{"id":32316,"date":"2025-07-29T17:30:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T17:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/32316\/"},"modified":"2025-07-29T17:30:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T17:30:08","slug":"the-internet-is-full-of-people-bragging-about-early","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/32316\/","title":{"rendered":"The Internet Is Full Of People Bragging About Early\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Reddit, there\u2019s a running joke: someone in their twenties with millions in the bank will ask if it\u2019s time to retire. On the other hand, most readers are barely scraping together their 401(k) contributions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That was the title of a recent sarcastic post on r\/Fire<\/a>, Reddit\u2019s popular early retirement subreddit. The author was mocking the constant stream of over-the-top posts like \u201cI\u2019m 25 and have $25 million. Can I retire yet?\u201d The post took off and sparked hundreds of responses and upvotes.<\/p>\n

Many people felt the same way: frustrated, discouraged, and disconnected.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis group discourages me so much,\u201d one commenter wrote. \u201cI\u2019m doing good for my age and every post here makes me feel broke.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don’t Miss:<\/p>\n

Another joked, \u201cPlease tell me I\u2019m being trolled and you aren\u2019t this sheltered. I have $5K and I\u2019m 35 in September. I make like 40k\/year in a place where the median house costs something around $1.5 million.\u201d<\/p>\n

For those trying to save slowly and steadily, these posts can feel like salt in the wound.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just threw a party because at 32, I now have more than $100K in retirement accounts<\/a>,\u201d one person shared. \u201cI\u2019ve seen people unironically say [financial independence, retire early] is impossible for people making 150k a year and 100k in assets at 28. Trust me, you\u2019re doing fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trending: $100k+ in investable assets? Match with a fiduciary advisor for free to learn how you can maximize your retirement and save on taxes<\/a> \u2013 no cost, no obligation.<\/p>\n

Is This FIRE Or Just Flexing?<\/p>\n

Some pushed back on the tone of the forum itself, saying it\u2019s shifted from frugal living<\/a> and intentional saving<\/a> to outright showing off.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese posts are often meant as a humble brag with a faceless audience,\u201d another wrote. \u201cIt is impossible for a 40-year-old to amass $3-4 million in savings and not know whether they could retire or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others believe some posts are real but lack context. \u201cWhat a lot of people here are hiding is A) how much came from inheritance\/parents or B) what they gave up to get where they are. Both are miserable.\u201d<\/p>\n

People pointed out that FIRE was originally meant to help regular people build financial independence<\/a>. Now, many feel it\u2019s being drowned out by unattainable stories. \u201cI\u2019d rather see more real stuff, people grinding, figuring things out, making trade-offs,\u201d one commenter said.<\/p>\n

See Also: Accredited Investors: Grab Pre-IPO Shares of the AI Company Powering Hasbro, Sephora & MGM\u2014Just $0.63 Before NASDAQ Launch<\/a><\/p>\n

The Comparison Trap<\/p>\n

The constant flexing isn’t just annoying, but can affect mental health.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo kidding, every time I open Reddit subs about money I feel more depressed,\u201d one person said. \u201cNo idea how some people have so much before age 30 and also jobs at 200k.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another chimed in, \u201cComparison is the theft of joy, my friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some try to refocus the conversation. \u201cOnly compare to yourself yesterday,\u201d one said. \u201cDon\u2019t worry about other people. Focus on your journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others find solace in different subreddits like r\/leanfire<\/a>, where modest living is the goal. As one user put it, \u201cUnfortunately, it\u2019s not glamorous and aspirational to live modestly off a modest portfolio, so the traffic is pretty slow there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read Next: Warren Buffett once said, “If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.” Here\u2019s how you can earn passive income with just $10.<\/a><\/p>\n

Image: Shutterstock<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Reddit, there\u2019s a running joke: someone in their twenties with millions in the bank will ask if…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32317,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[879,49,48,19534,19537,19533,244,44,19535,7232,19536,61,8798,883],"class_list":{"0":"post-32316","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-internet","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-daily-news","12":"tag-global-news","13":"tag-inkl","14":"tag-internet","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-news-app","17":"tag-news-headlines","18":"tag-news-today","19":"tag-technology","20":"tag-today-news","21":"tag-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}