Under 35? How Do Your Savings Compare to Others Your Age?

^{Source: The Federal Reserve’s “Survey of Consumer Finances” (2022), median transaction account balances by age group. Transaction accounts include checking, savings, money market, and brokerage cash accounts, and prepaid debit cards.}

In addition to what’s in bank accounts, the median saver under age 35 has these assets:

With the $5,400 in the bank, these amounts total $39,200. Additionally, this age group has a median retirement account balance of $18,880.

Regardless of these numbers, it’s important to note that there’s no universally correct amount to save. 

“Don’t compare yourself to others,” said Chloé Moore, CFP and founder of Financial Staples, a financial planning and investment management firm. “Just focus on yourself and make sure that you set good, intentional goals for yourself and that you work toward achieving those goals.”

How To Set—and Meet—Savings Goals by Age 35

To achieve a savings goal, you need to set one. A good way to start is by knowing what you are spending. Tracking your income and expenses for a few months can be eye-opening and may help you determine what you’re doing well and what you’d like to change—and what a reasonable savings goal might be. Speaking with a financial advisor can also be a great step toward developing a goal, plus the plans for achieving it.

Moore generally recommends saving at least six months of take-home pay for an emergency fund, for example, but that varies based on personal circumstances. Instead of suggesting specific dollar amounts, she offers guidelines for her clients, many of whom are young tech professionals and first-generation wealth builders. 

She offers some tips to boost your savings habit:

• Start small: If saving six or 12 months of expenses sounds intimidating, she said, start by trying to save one month of living expenses. “Review your cash flow and just see if there are places where you can essentially save a little bit more each month,” Moore said.
• Add income: If you have valuable things or other possessions that you don’t need, Moore suggested that you consider selling them or look into getting a side hustle to generate more income if you can’t lower your expenses. 
• Have a plan: If you receive a lump sum of cash, whether it’s unexpected or something like a tax refund or bonus, know what you are going to do with it. “Try to have a plan for those before you receive them and not just think of it as free money that you can just spend,” Moore said. 

How To Boost Your Savings Balances With Top-Earning Accounts

Another way to maximize your savings is to choose accounts that will earn money for you. Two options are high-yield savings accounts and CDs. 

For high-yield savings accounts, check out those with the highest savings account APYs available. More than a dozen high-yield savings accounts currently pay between 4.40% and 5.00% APY. In addition to the rates, look at the features of the accounts you’re considering. One feature that Moore likes is the ability to earmark savings for different goals. “There are some accounts where you can set up an emergency fund bucket or a travel bucket or a down payment bucket,” she said.

If you have some money you can save without touching it, a CD can be a good additional option. CDs can earn higher rates than savings accounts in exchange for leaving your money for a set time period—usually anywhere from 3 months to 10 years. One key benefit of a CD is that the rate is fixed, so regardless of what happens with rates elsewhere, the amount you’ll earn when your CD matures is guaranteed. The top CDs pay as much as 4.50% now, making this a good time to consider opening one. 

If you open a CD with some of your money, you’ll want to use a hybrid strategy and keep some of your cash in a top high-yield savings account where it’s easy to access. If you have an unexpected need for your money, you can access the savings account funds first and possibly avoid cashing out your CD before maturity, which would trigger an early withdrawal penalty. 

How We Find the Best Savings and CD Rates

Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs and savings accounts to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying accounts. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the account’s minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000. It also cannot specify a maximum deposit amount that’s below $5,000.

Banks must be available in at least 40 states to qualify as nationally available. And while some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you don’t meet other eligibility criteria (e.g., you don’t live in a certain area or work in a certain kind of job), we exclude credit unions whose donation requirement is $40 or more. For more about how we choose the best rates, read our full methodology.