What % of salary does everyone invest in their 401k?

First year consultant in Chicago making $72k, currently investing 18% with a 3% company match. Wondering if this is too much...

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Do it in this order, by what you can afford:

1. Contribute to 401k up to employer match
2. Save 6 month emergency fund in HYSA
3. Pay off student loan debt and high interest debt
4. Contribute maximum to Roth IRA
5. Contribute max to HSA if you have a HDHP
6. Contribute maximum to 401

likehelpfuluplifting

@BCG1 Yes, there is a MAGI graduated limit. I believe it’s $139k. That’s MAGI, not gross income.

I’m just finishing up my first year working, I’m 24, and did 15% but I’m actually taking it down to 10 to be able to more aggressively pay off student loans. Thinking I don’t need to save so aggressively for 50 years from now while I have debt with high interest.

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I saved 0 towards 401k my first two years to pay off student loan and credit card debt. Best decision I’ve made.

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Max company match for 401K and forget about the rest. Assuming you are in your mid 20's I say live a little, enjoy life, travel.
Your salary will grow significantly in the next few years and you'll be able to catch up on student loans and retirement pretty quickly.
One this you cannot by is youth. Enjoy you 20's and start worrying about things once you hit 30 and make 200+

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Max out both 401k and backdoor 401k. Invest in index fund. Saving rate is appx 45% of gross income. HCL area

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30%, max, making $68k first year staff

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You're off to a great start!!

I started the same way, then reduced a bit to make my first mortgage easier and worked it back up after. Later I saved more than half of some big raises.

Keep it up and you'll be able to retire in your early fifties.

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Other assets include $5k invested in a mutual fund. No student loans or debt of any kind really. Paying taxes on my 401k investments upfront. Debating if ETF’s or a Roth IRA might be worth looking into.

Max out employer match and any Roth options you have before looking into individual investing, especially if you’ll just be doing ETFs. You can effectively treat a Roth IRA as a personal investment account

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21%, which is very close to the max for me.
Although I have/am already doing the things that EY1 mentioned.
I figure that the 401k is the best place to invest in stocks since I know I won't be touching it for decades, which is good for a high risk investment. So I dump a lot of cash there.
I have quite a bit of income left over though (I save about 40-50% of my salary) so I've put a lot of that extra stuff in a bond index fund (low risk for a short term investment) and started doing a regular, small deposit into stock index funds.

Here’s the rest of my list for reference. You’re doing great!
7. Donate to charity
8. Treat yourself
9. Save cash for a big ticket item like car, vacation, down payment
10. Invest in taxable brokerage account like Fidelity or Vanguard (whoever you have your IRA with)

SM. Max out 401k and hsa. Never started an ira but invest heavily on houses.

My understanding is that 4. maximize roth IRA depends on your expectations of current vs. future taxation. If you are early in your career and are making less than what you expect to withdraw in retirement, go for it. If you are high income, max the 401k first.

If you don't have loans, this is NOT too much. With the magic of compounding interest, saving now is going to make you bank later. Literally every single person older than you* is going, "Huh, I wish I'd started maxing out my 401K at a younger age!"
*Yes yes, except for those of you who already figured it out at that age.

12% with 6% match

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