Comments on: Are You Leaving Money on the Table?

By: Barrington

Barrington — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 18:22:29 +0000

So true. So many of us young adults do not fully understand the importance of participating in a 401k, including other financial vehicles. We will not have the cusion of Social Security to soften our retirement woes, so we must do it ourselves.

Great article.

By: Miguel

Miguel — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 18:33:10 +0000

I echo exactly what Ma said. I’ve been contributing the legal max for at least the past 12 years, but job changes have sometimes interrupted the plan – new employers often required waiting periods of up to 18 months before being eligible to join and most people change jobs every 5 years or so. And let’s face it, most people just are not inclined to start saving the max when they’re 21.

All in all, it’s a good idea to put as much in as you can (assuming you’ve established your emergency fund 1st), I just wish there was a way to put in even more, especially for a situation where there is a stay-at-home spouse, because these families need to save for two, but the legal limit is designed for one.

By: Single Ma

Single Ma — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 15:15:36 +0000

Good stuff! I wish someone broke this down for me when I was 21.

By: Amber

Amber — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 15:14:11 +0000

Unfortunately, my company doesn’t do matching. If it did, I never would have dropped my contribution level. I decided a few months ago to drop from 8% to 3% because I couldn’t see not putting anything away but I recognized that I need the extra money now to take care of current debt. If I’m still working here when I have everything paid off, I’ll bump it up to the max allowed. But until then, I need every penny I can get my hands on.