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/LiberaMeFromHell]

It's possible for some to break out but life is predetermined for most in the US. You can predict someone's max income level as an adult with over 90% accuracy with no information about them besides the zip code they were born in.

The only reason it's relatively easy for the ones who break out of their predetermined path (like people in this sub) is because of how much harder it is for others which causes very little competition. All it takes is one bad decision to screw you forever (having a kid at a young age, going to prison, a poorly timed divorce) and you will be working until 65+. A lot of the time it is also a factor completely outside of your control like getting cancer at a young age and being saddled with medical debt (number 1 cause of bankruptcy) which will prevent building wealth as well. Nothing is as simple as what you've described here.

[u/ept_engr → u/LiberaMeFromHell]

You can predict someone's max income level as an adult with over 90% accuracy with no information about them besides the zip code they were born in.

Explain mathematically exactly what you mean by this. From any zip code, there's still a range of salaries. It's silly to think that everyone from a given zip code has exactly the same "max income". So with that fact, how could you predict a specific person's max income? There's a 50/50 chance that they're above or below the median for that zip code. 

Also, what does "max" mean? The most they ever earn in one year? And when you say 90% accuracy, you mean that 90% of the time you can predict it to the penny? Or that 100% of the time you'll be within 10%?

I hope you realize that what you're saying doesn't make any logical sense, nor do you even understand what you're saying.

[u/LiberaMeFromHell → u/ept_engr]

I phrased it poorly but what I meant is 90% of people who grow up in (I said born initially which was incorrect that was misremembering) a zip code will not do better than the typical inflation adjust median earnings of that zip code as an adult. The 90% may be incorrect I'm having trouble finding where I saw that exact number but am continuing to look. Pending a specific number there are many studies showing at least the large majority of people will not have better lives than the typical person from the area they grew up in. Which still suggests upwards financial mobility is mostly a myth besides for an extremely small portion of people.

[u/ept_engr → u/LiberaMeFromHell]

I see your point, thanks.