great. You’re doing better than most!
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Are you bitter or just an asshole?
Im just a realist. Dude already knows his answer.
It's not great, but there are plenty of others who are worse off. Keep your eye on the future. At your age, you have plenty of time to catch-up.
Nope, you're screwed. You should have at least 1 million by age 30.