[ToPutItBluntly]

There is a solution for this and it's Early Retirement Extreme. But it's not what you think. Ignore the "Retirement" word and think "Financial Independence" and ERE is a way to get there. The whole idea is you live well below your means and save like crazy. As much as you can percentage-wise. Eventually, you will have saved enough to be able to live off of your savings by at the safe withdrawal rate of 2.5-4% (depending on your conservative/optimistic bent).

The funny thing is the more you save, the better you become at living on less and therefore the less you need to be financially independent. There are all kinds of facets to it so go google.

It does require effort but in our industry, you can do it. Also there are loads of software dev jobs for older people in the midwest.

I'm doing ERE though so I can be financially independent enough to work on my own businesses (I'm bootstrapping one as a side project, already profitable but only 1/40 of way to replacing full time income). Partly due to fear of agism but also due to being sick of the VC startup world and working for big companies. A life of fear gets old. Why not take it by the reigns and exert some control?

[cutler]

I'm assuming you don't have mouths to feed or a wife with average female "requirements"?

[ToPutItBluntly]

I have a wife and a couple of kids. I'm maxing out the 401k and two Roth IRAs (one for me, one for wife) and saving $3k/month on top of that in post-tax.

I did relocate from the SF Bay Area to a more affordable place to live. That helped make it easier to save more. But even in the SF Bay Area it was possible to save. But it got harder with a family.

I did get lucky and married a spouse that does tend towards the frugal/less materialistic side. I do think a lot of people are open to change though if you can, over time, align your goals and try to show the big picture.

But to get back to the main point -- the thread poster feels like their back is up against the wall. I agree with the other posters that it isn't quite as dire as the picture painted. But I also agree it's good to hedge against it and if that is important, some sacrifices seem like a small price to pay to not be destitute.