Retirement Planning
Any tips you have for someone to maximize their retirement accounts? Post your thoughts below!
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Topic ReplyI think an obvious answer to the 401k is to make sure you are at least contributing what you employer is willing to match (free money is the best!). One thing I would say about that though is make sure to check what your employer contribution is vested in. Where I work the match is given in company stock, and even though I like where I work and have faith in them as a company, I don't like having so much of my retirement vested in only a single company stock. So every once in a while I sell...
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Topic ReplyAwesome, great advice @Landon Martin ! has the pandemic made managing your 401k tougher than usual? Any advice for someone trying to open up a 401k during everything that's been going on?
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Topic ReplyBesides the occasional selling of the company stock, I personally don't do any other managing of my 401k. Maybe I am in the wrong but with the limited number of funds available within the 401k itself, I just selected a target date retirement fund that changes my investments for me as I get closer to retirement age. Also, I still have 35-40 years before I reach the typical retirement age so I am just trying to ride out the storm right now since I am not too worried about needing the money...
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Retirement PlanningStocks? 401k? Roth IRA? What's the easiest strategy for growing your money from $0 to $1,000,000 by the time you retire?
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Topic ReplyCan't answer this question with 100% certainty because I am far from retirement and far from having a million dollars, but the strategy I am currently using to hopefully get me there is to max out my Roth IRA (love the idea of not having to pay taxes on it later), contributing only to my 401k the amount that gets me the full employer match (got to get the free money), and then putting the rest of the money that is meant for investing into other accounts where I have more control over my...
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Topic Reply@Landon Martin Great tips! Traditional investing can be a great way to build some wealth over time, but like you said, your money is sort of trapped until you are of retirement age. Not a bad way to get to a million though!
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Topic Reply@landon Martin Would you recommend only matching what your company offers in the 401k? My company only matches 1%. I have this set to 7%. OR do you think I should only do 1% match and put the other 6% in a ROTH IRA? Or out the 6% into stocks? Or? Thanks in advance!
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Topic Reply@Riva951ie I would say it depends on your personal goals and involvement with your investments. Personally I only put enough into my 401k to get the match because I am not a huge fan of the investment options that are available to me in my 401k, and I have other goals with my investments that I wont be able to achieve if I have my money tied up until retirement age. When it comes down to saving for retirement though I currently prefer putting my money in the ROTH IRA because I am still in a...
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Topic Reply@Landon Martin Thank you for responding. I was also thinking about putting the additional 6% into a ROTH IRA so I can pull that out tax free 35 - 40 years from now. That way when I withdraw, I will only get taxed on the 401K and not the ROTH IRA.
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Retirement Planning👍Hey all, I am new here. however I have been reviewing and listening to the topics for a while. What I am having difficulty on is this: 401K is pre tax dollars. Any investing money after you get paid is money that has been taxed. Shouldn't the best advice be for retirement planning to max out your 401K contributions before thinking on any other long term investing with after tax dollars? Max out means contribute a full $ amount you are allowed per year, which includes you employer...
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Topic ReplyIt's typically advised to only contribute up to your 401k match. Once there is no longer a match, or in other words, free money, invest other funds into an IRA. The reasoning is 401 plans are typically limited in the investments you can choose and will be taxed upon withdrawal. However, it varies, so if you feel it is optimal for you to continue to invest in your 401k based on your analysis then continue to do so. Regarding your logic with taking on more risk with after-tax dollars. Higher...
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Topic ReplyHello @Trevor , I was in the same predicament as you mentioned above on this thread. After doing some googling and reading a slight page of Dave Ramseys book, he pretty much mentioned the same thing that @Maykel said. Max out 401K. After that, invest in IRA (I would say ROTH) so when you pull out in the future, its already taxed. I personally am doing this now. Just started it. I would not want to get taxed from only pulling out from 401K. You mentioned real estate, I would recommend this...
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Topic Replyyou both touch on a point: invest in 401K as much as your employer matches is the general advice. Tend to agree, however there are additional options to continue on 401k without matching. Something else mentioned is the idea of taxable retirement income vs non taxable (Roth). So thinking this is my action plan: In my circumstances I am past the beginning steps: 2k emergency fund, 8 month expenses liquid savings, no student, car or CC debt, no debt at all till I buy a home. 401K up to...