Just looked up how much should you have in retirement by 35 and honestly it's kind of eye-opening. According to Vanguard's data, the average 401(k) balance for people aged 35 to 44 is around $91k, but the median is way lower at like $35k. So yeah, there's a big gap there.

The thing is, there's no magic number that works for everyone. I've been thinking about this lately - your retirement needs depend on where you live, your lifestyle, all that stuff. But there's this rule called the 80% rule that people use as a starting point. Basically it says aim to have 80% of your last year's income each year in retirement. So if you made $100k, you'd want $80k annually to keep your lifestyle similar. Obviously you can adjust up or down depending on what you want.

What I realized is your 401(k) shouldn't be your only source. You'd ideally have other stuff going - brokerage accounts, IRAs, Social Security eventually. So the question of how much should you have in retirement by 35 isn't just about that one account. Anyway, it's making me recalculate my own goals. Anyone else tracking this stuff or just winging it?