I’m about to turn 30 and am curious- how much did you make at 30yrs old, and how much was in your 401k?

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At 30, I was making ~$80-95k / yr as a Sr Strategist (3-4 yrs into the biz) in the Midwest and probably only had $20-30k between a 401k, IRA, and a Roth IRA. Guesstimating because it’s been 20+ years. Also, keep that in mind for comparison.

That said, I cannot stress this enough… get comfortable with maxing out your contributions to 401ks and Roth IRA. EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR.

Be ruthless with getting use to living on less early on, so you can have a lot more later on.

I haven’t been part of a big agency or in a position to invest in either for years now after “aging out” of FTE roles. But because I contributed the max for my first 15 years in the business, compounding returns, and increases in the stock market, I have over $1M now.

Not enough to retire comfortably YET, but is at least a solid foundation to help me get by. And I still have another 10+ years to work.

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👏👏👏

Comparison is the thief of joy

likesmart

Not comparing. Nobody has ever spoken to me about it, so trying to understand

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Recent IconRecent

I’m about to turn 36

At 30 I think I had:
80k salary
10 or 20k in savings
7k in 401k
A new home/ mortgage

I was waiting tables at 27 with like 5k to my name with no 401k

At 36 I have
130k salary
$45k in savings
$167k 401k
Still have the same home at 2.6% interest

How am I doing?

Will be 30 in November
$140K
$1.98mil in savings/investments
$40k in 401k

Medical malpractice lawsuit

At 30 I made $90k, and had about $65k investments, no 401k. I just turned 34, make $155k, have $200k in investments and $50k in a 401k.

At 30
$80k salary
can’t remember exactly but i think i had around $60k in my 401k (didn’t even know what a Roth IRA was at the time)

At 35
$140k salary
$180k in my 401k
$75k between my Roth IRA / brokerage accounts

30 in 2018. Jumped from making $80K in-house to $115K in consulting. $50K in retirement plus liquidated a $7K pension earned working abroad.

2025: Earning $195K. Haven’t gotten a pay increase since 2022, but trying to leave ASAP. $225K in 401K, $70K in ESPP, $80K in IRA.

I'm 30 now, 48k and about 12k in retirement savings. 3 early career layoffs within a few a months of starting somewhere really kneecapped me professionally. Now working on my MBA to try and get a leg back up.

I retired at 40

$85k. And only like $20k in my RRSPs (Canadian). But I had just finally paid off my student debt and figured out how to live within my means and start saving. Career switched a couple times in my 20's. 6 years later and I'm over $200k in savings.

Oh reading these comments makes me want to cry lol. I'm around 30 and I'm making $30k/yr as a freelance illustrator. Talent and merit don’t matter as much as being in the right industry.

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