My #1 financial goal each year : Max out my 401(k)
My #1 financial goal each year is to max out my 401(k). It's the one thing I strive for more than any others, no matter what's going on w/ the world. Some years it's easy and I bask in my glory, and other times I want to carve my eyeballs out with a rusty spoon. If I can complete just that one goal each year though, poppa J is happy :)He knows that socking away $16,500 every year (or whatever the current limits are) will bode well in the future and allow him to sip long island iced teas on the beach some day! Plus, the fear of working himself to death is just too much to bear in his old age.
Regardless of what it is though, I believe everyone should have a major financial goal to complete each year. Whether it's saving up $5k in an emergency fund, wiping away an entire credit card, or just taking a new financial course every year. Whatever it is, strive for it and make it happen no matter what it takes. You'll be amazed at what you can actually pull off when you push yourself.
In fact, I had to cut down my average 401k contribution to 1% for a while due to some accounting issues that were outside of my control. Because of this, my total contributions thus far is hovering around $3,700 instead of the $8.5k it should be at now that '09 is halfway over (scary!). You know what that means? If I still want to reach my goal of hitting $16.5k, I have to bump up my contributions like crazy to catch up! And let me tell you, it's a lot more fun having 30% taken out than 90% which it's currently at (we're talking a drop from $1740 every 2 weeks to $69 and change!). Wha???
The point is, willpower's a beast when put to good use. Focus your energy into a specific goal and make it happen. If you accomplish more? Great! But at least have that major win in your pocket. Saving and investing isn't hard in itself, it's just a matter of doing something about it. So get that game plan in action and tell us what you're working on! What is YOUR #1 financial goal this year?
Labels: 401k, advice, challenges, goals, retirement
posted by J. Money at
9:02 AM
22 Comments:
A 90% contribution?!?! That's incredible that you can do that. Most depend so much on living paycheck to paycheck that they probably couldn't manage bumping their contribution up 5%.
Congrats on the goal man(and your crazy method of reaching it). ;)
And here I was proud of myself for upping my contribution from 5% to 7%. Yesterday I sat down and tried to figure out if I could afford to go all the way up to 10%, and I couldn't bring myself to do it. Maybe that's a goal for 2010.
I'm impressed with your money management skills. But with the reduced paycheck, does that mean I should keep my eye on my drink next week?
Yeah! Financial goals are the bomb! And that sentence was totally 1998. Anyways - yeah, we've got financial goals, our big one is getting our emergency fund huge. We're doing pretty good - our auto-savings plan is tearing it up.
Gotta say my new goal for 2009 is to have $20,000 in positive cash flow. It will be filtered into different savings accounts and my Roth. Its gonna come down to the wire!
Man you know what I am shooting for. I have a complex goal that involves many things. But the main goal is to get my student loan down in the mid 60k. Only way I will do that is if I handle the credit cards and get that shoebox money flowing! One thing I did accomplish that I didnt plan on was I somehow stumbled upon a nice emergency fund. Not touching that thing!
My goal is to max out my roth. (which will happen) and then to send an equivalent amount to my 401k. i doubt im maxing out the 401k but I will contribute higher than the employer match! congrats!!!!
I am like you - this is the first year I am maxing out and I am so happy to be doing it at 25. I am almost halfway there - right around $7,000 contributed this year.
My next goal is to save $20,000 in personal savings! Got about $11,500 more to go!
-Carrie
@Blake - Well, it'll only be at 90% for 2 more pay periods and then i'll be out of extra funds! "only" right? haha...since I hadn't been contributing much over the past 6 months, i've just been storing it away for when this time came. as soon as I'm dry though, it' back to normal land.
@Megan - Hey, that's awesome! 7% is much more than the average person invests. And that's funny you mentioned 10% too - i'm forcing my friend to do it for 1 month to see what happens. I feel like you may notice it the first paycheck, but after that you'd get used to it and everything would be fine. but we'll see what happens, I'll let you know @ happy hour ;)
@Jeff@StretchyDollar - haha, yes! 1998 was awesome, my freshmen year of college! mmmmm.....big emergency funds are awesome too, a perfect goal.
