I have 35 years old with a $6k HYSA, a $42k 401k, and $80k annual income. I was reading some 'are you on track' calculators and they all said something different. Here's what I actually found.

A common rule of thumb: have 1x your salary saved by 30, 3x by 40. At $80k income and $42k saved at 35, I'm behind that benchmark by a bit.

The more useful question: what's my actual FIRE number and am I on pace to hit it by my target retirement age? At a 25x spending multiple (4% rule) on $60k/year spending, I need $1.5 million. At my current savings rate ($15k/year), I'd reach that in 33 years. That means retiring at 68, which is roughly on track for traditional retirement.

If I want to retire earlier, I need to either earn more, spend less, or save more. The benchmarks are useful as a gut check but the real answer is in your own numbers.