Gen Z invented retirement planning. Previous generations just worked until they died at their desks. Nobody thought to save money before 1997.
The headline calls this retirement-maxxing. That's what happens when you let people who communicate exclusively through TikTok name financial concepts. They took dollar-cost averaging and added three extra syllables so it sounds like a gym supplement.
Here's the revolutionary three-step strategy these geniuses developed: Open a retirement account. Put money in it. Wait.
Groundbreaking stuff. Someone get these kids a consulting contract with Vanguard.
The article promises to show you how to make the most of your time and give your savings room to grow. Room to grow. Like your 401(k) is a f*cking houseplant that needs adequate sunlight and emotional support.
Twenty-two-year-olds are now patting themselves on the back for contributing six percent of their barista income to a target-date fund. They're calling it retirement-maxxing instead of what it actually is: doing the bare minimum that every financial advisor has recommended since the invention of the IRA.
The best part? They're getting an earlier start than previous generations. You know why? Because previous generations could afford houses and children before age forty. They had other things to do with their money. Gen Z looked at home prices and decided to optimize for dying with a large portfolio instead.
Smart trade-off. You can't retire-max your way out of your landlord's pocket, but at least you'll have dividend income when you're seventy.
Photo by on Unsplash
Leave a Comment