Hey guys,

I read the Wiki but I’m still freaking myself out, so I figured I’d just ask the community. I’ll be 30 this year, married, and never got much advice in terms of how to save for retirement from my parents. I did my best, I realized that I should be saving, and if my employer offers employee match in a 401k or 403b I should contribute at least until the max matched percentage if possible. Anyway, my employer never offered any match, so I contributed very little thinking I was better off on my own.

I wasn’t aware about the tax-advantaged part of it until recently. Now, my wife and I have about $180,000 saved in our own accounts, $70,000 in a savings account for a house down payment and the rest in a regular trading account in ETFs. In addition we only have about $30k in our 401k and 403b’s. I’m now worried because I’m realizing I should have been putting my savings in the tax-advantaged accounts first.

Basically my question is, how much of a screw up is this? My plan at this point is to switch all our savings to the employer accounts and completely stop contributing to the trading account, just leaving it there until retirement, unless one day we make enough to max out our annual contributions. Thoughts?

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Werewolfdad t1_jegfl1k wrote on March 31, 2023 at 8:49 PM

Just max it out from now on. Live off your savings if you have to

Start here: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics

homeboi808 t1_jegiqut wrote on March 31, 2023 at 9:11 PM

> Basically my question is, how much of a screw up is this?

You just missed out on less taxes. It’s not like you have lost any money.

Just do tax-advantaged accounts in the future.

Ggfd8675 t1_jegqmy1 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 10:06 PM

> My plan at this point is to switch all our savings to the employer accounts and completely stop contributing to the trading account, just leaving it there until retirement, unless one day we make enough to max out our annual contributions. Thoughts?

Sounds like a good plan. You can in effect shovel money from current savings to tax-deferred retirement accounts by maxing your current year contributions and using your existing savings to cover any budget shortfall. If your employer offers a post-tax plan that allows for in-service Roth rollovers, you can do a mega backdoor Roth IRA and convert up to 66,000 this year.

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Rele1122 t1_jegj9ef wrote on March 31, 2023 at 9:14 PM

First, congratulations to you and your wife for already saving so much at age 30, which is a remarkable accomplishment. While you missed the opportunity to put your savings into a tax-advantaged account, there are still many ways to increase your retirement savings.
You mentioned that your employer doesn't offer a match, so you might consider contributing to a traditional 401k or a Roth 401k. A traditional 401k allows you to take a tax advantage when saving because your contributions are deductible on a pre-tax basis. a Roth 401k, on the other hand, saves after taxes, but you will enjoy tax-free earnings and withdrawals at retirement.
In addition, you can also consider Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), which also offer tax benefits, similar to a 401k. If you qualify, you can also contribute to a traditional IRA or Roth IRA. In addition, you may want to consider using a tax-advantaged investment account such as a Health Savings Account (HSA) or a 529 college savings plan.
In summary, while you may be missing out on some of the tax benefits of saving, there are still many other options available to help you increase your retirement savings. I recommend that you speak with a financial advisor or retirement savings specialist to help you choose the best savings option for you.