rule of thumb for retirement savings

Find a pro and discuss this. Tell them when you want to retire, what type of lifestyle/standard of living you want to have in retirement and a complete record of your current standing.

It should be a short and simple meeting and they can help you find the best % to save for your situation.

Not a troll Chiz, I got a lot of good advice when I was young. Ive been using Edward Jones to handle my IRA and give guidance on my 401K. It seems like a cookie cutter type of deal to me. Ive always been an aggressive saver and pretty conservative, but I think I may be missing out on some opportunity to enjoy my money now. The advisor I use ran a couple models(monte carlo model I think it was called) and said that retirement shouldn't be a problem for me. I'm considering slowing down on saving and spending more money on now. Within reason of course.

Percentages are a bad indicator IMO for saving albeit they are often quoted. Focus on the actual dollars being saved since that’s what drives your purchasing power.

30% on an income of $30K vs $100K is a dramatically different “rate” of actual dollars hitting your accounts.

Generally, save as much as you possibly can while still enjoying your life in the present day. There isn’t one right answer. Some people will say a certain multiple of your income based on your age but I don’t follow those personally.

EJ is not a preferred broker / financial planning company per this board / Bogleheads. There will almost certainly be better options for you. If you do want to speak with a financial adviser then make sure s/he is a fee-only and a fiduciary.

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Percentages are a bad indicator IMO for saving albeit they are often quoted. Focus on the actual dollars being saved since that’s what drives your purchasing power.

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A rule of thumb is the absolute minimum to secure a 30 year retirement is 35x inflation adjusted retirement costs.

Trouser Trout,ynlvr,lynxcat all giving you good advice.Listen to them and ditch EJ.This is not rocket science,EJ and all these other financial people want you to think it is.Bogleheads board has lot of good info.Keep it simple,Index funds will beat the overwhelming majority of managed funds over time with very low fees.Fees you pay advisor, managed funds will cost you significant amount of money long term.

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I'm 40 with a good job and not much debt, whats a good general rule for savings for retirement?

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I would say 15% of your current, gross income per paycheck. Lots of folks just can't spare that, but if you get into the habit early, it can be sustained.

As far as milestones, you should be about 1x your salary somewhere between 30 and 35. 2x between 35 and 40. 3x between 45 and 50. Then, it sort of varies with how much you've been able to amp up and, frankly, how well your investment mix did, but 5x by 55 to 60.

I'm early 50s and I'm only 1x. I do qualify for 2 pensions, so that mitigates my dalliance, but I need to push a little harder to get to 15% consistently.

35x seems excessively conservative.
25x is what many in the FIRE community use based on 4% safe withdrawal rate. If you have flexibility to reduce expenditures during years when the market is down you further reduce risk of depleting your savings early.

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rouser Trout,ynlvr,lynxcat all giving you good advice.Listen to them and ditch EJ.This is not rocket science,EJ and all these other financial people want you to think it is.Bogleheads board has lot of good info.Keep it simple,Index funds will beat the overwhelming majority of managed funds over time with very low fees.Fees you pay advisor, managed funds will cost you significant amount of money long term.

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THIS. Also, give very little credence to the opinion pieces you read on the market. They don't know what the hell they're talking about or they're purposefully selling fear or greed.