I make around $140k and people who make less always tell me how lucky I am and so forth… in a way yes, but I am much closer financially to the average American than to Elon Musk or Bill Gates. I don’t live paycheck to paycheck, but I certainly couldn’t go more than a few months without working. My savings rate is about 50% and I max out my 401k each year but if the stock market doesn’t continue the ~8% average annual return for the next 30 years, I likely won’t be able to retire at 65, even if social security is still paying out. I max out my retirement contributions, and put it all in low-expense-ratio index funds, *but retirement is not guaranteed.*