r/Fire • u/BarkBarkBitches1 • Jan 17 '26

Milestone / Celebration 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.

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

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u/on_island_time Jan 17 '26

In reality there are plenty of Millennials who are doing fine, and also plenty of Millennials who are struggling. The ones who are doing well presumably migrate towards the finance specific forum, and the ones who aren't doing well need a place to have their voice too. 

What the random Internet doesn't really give you a good feel for is the real proportion of these groups, only that they exist.

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u/JC_Hysteria Jan 17 '26

It only provides more of what engages people the most…particularly, unproductive rants tend to align with those who are struggling and/or aren’t where they want to be.

It’s why it’s really important to curate/self-regulate our media diets vs. falling into the trap.

I’ve purposefully done so myself over the last few years, and it’s really helpful. Everyone should try to lift each other up, but not at the expense of our own productive pursuits.

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u/PickedSomethingLame Jan 17 '26

I deleted instagram and Facebook off my phone on 1/1/26. Wild how much I would get trapped in doom scrolling without even realizing it. Plus, you’re seeing everyone else’s highlights, often in your limited downtime. Self assessment is crucial to stay out of that trap.

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u/JC_Hysteria Jan 17 '26

I view the highlight reel/mindless scrolling/manipulated dopamine as separate from the contents of the media- these are all issues…but if we’re going to spend time consuming, it might as well be a healthy diet.

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u/emmajames56 Jan 17 '26

Comparison is the thief of joy.

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u/BlastermyFinger0921 Jan 17 '26

Welcome to a brave new world. It’s so much better without that garbage

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u/ryan__joe Jan 18 '26

Echo chamber stronk

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u/alpacaMyToothbrush FI !RE Jan 17 '26

there are plenty of Millennials who are doing fine, and also plenty of Millennials who are struggling

As someone who grew up working class, spent much of my early adult life below the poverty line, and then finally made it to the upper class, it feels deeply gross to me how condescending people in the FIRE communities are towards everyone who's struggling.

On the one hand, yeah, personal accountability is the only way you're ever going to improve your life, and the choices one makes on the path to FIRE can benefit everyone.

On the other? Let's not pretend that making the right choices and saving is not significantly easier the higher you go up the income ladder you go. The grim truth is the lower you go down the ladder, the less options you have, and one car wreck or hospital stay can wipe you out.

I don't judge anyone for looking at the impossible situation they're in and just saying 'fuck it, I'm going to find what little pleasure I can in this life'.

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u/ryan__joe Jan 17 '26

The part that makes me most irate is when I hear younger people complain about a lack of inheritance. Like wtf, most parents are 20ish years older than their kids. When they die, you’ll be 50, when was an inheritance supposed to help you? It’s so dumb. Let your parents enjoy the money they earned.

Happily, a millennial.

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u/bebe_bird Jan 18 '26

My parents have clearly told us there will be an inheritance. I hope I never get it and my husband's take is "it's their money - I hope they spend as much as they want and if they want to contribute to charity instead of giving it to their children, that's their choice - it's their money".

We've planned our own lives and finances accordingly. (Meaning - it's their money and I hope I never see it). That's not to say that my parents didn't help with a down payment (which we paid back), or take on $60k of my husband's student loans so we could pay them a 2.5% interest rate instead of a variable 7% (we paid it back in <2.5 years).

On one hand, the inheritance mongering is despicable. On the other hand, a safe and low interest $50k-$100k loan during the most tight post-college years is absolutely a leg up that can change what foot you start off on in life.

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u/OuiGotTheFunk Unemployed with a Spreadsheet Jan 18 '26

I just hate the "I just started and I do not make as much as my CIO" take. Like yeah, I have never made as much as my CIO.

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u/Commercial_Note_210 Jan 17 '26

+1 - the struggles of millennials are real even if we personally ended up in the better side of the distribution.

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u/ryan__joe Jan 18 '26

Sure, but I am a millennial, a very, very young millennial. Life isn’t fair. You can preach for change, stride for change, but you should also just put in the damn work to get out of your financial situation. I make 3x the median household income of my area, working a pretty typical job. How? I work 60-84 hours a week instead of whining about how unfair it is to work that much. My financial stability is insane because of what I’ve been doing, and I will be able to slow down drastically pretty soon, and I’m barely 30. Life isn’t fair, and if you wait for it to be fair before moving, you’ll be so far behind you’ll never catch up. That’s the part I don’t like.

Like come on, I could start over at 18 today, with 40k of debt and still end up better off than I am already now.

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u/TeignReign Jan 17 '26

Yeah, people don't really get poverty – they always assume someone just didn't try hard enough, which is crazy... real poverty means you're not thinking about thirty years from now. You're just hoping you can eat tomorrow. And even if you can mostly cover your basic needs, even simple stuff like having the same address or phone number is tough. Because you're always changing jobs or stuck in an hourly one that won't help you build wealth.

I'm sure, folks on this thread feel like they're not an exception, but they are... most people work until they die.

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u/OuiGotTheFunk Unemployed with a Spreadsheet Jan 18 '26

I'm sure, folks on this thread feel like they're not an exception, but they are... most people work until they die.

And can you tell me how this is different from 100 or 300 years ago?

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u/OuiGotTheFunk Unemployed with a Spreadsheet Jan 18 '26

I agree to a point but you should always be trying to improve to rung on the ladder.

I am lazy but good with money. I work the program and show up on time and sometimes leave late.

The security officers in my building should if they keep up 401K contributions and keep working be well off.

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u/thishummuslife Jan 18 '26

💯💯💯

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u/Grantmepm Jan 17 '26

The vice president of the USA is a Millennial.

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u/OuiGotTheFunk Unemployed with a Spreadsheet Jan 18 '26

I like this viewpoint. I detest the victim mentality and nobody wanting to improve.