Thanks, MarketWatch, for reminding us all of the pitfalls in generalized advice!
The advice? “By 35, you should have twice your salary saved, according to retirement experts.”
With a single tweet, 30-somethings everywhere united to playfully mock the generic advice of “retirement experts”.
Invoking replies with more accurate and attainable generalizations like, “By 35, you should have a kitchen cabinet dedicated entirely to plastic bags that contain other, smaller plastic bags.” (my personal favorite)
Why the outrage and pushback? The advice ignores the “how” and focuses on the “what”. It fails to take into account the different paths that we all take and the circumstances that we find ourselves in that may help or hinder our ability to save (i.e. repaying student loans, raising kids, starting a business, etc.).
Generalizations and general rules of thumb can be helpful but are more appropriate when they focus on the input rather than the output or result. “Save early and save often” is more useful and infinitely more effective than “have twice your salary saved by 35”. Generalizations that focus on a result are merely checkpoints on someone else’s path, only helpful if you’re headed for the same destination.
With that said, here are the stories that caught my eye this week:
MONEY: This is how your finances should look in your 30s (MarketWatch)
This is the article that sparked the “By 35…” Twitterstorm last week. To MarketWatch’s and the author’s credit, they’ve accepted the pushback and have responded with more helpful articles highlighting the real-life financial situations of 30-somethings across the U.S., instead of focusing on perfect world, generic targets.
LIFE: Does it help? (Seth Godin)
This blog post was a timely reminder for me this week. Short and simple. “Okay, you know how you feel, what you need, what you want…This next thing you’re going to do or say: Does it help you get closer to that?”