I now contribute 5%. Employer 4%.

Hope to be in a position to contribute 10% within 5 years but with inflation, bills are high.

A guy I work with contributes 18% and will max out for the year around August/September. Another couple of guys max out around November.

What are yall contributing?

Would yall move large sums to your IRA which is performing better?

Max out your 401k (e.g., 18, 20 %) and forget about it. Live within that budget. Tithe first as well and forget about it...live within that budget. 20 years go by and you'll be so thankful and blessed that you did. Find ways to do without the spend that's not allowing you to contribute more.

The way I did it was to eliminate as many bills as possible. My wife and I drove old cash cars and I worked on them worked on the house....did everything myself all those years (still do both). Sold and or put on hold any of my toys and expensive hobbies. While everyone around me had new stuff...new cars, fancy vacations, etc. I also prioritized putting money away for my kids future college funds. I had a side hobby that I used to supplement my income a little bit. I threw all that money on the mortgage payment.

Also the last thing that can put you over the top is by combining incomes and having the thrifty future-minded spouse managing it. The household financial shovel is bigger and you can do so much more damage against debt and help grow wealth that way versus two people fighting for their own earnings and piece of the pie and spending it their own way.


Takes a special wife to understand this. And a grown up man ready to put himself last. Good luck man!

Sounds like you sacarificed a lot to have money when your older, just sounds like a miserable way to live.

I am more into live now while your younger and can travel

I would never put my hobbies and "fancy" vacations on hold and drive old cash cars, Screw that no need to live like a pauper, life is too short.

As soon as my divorce was final I contributed max. When I was married I contributed max to get company matching which was 6%.

Very wise words Sir. We appear to have a lot in common.

About the most surefire way for a "working stiff" to eventually become a millionaire....

I’m maxed out. Honestly have no idea what that is, it’s been that way for 17 years. I was lucky to have the ability to jump extra jobs to make up for the difference

Red, you're a good man and I've agreed with many of your posts. My last 25 years of practicing what I outlined above has been fulfilling and humbling. I'm a blessed man and have never been truly hungry or lived without...thank you Lord. Now in my mid 50s I'm picking back up my hobbies and traveling a bit more...but our heads are still down working and investing. Newest vehicle in the garage is 10 years old. Man... I love beating the system.

To me --- fancy = new truck or BMW, family to Hawaii or Disney, kids attending private or out of state college, hire out yardwork. What worked for me was/is simplicity ---$10k cash truck or Honda, family to Orange beach or to visit family, in state public college, sons or me handle yardwork

This is my take and mindset, which has served me well. You guys know best for your families.

I guess what some would call miserable, others would call responsible and living within your means. It takes a lot of discipline to save for your future and not spend more than you make trying to keep up with the Jones who were living way above their means trying to keep up with someone else. A persons wants and needs are two different things. As far as my 401K goes.........I maxed mine out to get all the employer match and invested the rest in mutual funds going back to 1978 when I was 20 until I retired in 2020. Financial security is something you can`t buy, but it`s worth a bunch when you retire. I can`t imagine a more miserable life than being old and broke.

Increase in small increments, you’ll never miss 1 or 2% increases and after just a few years they add up. And, living broke will be a lot worse than dying broke 😏.

50 and below max is 22.5k ,over 50 is 30k this year,I contribute 14% and company match’s 9% and I normally average around 400 hours of OT a year,I normally max out in December,if you don’t max out you are basically giving away that company matching money,I am 61 and can always pull money from the portion of my 401 that I have not invested with the retirement plan I have in place.
I started investing from day one 28 years ago with my current employer, and never touched the money until age 60,it is amazing how it grew even with the big hits on 9-11 and 2008 and 2011 it always came back,most of mine is in safe money funds now but I should be able to retire at age 65 at my current level of income.

My 401k has a chitty options so I put inb6% to get employer match of 7%. I used to max out but the growth was too small for me so I started keeping that money and investing in land.

I max out every year and 4% matching from company is a no brainer!

I maxed out with the first job I had when I graduated from college. Even with the max my take home pay was more than I had ever made, so it wasn't painful. Stayed that way until 10 years ago when my wife had to go on medical retirement. Losing 1/3 of our income, I had to cut corners where I could. The 401k was one such place. But I had over 30 years of contributions before then.

That’s another good reason to put in a large amount, you can give yourself an instant raise if necessary.

I get both sides. There is a line there somewhere between living for the now and living for the future. Having had cancer in my jaw and having it removed and not knowing if I would make it to the age of 53 I get the living for the now. We have taken vacations. Taken the kids to Disney 5 times among many other vacations and I can honestly say when I’m on my death bed I won’t regret it. However saving for retirement is important too. It’s a juggling act for us. We try to do both as best we can. I’ve seen people save every penny they had for retirement and was going to take those vacations and such then and died shortly after retirement and never enjoyed it and I’ve also seen people retire with nothing. It’s complicated as most things are

I don't have 401k, but I would put in up to the company max on matching (free money), the rest I would IRA...especially if you can control the IRA. Of course somewhat depends on company options within your 401k...best bet is an S&P ETF, worst option is putting it all in company stock.

If you max both of those, I would diversify into rentals or something else.

Fantastic, Sir.

It depends, how much do you have outside 401k saved. What happens if you get laid off at 50? how do you fund that next 5 year, with out 401k snd SS penalties? How close are you to retirement, if close to 60 you might look into takening advantage of the extra tax free catch up if you can

at the min, take advantage of your match for all 52 weeks

my wife and I both max ours. we also try to live off one salary

I normally pass on these threads, but I'll give another perspective.

Wife and I are mid 40's. I was lucky enough when I started my full time job I had a manager/mentor sit me down and show me compounding interest on a spreadsheet for 5, 10, 20, 30, etc years and the benefits of maxing out your 401K. I've maxed mine out from day 1 of employment until recently as well as my wife when she and I started dating. I have over seven figures in my account and she has a substantial amount in her account. It's a number on a screen at this point to my best calculations we will never fully use unless something bad medical goes wrong. I will always invest in my 401K up to company match, but I wish instead of maxing out to the IRS limits I had taken that delta and invested it myself to buy a ranch/land which I just recently started doing. I would rather be able to enjoy life now with my kids than retire with a huge lump sum and be too old to enjoy it. Yes, I beetch like most of my friends on the amount of money we spend on vacations, but I can tell you I've never once regretted the time I've spent with me kids and won't. None of us are promised tomorrow. Biggest conundrum in life..........plan for tomorrow or live for today. There is no right or wrong answer. Do what you feel is right for you and your family.

On the other hand, life can be fairly long these days. How long have your parents and their siblings lived? Being old and depending upon social security with little other financial resources can be pretty miserable, too. I think the average SS benefit these days is around $25K/Yr.

I agree with you! As a cancer survivor at age 55 you never know what tomorrow will bring. Spending time with your family is certainly something you will never regret. Passing away with a big pile of money that you were going to spend later with your family? I’m not sure about that. It’s different for every one for sure

Im exact mind set, saving in my 20’s is what allows me to do the great vacations, hunts etc now

you don't have to put a lot of money away in 401k , ( max out your matching )

if you know how to make money in other ways

some 401k offerings just suck at making money


I am similar to RedRanger, make it, spend it , live it
but I also invest .... that's how you build wealth while
living it up