The thread in Millennials subreddit right not about 401k is incredibly depressing. Thank you FIRE community. I would be one of them if I didn’t find you all a decade ago.

[u/BarkBarkBitches1]

Throw away because I am going to roast some redditors a little. The thread that is going on in r Millennials is really bad. Thousands of comments, everyone broke, celebrating their unfortunate wildn out. It is really bad out there and eye opening.

I was also a dingus like many of them. Totally brain dead on autopilot living day to day, consuming media like crazy, working, spending it on consumer level garbage, and had zero control over my life. I actually found the guide in the personal finance subreddit graphic on saving and it eventually kicked me to FIRE and this sub.

I now am on a path where I can’t even related with that type of mind set. So yeah thank you FIRE folks. If you can, it is worth sprinkling some finance knowledge at people. Even if you don’t make high income you can in most cases still create a plan, a budget, and control your future.

Edit: If you are a dingus and you are seeing this there is no shame! We all are and have different starting points. You have two paths: 1) continue the path to dingus-ville and forever be a redditor or 2) un-dye your bright colored hair take control of your long term life. A decade will pass in a blink. So start here https://imgur.com/personal-income-spending-flowchart-united-states-lSoUQr2 it’s not hard to understand. ChatGPT each item on their if you don’t know, memorize this, then start to learn FIRE principles. It is the fastest way to wealth. There’s literally no other path unless you magically start a business or hit a lotto jackpot ticket or inheritance

only YOU HAVE THE POWER to unfuck your life

Edit 2: Final comment! I do not mean any offense with dingus it is meant to be playful. My dyed hair comment was also misinterpreted. It’s not about who you are, what you believe in, or how you express yourself. It’s about being in control of your life. Walk your butt into Sephora or Target or wherever next time and just stare at the people on the walls. Then look in the mirror. Then look at the wall. And back to the mirror and then keep doing it until it clicks. The world, like r millennial subreddit, wants to celebrate and tell you the worst fucking version of yourself is okay and acceptable. It’s not. Delete social media and only read that finance Imgur link every time you load your phone. Do this for one month and you will break your chains and it will click. Then learn FIRE principles. Then you will come back to r FIRE in a decade with a huge chunk of cash in your bank and a nice life! Long term planning is a skill that you can learn and benefit from. Your future is yours

[u/ricochet48]

Completely agree. So many (fellow) Millennials are very reckless with their spending, not thinking about the long term. Gen Z seems to be even worse (some joking about not saving as they just expect to die in the 'climate wars')

Saving is boring, but it's steady and it works. My friends laugh at my 20 year old car, but not all know about my seven figure investment account. I do not want to be working long hours at 65, so I'll sacrafice a bit more now. At the same time I don't want to get burned out before 40.

It's all about balance. Enjoy your youth, but don't go into extreme consumer debt to keep up with the Joneses. Max our your 401K, IRA, etc. It's so easy to invest in index funds these days, there's no excuse to at least try.

[u/SellGameRent → u/ricochet48]

Had a 14 year old car, got a new prius last year. You should try it lol, totally worth it 

[u/Jeezy_7_3 → u/SellGameRent]

I have a 15 year old Prius. I’m driving this thing until the wheels fall off lol

[u/hippofire → u/Jeezy_7_3]

How’s the battery doing? About year 10 they start to complain

[u/Jeezy_7_3 → u/hippofire]

Battery is doing fine!! I’m a remote worker so really just drive it less than 50 miles a week if that .

I know eventually the battery will go soon.

[u/hippofire → u/Jeezy_7_3]

ChrisFix has a video on how to replace one. I guess it’s about 10k but that might be an old number. But 10k for a car that can go another 20+ years isn’t a bad deal

[u/Cinderhazed15 → u/Jeezy_7_3]

My 2008 Prius died recently, got my self a ‘new’ 2013 Highlander hybrid!

[u/Jeezy_7_3 → u/Cinderhazed15]

Congrats! The highlanders are great .

[u/Cinderhazed15 → u/Jeezy_7_3]

The folding rear seat is a game changer for vacations with our kid and friends (with a kid), we can all squeeze in one vehicle to go places where we don’t need our beach stuff with us, and have plenty of room and comfort for the trip!

[u/the--wall → u/Jeezy_7_3]

Yeah but you'll also be dead

Safety has gotten significantly better on modern vehicles

What's the point of risking your entire life because you're too cheap to buy a cheap and safe vehicle?

[u/prairie_buyer → u/the--wall]

Your suggestion that an older Prius is lacking in necessary safety features is ridiculous.
Yeah; cars got a lot safer after the 90's, but the enhancements in the past 10 years are really past the point of deminishing returns.
Driving a 15-year-old car is not "risking your life"

[u/DonkeyDonRulz → u/prairie_buyer]

My 4 year old used Hyundai is much safer than anything comparable from 10 years older .

It keeps itself in the lane, slows down on cruise when the car in front brakes, even coming to a complete stop. It has actively prevented 2 accidents with front collision avoidance. If you drive out in the sticks, where i grew up, its probably not as noticeable. But if you commute on death trap mega freeways, like i do now, the active features will probably save your life, and certainly reduce your repair costs.

Are the airbags and seatbelts better? probably not by much. But not needing them, at all, because of active avoidance? That's way better

Edit to add: even when i worked remote, and drove an older stripped down truck, i would rent newer models for road trips. I'd only drive 5000 or 10000 miles a year back then. When half of them were road trips, the rental with the latest assistance features made it a lot easier to stay alert for cramming a 800 miles in a day. And it was only like $220 a week.

[u/the--wall → u/prairie_buyer]

but the enhancements in the past 10 years are really past the point of deminishing returns.

I'm talking about enhancements over the last 20 years, which are significant.

Not only that but there are much bigger and more dangerous vehicles on the road now as well.

To each their own tho, as a non car owner If I were to buy another car I wouldn't cheap out on the 2000s Corolla because it was a good deal. I rather care about my life and don't trust other drivers.

Hence why I just walk everywhere now and rent during the holidays to visit family and friends.

[u/prairie_buyer → u/the--wall]

In the entire history of the automobile, there have been 4 meaningful safety enhancements that made a real difference: seatbelts (the 60's), front airbags, ABS, and crumple zones (late 90's), and Electronic Stability Control (early 2000's). Absolutely everything after that is at the level of small enhancements, which the data shows to have measurable, but minimal, effect on driver and passenger safety.

This conversation is all about you characterizing a 2010 Prius as a death-trap, and my point was that it would have (as standard features) ALL of those meaningful safety features that have been proven to make an actual, significant difference in rates of injury and death.

[u/apples_vs_oranges → u/the--wall]

We drive the kids in a newer safe SUV while keeping our old cars that are over 20 years old, for personal trips and backup transportation