I found out this week that I have an old 401k account from an old employer that has about $2,200 in it! I totally knew there was an account “out there” but I never seemed to hunker down and find out the details. Well, they tracked ME down via Tranquil Space of all places and now I know, and as a result, have to deal with it. I have the forms and I will take care of it within the week. I will not fear the forms!
This got me thinking about my retirement savings in general. I am very fortunate to have an employer who matches funds. They put 2% in for everyone regardless and then match up to an additional 4%. So, to get the full match, I elected to do 4% for a total of 10%, including the employer contribution. Not bad, especially for someone in debt-repayment mode. But I’m no longer in debt repayment mode so I decided to up my contribution to 9% for a total of 15% with employer match. I feel really good about this and I think I will hardly notice the increase (I hope!) With any luck, I’ll see a raise in December that will completely or at least mostly cover the 5% hike.
I think this is the perfect time to make such a change and get used to it coming out of my check. This type of decision would be much tougher with a mortgage and/or child care costs to consider. So now, it’s done before we need to deal with those concerns and we have plenty of time to get used to it as another non-negotiable.
No comments:
Post a Comment