Originally Posted by Ws6
Originally Posted by csandste
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Originally Posted by Ws6
This thread makes me want to figure out how to get a 401K. Can you get one without an employer being a part of it?
You don't need an employer to save money. Most don't do that much of a match anyway maybe 3-5% and you're limited by the funds that they allow.
But for normal investing, first you max out your 401k, then your IRA/Roth IRA if you can depending on your tax bracket, then regular investing in a cash account. The sooner you do it, the more time is on your side.
Take an employer match on your 401/403/457 then do a Roth to the max allowed. You can over save in a tax deferred plan and get slammed in retirement. See my earlier post about having my income taxes double in retirement.
And you need an employer who offers a 401K. If they don't match just fund your Roth to the maximum, then pay capital gains on regular investments.
I have no employer options. I do get to deduct the $3800/year I pay for insurance through my employer from my income, though, so that's nice, but it's money lost, not invested. Is it still worth it, or should I just continue to buy realestate?
It's worth it if you pick the right funds and if the stock market maintains it's current pace. As the saying goes, past performance is no guarantee of future results, but if you've been betting that way for the last 10+ years, it's been paying off.
Yes it's worth it to do the max in a Roth IRA if you don't really need the money. You can take it out after 5 years if needed and just pay taxes unless you're over 59.5, in which case it's tax free. Tax free growth basically increases your total return. When you get a 30% return, if you have to pay 25% in taxes, that's really only a 22.5% return. So if you did 6k and got 30%, you'd make $1800 and in a regular account that's $450 you'd have to pay in taxes if you're in the 25% bracket.
You'd have to do the math if it's worth it vs real estate, it all depends on the real estate deal.