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I'll give you my middle-class situation. I graduated and made 38k out of college. My wife made about 35k.
My dad got kicked out of college so he always told his children he would pay for their public undergrad education so long as they didn't screw up. So he paid for my college. I also bought a used car for about $5,000 with cash I had saved from working in college. When my grandma died she left the grandkids each about $10,000 so I used that as part of a down payment on my house. I went to grad school while I was working full-time so I paid tuition with cash each semester as I got the bills.
My wife's dad never graduated from school and so he told his children he would also pay for their undergrad if they went to the same school he went to. Two of his kids did not graduate from there but my wife did so she doesn't have any undergrad loans.
Were we lucky? Of course, but it also helps that when we did get a little cash we used it for bettering our long-term situations rather than buying a nicer car or some toys. Even making "not much" when we graduated we don't have any children and live in a low COL area so our mortgage is only about $900/month for 15 years. I started saving in a Roth the day I got my first job and put about $100/week into other long-term savings. It just takes time to build up. It does help our undergrad was paid for when I hear people complaining they have $20,000 in student loans it confuses me because that's the equivalent of a very nice used car. Education is much better than a nice used car.
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Originally Posted by charolastra00
It also helps that you're married. COL is much cheaper for a married couple than those who are single - even single living with roommates.
Right, so in conclusion you:
1.) Are married and are living on a dual income and shared expenses.
2.) Graduated debt free due to parents.
3.) Received a $10,000 (might as well be a million dollars for a broke college kid) inheritance that you used as down payment on a house.
My point is that it is next to impossible for someone to accumulate that much money that quickly without help. Unless you graduated with an engineering, computer science, accounting, or other useful degree, you are considered lucky to be able to earn $30,000- $35,000 a year right out of college and are likely to be in $27,000 worth of debt. Good luck saving $100,000+ in 5 to 10 years with that.
The people that are 25-28 and have over $100k in savings must have graduated with no debt, found high paying jobs immediately, and/or received some type of inheritance, hit the lottery, or got lucky with stocks.
Most 25-28 years old I know are drowning in their student loans, have jobs that pay $10-$20 a hour, and $5,000 in combined 401k, IRA, and savings if they are lucky.
Don't forget about the ones who skip college, are lucky to land a moderate paying job thru chance or relatives, and are very frugal in life. Plus there are young people who started work back in high school and are good savers who leave home later in life enabling them to save more. This was not me but there are young people who did accumulate 100K by 28. It's doable.
The people that are 25-28 and have over $100k in savings must have graduated with no debt, found high paying jobs immediately, and/or received some type of inheritance, hit the lottery, or got lucky with stocks.
Most 25-28 years old I know are drowning in their student loans, have jobs that pay $10-$20 a hour, and $5,000 in combined 401k, IRA, and savings if they are lucky.
I agree. I don't think I know anybody in this age range who doesn't have a lot of student loan debt/ other debt accumulated in school and a high paying job. 100k saved is a huge amount in this age group.
I agree. I don't think I know anybody in this age range who doesn't have a lot of student loan debt/ other debt accumulated in school and a high paying job. 100k saved is a huge amount in this age group.
I don't think it's that out of bounds. There is some luck, but there are ways to atleast not have SL debt at that age.
Cheap state school for UG and a fully funded PhD program got me out with no SLs.
Same here. (I only went through master's level). And a lot of you are forgetting there's a little thing called the G.I. Bill. There are ways of obtaining an education without incurring massive debt.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mizzourah2006
I don't think it's that out of bounds. There is some luck, but there are ways to atleast not have SL debt at that age.
Cheap state school for UG and a fully funded PhD program got me out with no SLs.
The people that are 25-28 and have over $100k in savings must have graduated with no debt, found high paying jobs immediately, and/or received some type of inheritance, hit the lottery, or got lucky with stocks.
Most 25-28 years old I know are drowning in their student loans, have jobs that pay $10-$20 a hour, and $5,000 in combined 401k, IRA, and savings if they are lucky.
My wife and I (29 and 26) are DINKS which helps a TON. For me personally, I graduated with a decent amount of student loan debt but a high-paying job, so I paid off all of my remaining student loans within 5 years. My wife had 0 student loans (nearly an academic full ride plus some extra scholarships and worked as an RA etc.) coming out of college. We both take advantage of being DINKS, live below our means, and having no student loans we max our 401k and Roth IRA every year (plus some additional in traditional taxable investment accounts).
That has left us with >$300k toward retirement so far (combined). No inheritance, lottery, or luck other than having the opportunity for a good education growing up. My parents were very focused on my education and wanted my sister and I to be the first people in their families to get a traditional 4 year degree (my parents both went later in life) and I can't thank them enough for pushing/encouraging me growing up. So if I was lucky in anything, it was having great parents!
I agree. I don't think I know anybody in this age range who doesn't have a lot of student loan debt/ other debt accumulated in school and a high paying job. 100k saved is a huge amount in this age group.
This is exactly what I mean. I do know people that have $100k and even many times more at 25-30, but they did NOT earn it. It is money strategically given to them through trust funds.
There is probably a VERY small minority of people that manage to accumulate $100K in cash or cash equivalents by the time they are 25-30 if they had to pay for everything on their own. The cost of living is simply too high and even decent paying jobs are few and far in between, let alone high paying jobs.
A much more realistic and typical scenario for a 25-30 year is this:
This is exactly what I mean. I do know people that have $100k and even many times more at 25-30, but they did NOT earn it. It is money strategically given to them through trust funds.
There is probably a VERY small minority of people that manage to accumulate $100K in cash or cash equivalents by the time they are 25-30 if they had to pay for everything on their own. The cost of living is simply too high and even decent paying jobs are few and far in between, let alone high paying jobs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Time2Improve
I agree. I don't think I know anybody in this age range who doesn't have a lot of student loan debt/ other debt accumulated in school and a high paying job. 100k saved is a huge amount in this age group.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chicago87
The people that are 25-28 and have over $100k in savings must have graduated with no debt, found high paying jobs immediately, and/or received some type of inheritance, hit the lottery, or got lucky with stocks.
Most 25-28 years old I know are drowning in their student loans, have jobs that pay $10-$20 a hour, and $5,000 in combined 401k, IRA, and savings if they are lucky.
I'm not sure why people think it's highly unusual for a 28 year old for accumulate 100K in cash and equivalents. Do people here know what Google (or insert high flying tech company name here: < >) pays for a very bright and talented 22 year old right out of college?
I went to an elite university. And most of my friends did, as well. I know the compensation packages of my cohort well. All I can tell you is that 100K is not an obscene amount to save for a highly motivated and educated 20 something year old living in a big metro. In fact, it's clearly more commonplace than you think.
If it is commonplace, why did you and your cohort have to attend an elite university to accomplish it?
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