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To be honest, there is no one size fits all number, since it depends on personal circumstances. I am 34 (about the same age as the OP) and I have about $155,000 in my 401K, about $65,000 in a rollover IRA (from a previous job's 401K), and about $70,000 in a Roth IRA, plus I have an ESOP (not sure offhand how much I have there). One may think I'm in the 90th percentile for my age, based on posts here. The truth is, I can currently save a lot of money, despite my low income (by LI standards), since my wife and I have no children yet, and we live very inexpensively, and we both lived with our parents until we were married. But once we have kids and a single family house, it will no longer be possible to live as inexpensively as we currently do, so I won't be able to contribute much, if at all, to my 401K. So my balance isn't as high as it might seem.
It really is a waste of time just for the reasons i mention above.
I agree. This thread isnt helpful or going to assist OP with any info. 401K balances are just one small part of retirement - as people now have diverse accounts spread through IRA, CD's, savings accounts, etc.
Plus, people get married, divorced, deal with investments, buy homes w/ 401K withdrawals, so the picture can change at any time. I didn't start saving any money in my employer's 401K until I was almost 32 years old, and my balance in that account is pretty low compared to say, my secretary who is 55 and has been working at my firm for the past 30 years...but the difference is that my salary is at least double what she's earning so can contribute almost 50% so by the time I am 55, I could easily have 3x what she has even though I didn't start saving until much later.
From what I've been reading, all the finance experts like to wax poetic about how time is the major ingredient to a fat nest egg - to start as early as possible, and to consistently put in as much as possible as your earning potential increases, yada yada yada. While I agree with most of this, I can't help butr think that our economy is changing because more older workers are being downsized/laid off due to advances in technology, and the only jobs available for these people in their 40s/50s/60s who should be benefitting from compound interest, will barely have anything to retire with on the Mcjobs they would get now. (not to mention the disappearances of pensions and 401K accounts from private industry, gone are the days when a person could expect to work 30+ years and retire with great pension/benefits by age 65).
another point is it really does not matter what your balance is early in the game. for most they have so little relative to much later in the game that gains and losses don't really make a major change untill much later in life.
how you are as an investor ,your allocations and stomach for risk will mean more than your balance early on. a better investor can hit a home run by retirement age starting from a smaller balance,.
i started out in 1987 , we had the greatest stock market run up ever . 17 straight years that averaged almost 14%. but being i was just starting out and had little saved and committed at this point it kind of lost its punch for me.
today we are at a point where the market moves in one day can be 5 digits for us.
The truth is, I can currently save a lot of money, despite my low income (by LI standards), since my wife and I have no children yet, and we live very inexpensively, and we both lived with our parents until we were married. But once we have kids and a single family house, it will no longer be possible to live as inexpensively as we currently do, so I won't be able to contribute much, if at all, to my 401K. So my balance isn't as high as it might seem.
yeah once our twins came and we were paying for pre-school (not an expensive one either), it was as much as a mortgage every month. Thankfully they're in the public schools now. Next... college.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mathjak107
how you are as an investor ,your allocations and stomach for risk will mean more than your balance early on. a better investor can hit a home run by retirement age starting from a smaller balance,.
How do you become a wiser investor? Do you watch MSNBC all day and read the papers to follow trends and you'll do ok? I don't think everyone can feasibly invest in real estate especially when younger.
how? by learning just enough to be able to evaluate who the smarter people are.
in my case i found a newsletter to guide me.
i have used them for more than 25 years. i use fidelity insight,they put together well balanced portfolios of plain ole fidelity funds. once a week you get an e-mail if there are any changes.
UP 1400% since i started in 1987.
it is not that their fund picks are so good , in fact they are not that great. but it gives you the discipline to stay put when we go to hell in a handbag some times and that is key.
i can put portfolios together in my sleep but i still use the newsletter to protect me from myself and my human reactions of trying to outsmart the markets or by trying to guess what to do next.
there are loads of methods out there that are simple.
things like the permanent portfolio.
25% each in an index fund, long term bond fund , gold and cash. rebalance once a yeaR.
THAT SIMPLE MIX HAS AVERAGED 9% A YEAR FOR 35 YEARS.
the problem is most who invest just fling money into things. they copy other ill-informed people or they just have no plan or strategy.
they do the wrong thing, they run and bail when they should buy or they stop investing when things are down
according to morningstar and ibbotson data the small investor sees about 1/3 the gains the funds get that they are in.
they are always trying to time things or panic.
Last edited by mathjak107; 12-06-2013 at 02:37 AM..
Thank you Arsenal. My question was rather simple as I was just curious for this specific account. I'm actually in the "business" and was just curious on the balance of others as opposed for insight on myself.
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