@Brian - Damn, good for you! $20k is a freakin' awesome amount.
@Doctor S - Yeah student loans are no joke, I hope you knock alot of it away! As you recently blogged about, time passes like crazy so staying on track now will def. pay off down the road :)
@Frugal Fundamentals - Congrats to you too! maxing out your roth AND dropping a chunk into 401k is fantastic. $hit, even if you did that once and then left it alone it would come to a sizeable amount 20-30 years from now. (but don't stop, keep going!)
@Carrie - At 25? that is hott. two t's too, that's how sexy that is :) good for you, hopefully those around you will pay attention!
Way to bring remembrance to financial goals JMoney...
My top goal for 2009 is to reduce my high interest consumer debt by just over $15,000. I'm getting there slowly but surely. I have had quite the interesting "Emergency Fund" draw come up this year so it has slowed me...but I am making HUGE strides nonetheless!
@ J. Money - LOL!! Double T, that's awesome. Thanks!
I would say that my main financial goal is to put a down payment on a house. Depending on what I can afford, that will become my goal, besides that I would say maxing out my ROTH IRA. I think it is very important to max that out every year if possible because hopefully the gov wont be able to touch it down the road!(even though that could change)
Oh, I can't wait to have a real job. Screw how hard it is, I'm getting my degree ASAP!! (I make about $20k/year while in college so I def. can't contribute $16 to a 401k right now). Not that my job even offers 401k's. I'm only 20 but I know the younger I start the better.
Anyways, my #1 goal is to get a down payment on a house.
After you posted about 401k's a few weeks ago I contacted HR and upped my 401k contribution to the highest amount they would match. It's made things a little bit uncomfortable, but every time I see that amount on my pay stub I think "Ha! Look what I did!" And I know at the end of the year I am going to be very happy!
Well with being on disability = no 401K buy my goal is to have all medical bills paid by the end of July - I know, boring huh? By the end of the year, my goal is the have $10,000+ plus saved even on disability.
...I meant $10,000+ MORE saved.
Hmmm...my biggest financial goal in the past has always been to beef up the emergency fund. I'd still like to get that to a 2-year mark, but it's not as important to me this year. Like you, I'm focusing more on retirement now that my debt is out of the way and my efund is funded. Although, to be honest, this year I've been trying to focus on paying a little extra to the student loans. I'd like to get them reduced to a manageable level as far as what I owe. I got really stupid with my loans and I've wizened up - thank God! - but, I'm not done with school yet. So, I'm trying to pay now while I don't have to worry about them so much, as opposed to being totally bombarded with an unmanageable amount later.
Frankly my goals keep changing month after month. Life keeps moving in different directions faster than I can plan! I'm mainly storing cash and paying off debt, but I don't have any lofty goals other than get through another year!
My main goal this year is to pay off my car and also bring my emergency fund back up to where it should be. All told it'll end up being at least another 6k I need before the end of the year. It wont be until the and of January next year I am eligible to contribute to my company's 401k, so i'll take advantage when that time comes!
YES! It's refreshing to see you all working on your financial life - I love it :) I could seriously talk about this stuff all day long, thanks for sharing everybody.
I hate to say this but I've stopped contributing to my 401. My decision was based on the possibility of losing my job. I work in state government and budgets are being axed without mercy. I don't want my money to be inaccessible as is the case with a 401K. I'm 55 years old and am not enthused about paying the taxes and penalty on early withdrawal. I figure that the more I can put in the bank, the better off I am. We do have a 10 month emergency fund (and building), but somehow that doesn't feel like nearly enough.
Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do :) If stashing more cash aside makes you feel more comfortable, then by all means do it. We're all wired differently, so you have to do what's best for YOU. Congrats on being able to store away so much too btw, that's great. Here's to your job getting more secure!
My goal is definitely long-term. I'm hoping to pay off my mortgage in less than half of the time of its term. I'm also working on putting 20k in CDs to eventually tap when I need to buy my next car. In the past year I have cleared all of my debt and started a fully funded Roth account. Early 30's aren't all bad if you can maintain some discipline. Good luck with the goals everyone!
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