Quote:
Originally Posted by Fredcohiba
I don’t remember who exactly, but some work colleague talked to me about this new savings vehicle called a 401k. He said I should contribute. I guess I thought he was smarter than me and therefore knew what he was talking about so I did as I was told. I’m sure glad I did.
I started saving into a 401k as soon as it was made available. Over the years I contributed more and more until at some point I reached a maximum amount allowed. Luckily, I was able to retire early.
I read statistics that show the average and median savings of 401K by age group and it just does not seem to me to be enough.
If I can give those younger than me some “old man advise”, it would be to talk to a professional financial planner or your HR/Payroll professionals and start a savings vehicle earlier rather that later. Take advantage of the company match if it is offered (its free money) and remember it’s also in pretax dollars. As an example, if you put $100 into a 401K plan, that might only represent a $60-80 reduction in your paycheck. Talk to your Payroll department to find out your actual values. If you do a percentage base deduction, every time you get a raise, so does your 401k.
Save early and often, your older self will thank you.
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I read the stats on average and median savings of 401k by age group and hard to tell what it means.
When I change jobs I move my 401k balance to an IRA so I'm now 54 (6 months into a job) and my 401k balance is roughly $8k. My 401k balance looks like I am in dire straights yet I have been contributing to different 401k accounts for over 30 years.
