Submitted by oizysplutus t3_yhyugk in personalfinance
[removed]
Comments
Default87 t1_iugend5 wrote
when your favorite brand of cereal goes on sale, do you stop buying it?
grokfinance t1_iugerf2 wrote
You are in your late 20s? Are you kidding? I'd be putting every single dollar I could get into my 401k. You buy when markets are down. You don't cut back. Especially in your 20s. The compounding growth power of every $1 you get into your 401k today means it will likely grow to $15-20 by the time you retire. Sure, go ahead and save for a house down payment but not at the expense of stuffing as much as possible into retirement. You'll never be able to make up for these lost compounding years. Waiting just one year (or cutting back) will literally cost you tens of thousands (possibly even 100k).
LenzoQ t1_iugf9o9 wrote
Should I just be putting money into my 401k and not doing anything else? As in setting or changing allocations and whatnot. I don’t full understand it, do I just let it sit? I’m in my early 20’s, I put 10% of my paycheck.
grokfinance t1_iugfonv wrote
The generally recommended strategy is this:
- Put enough money into 401k to max out the match you get from your company
- Then, I'd switch and max out a Roth IRA (if you qualify income wise, else a Traditional IRA). You can put up to 6k into an IRA for 2022.
- If you still have more money left over that you can afford to save then you can go back and contribute more to the 401k beyond the match
PS - I'd suggest using Roth 401k if your employer offers it (most do nowadays). In both 401k and IRA the name of the game is to invest in simple index funds. Ideally your 401k offers a total stock market index fund like VTSAX. If not, it probably offers an S&P 500 index fund. That is it. You could stick with that allocation for probably the next 20-30 years and be just fine.
PPS - Saving 10% of your income for retirement is a bit low. Aim for at least 15%. Again, the more - especially at a young age - the better.
LenzoQ t1_iughen2 wrote
Thanks 🙌 I meet my company match for my 401k and put what I can when I can towards my Roth IRA. I’m investing in a target date fund of 2060 for both. Can I just let it sit without having to look at it?
grokfinance t1_iugi40b wrote
Yes, that will work. Just make sure the target date fund isn't too expensive (ideally expense ratio as low as possible - anything above ~0.30% I'd be switching for a total stock market index fund which will charge you like 0.04%) and isn't too conservative (low allocation of bonds, or ideally, in your 20s and 30s probably no bonds).
nkyguy1988 t1_iugen93 wrote
If you want to increase savings for a primary home or other large expense, that's fine to do.
What's not fine to do is justify it because the market is down or for alternate investments. The market being down is the best time to actually increase contributions if you can.
SpiritualQuokka t1_iugel1g wrote
This is still the answer: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics
You need to evaluate your priorities and balance saving enough for retirement with saving for a down payment on property and starting a Turo business. I would not count your real estate or Turo business as part of your retirement savings, and I would not save less than I needed for retirement because of a market downturn and a desire to rent out cars on Turo.
bravebird46 t1_iugezae wrote
Yes, you would be stupid to do that. This is a very very valuable time to be investing. This is when you make your money. As long as you have a long horizon.
Edited to add: of course, you can always adjust savings to save for a house, etc. But to reduce savings because the market is down? That’s the opposite of what you should do.
joltjames123 t1_iugesq2 wrote
Unfortunately I maxed out months ago, wish I had the cheaper prices we are seeing now
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sonnyfab t1_iugemvm wrote
We're you happy about buying stocks last November? The same number of dollars buys more shares now than it did then.
Saving for a property down payment is fine. Doing so not because you have reconsidered your priorities and want property but solely because the stock market is down is just timing the market.