I’ve heard it. In person, from other influencers I’ve spoken to and in the comments section of financial education blogs. People commenting back to personal finance advice frustrated and saying how it’s impossible for them to save for a six-month emergency fund or put ten to fifteen percent of their income toward retirement.
The comments don’t disagree that it’s smart. The push back is that it’s not realistic for most people.
I Hear You. And Totally Agree. Today Saving Money is (F*cking) Hard.
In my career in the financial space, and even talking to people, I see the on-the-ground truth. Many who are in the upper classes or established in their professions don’t see how financially strapped a large portion of the population is. Key necessities like houses, healthcare and school costs have inflated at a rate way past incomes to sky-high levels.
Costs have gone up an average of 118% for housing, 180% for college and 188% for healthcare in the last 20 years. All each outpacing wage increases by over 100%. So, it’s not your imagination.
A statistic from The Ludwig Institute says the bottom 60% of U.S. households are falling short of the income needed to achieve a minimal quality of life—a point of pain and frustration millions were expressing during the 2024 election. According to Pew Research, 81% cited cost of living and inflation in their voting decision.
According to Bankrate, only 46% of U.S. adults have enough emergency savings to cover three months of expenses. Plus, with rent, housing, food, and all the other adulting costs swallowing up most of our paychecks each month, who has room to save?
I get it. You’re Captain America at the end of Avengers Endgame looking at Thanos and his army (if his army was student debt, high rents, low salary, and inflation) bearing down on you.
It can look bleak, and I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. I also don’t wish on you the possible consequences. Fail to save, and you need to consider a time when a possible layoff or a time when you may be forced to retire is coming.
If It’s So Bleak, Why Try to Save at All?
Think of it This Way…
Imagine if someone told you that you had an aggressive cancer.
With many cancers, the prospect is scary, hard, and could be a painful slog to recovery—and depending on the situation, it may not even be winnable.
So, what do you do at that point? You have a choice:
You can say, “Why me?” But the disease is still there.
You can say, “F*ck it!” But the disease is still there.
You can say, “I don’t have the energy to go through the treatment.” But the disease is still there.
Cancer (again, my metaphor for the grueling economic environment), like many things in life, doesn’t give a rat’s ass about what you think or feel. Whether due to the luck of the draw generically or caused by unhealthy habits, it’s here. And it will do its own thing.
Like fighting a disease, getting past it may demand personal sacrifices and hard times. You may not even be successful. But you have to try.
But I’ll let you in on something. You might be underestimating your chance.
Why Your Chances of Saving Are Better Than You Think
Are you young? Just starting in the workforce? You already have an advantage over older adults in your position.
While you may not have a large salary or can save a lot of money, you have a massive wealth 50 and 60 year-old adults don’t have: time.
How can you turn $25,000 you scrimped and saved by 25 into over $600,000 by the time you retire -without adding another cent? Compound interest and time. Time, which if you are in your 20s, you have an abundance.
Compounding can do a lot. Take Ronald Read, a gas station attendant. He accumulated an 8-million-dollar fortune on his salary through stock investments and a frugal lifestyle.
You Have Time to Take Smaller Steps to Wealth or Early Retirement
Take the first step: Save $1,000. Or try to get to six months’ of living expenses. Can’t do that? Ok, then work towards what’s a stretch goal but manageable. If you have a bank account where you often see your ATM bank balance in terms of tens of dollars, try scraping together $20 for savings. Then do it again. In the short term, it could be all about getting to a couple hundred dollars.
It can be hard work. A bit like the gym. One day makes little difference in improving your body. And workouts can be intense and suck (that’s a technical term). But that small act, over and over does make a difference.
“Suck” financially could be going out less. Cutting little pleasures that help you cope with work. Watching pennies.
But with some consistency, you get there. Maybe that’s a couple hundred dollars or even a few thousand. Either way, now you have a little breathing room. A place where a flat tire on an unsuspecting Tuesday, or an unexpected doctor visit won’t demolish you.
Maybe it feels like things still suck (hopefully a little less now), but try to take the next step at that. And (metaphorically) like a new round of chemotherapy, keep moving forward towards your goal.
Yes. It’s an uphill battle. Stats show that people who have low incomes and high debt find this part of life in general difficult. And being at this financial phase in life is the hardest to escape from. But at this stage, it’s also the best time to push.
Remember, the pain of trying (each and every time) is making a down payment on the possibility of life being different – a whole new level of living. Where you are free from the disease.
There’s a saying from a legendary ad man named Leo Burnett:
“When you reach for the stars, you may not quite get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud, either.”
Try to save. Maybe you won’t get to the most comfortable retirement. But it’s a good bet you are less likely to have the poorest. Or maybe you’ll save enough cash to afford that “peace out” moment at a job you hate. That feeling you get when you can leave a job on your terms will feel worth the struggle.
Whether it’s fighting a disease or saving for a better life, either way, it’s clear. You have to try.