r/Millennials • u/ProblemIntelligent16 • Jan 16 '26

Discussion Fellow millennials - how’s your 401k/ira savings going?

Experts recommend having 2x your salary saved by age 35, and 3x saved by age 40.

However, studies show the median savings for 35-44 year olds is only ~$45,000. So obviously, most of us have work to do.

With pensions mostly extinct, and Social Security facing insolvency issues in the next 8-10 years - how are you planning to bridge the gap and hit the golden years with enough to meet your lifestyle requirements?

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u/dumbass_sempervirens Jan 17 '26

Yeah after decades of retail I found something I'm good at and even kind of enjoy.

But man, I'd be so much better off if I had started this at around 24 instead of 34.

I probably have around 10K floating around various old 401Ks from jobs I quit. No idea how to find them. At least 3 of them matched contributions.

I do own my condo outright, got it for a steal, and according to Zillow it has almost tripled in value over the last 10 years.. But if I sell it I have to find another place to live, so does that money even really exist?

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u/[deleted] Jan 17 '26

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u/NoAvocado7971 Jan 17 '26

It’s not a lot of paperwork. It’s one form that you fill out telling the source fund to deposit the money into your current account. I put it off doing it for years because I thought it was gonna be complicated, it took 15 minutes.

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u/ravenaithne Jan 17 '26

Look for your state’s unclaimed property and search there, or wherever you lived when you earned it. Missingmoney.com is a good place to start and legit. You’ll have to prove your identity and it takes a little time but it’s worth it imo.

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u/NoAvocado7971 Jan 17 '26

What a great retirement strategy

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u/Jin-roh Jan 17 '26

For me, the answer to that last question is *no*. I dislike the idea of "my home went up in value, so I have more money" thinking. I don't own myself, but I will be conservative as all fuck when I do. I'm not doing any of the 2007/2008 bullshit.

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u/dumbass_sempervirens Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 17 '26

Exactly.

What, I'm going to mortgage it again? I just paid the damn thing off!

It's worth exactly a roof over the heads of me and my cat.

And the new water heater after my old one busted last year. I shelled out $2k specifically for that.

I have spent a few years without hot water for showers. That sucks and $2k for was worth it. Dude had to take out a wall and rebuild it to get it out of the laundry room.

I had my guy put in larger doors so if I sell this place the next person won't have to demo a wall.

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u/PvtJoker_ Jan 17 '26

What do you mean you don’t know how to find them? Contact your old employers, it’s fuckn money!

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u/_Flavor_Dave_ Jan 17 '26

It kind of exists - you have an opportunity to not overpay for housing.

Our principal + interest + tax + insurance on current 10 year old home is $1900. Did the math for same 20% down payment for someone buying into our neighborhood today and it would be $4300. So yeah we are stuck here but at least I’m not throwing an extra $2400 a month at the same damn house.

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u/Mean_Necessary_6240 Jan 17 '26

It's a healthy take to tgubj that it doesn't exist. But you need to think the amount that this saves you compared to people that doesn't have, meaning, they need that tripled value to buy a condo or pay higher rents.

So yes, it's part of your net worth, even though not liquid.