How Successful Zoomers Plan To Retire In Their 30s

Financially speaking, Gen Z has it much worse than millennials did at their age. 

"The data reveals that since 1984, the average graduate salary has fallen by 10.6% when adjusted for inflation," according to a study by Self Financial Inc. Unsurprisingly, the so-called FIRE lifestyle (Financial Independence, Retire Early) seems far-fetched to most. Despite that, a sizable chunk of Zoomers can realistically avoid working in their middle age if they make wise financial decisions today. 

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Saving Money Matters

Einstein's "eighth wonder of the world," also known as compound interest, is no news, but it's worth seeing its effect in action over the years. If a 20-year-old puts $10,000 in a savings account that yields 5% annually, they would have $70,000 by the time they turn 60. However, if they do the same at 30, they would only have $43,000 on their 60th birthday. That's $27,000 lost on a single investment.

A sound investment that reliably pays out 5% per year is hard to find under most circumstances. However, the current high-interest-rate environment has made it possible to get that much from regular banks. While regular savings accounts still yield around 0.5%, high-yield savings accounts offer 10 times as much. The best part is that most of them are insured by the government, meaning your money is safe even if the bank fails.

When the Federal Reserve decides to drop the interest rates, this opportunity will no longer be available, which is why you should strongly consider investing in one as soon as possible. 

Debt Can Compound As Well

Compound interest also works for your creditors, so paying off your credit card debt, student loans and other financial drags is crucial for financial health. That's the stepping stone that opens the door to investments, which is especially important right now. 

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No Generation Before Gen Z Has Had This Investment Opportunity

A $1,000 invested in Google on the day it hit the stock market was worth $1.2 million in February 2023. The same amount invested in Amazon.com Inc. when it became public would be worth around $2.3 million today. But people who bought it only after its initial public offering (IPO) weren't the ones who raked in the highest returns. It was the institutional investors that invested years before while the companies were still private. Older generations were legally barred from doing that, but that's no longer the case. 

Regulation A and Regulation CF offerings allow regular people to invest in startups before their IPOs or acquisitions, meaning while they are still private. However, this type of investing is considered high-risk, high-reward, so only some investors fit the risk profile needed to comfortably make these investments. 

Successful Zoomers are the type of investors who can explore these options because of their age. Venturing into riskier investments when nearing retirement is the opposite of wise, but if you're in your 20s and have enough disposable income, going for startups could be your shortcut to early retirement â€" not many investment options can hold a candle to startup investing in terms of possible returns.

This is especially important during the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) startup boom, as civilization goes through a technological revolution similar to or even bigger than the one the internet brought. It often takes as little as $100 to invest in startups through Reg A and Reg CF offerings, and there are available opportunities right now.

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