'Save Twice Your Salary By 35,' Said Report. Millennials React With Panic And Jokes

A bit of personal finance advice from retirement experts has sent the Internet into a tizzy, especially millennials. Ten days ago, finance news website MarketWatch shared an article on Twitter about how people should have saved twice their annual salary by the time they are 35. The piece was widely-derided for what many believed were ridiculous targets that it set out. While some were angry about the story's sincere expectations, other took a more lighthearted approach in pointing out that expecting millennials to have saved that much by the time they are 35 is unrealistic.

All in all, in a rare display of solidarity, most of Twitter agreed that in this day and age, the article's expectations were impractical, and it was thereafter suitably trolled:
 

Millennial retirement plan:

1. Invent a time machine
2. Travel back to 1955 when mere mortals could afford houses
3. Return to 2018 and sell the house for 50x what you paid for it
4. Repeat until you can afford rent and health insurance in 2018

- Rob Wallis (@ghezbora) May 15, 2018

Laughs awkwardly while nodding in agreement

- Jadewarrior (@xjadewarrior) May 14, 2018

By 35, in 2018, you might have to choose between retirement savings and health insurance, but sure @marketwatch, pretend we're in 1988.

- Moira B (@moidem) May 15, 2018

[turns pockets inside out; two moths fly out]

oh no my moths https://t.co/SpVs7AVfqO

- Anthony Oliveira (@meakoopa) May 15, 2018

In fact, the article's goals were deemed so ridiculous that things millennials should have done by age 35 soon turned into a bona fide Twitter meme:
 

by age 35 you should have a kitchen cabinet dedicated entirely to plastic bags that contain other, smaller plastic bags

- vytas (@peakysblinder) May 20, 2018

By age 35 you should have a huge box of cables but you can't throw them out because you're pretty sure you still need a couple of them but you're not sure which ones

- Lori G (@LoriG) May 19, 2018

By age 35 you should have like 2 real friends both of whom live in other states and around 700 online friends with whom your relationship is so tenuous that a simple opinion about a comic book movie could end it instantly.

- MR'A Stoudemire (@Bahbuto) May 21, 2018

By age 35, millennials should have 40,000 avocado toasts set aside for retirement.

- Paul Fairie (@paulisci) May 15, 2018

MarketWatch followed up their original story with another one, condescendingly titled "Want to make millennials mad? Talk about saving for retirement."

As expected, the backlash was again massive:
 

As a thirty something IN the retirement savings industry, your headline is tone deaf arrogant, and unhelpful. There are enough real world reasons it's hard to save without that kind of input. Please try to remain professional and not make our jobs harder.

- VorAbaddon (@VorAbaddon) May 17, 2018

whoever wrote that headline should be made to eat their keyboard. do you want it boiled or deep fried

- Jacob Zoobombs (@Retrovertigo) May 16, 2018

What are your personal goals for when you reach 35? Let us know using the comments section below.