How do you make maxing out TSp/401K work?

[Anonymous]

It sounds a bit flippant, but you just do it. Have it taken out before you do any calculations. Money you never see, doesn't exist. Budget around the net total per month of the two paychecks. If you're biweekly, the. The two extra paycheck a are found money, as is your tax refund.

I'm a single parent GS 14 with a kid in daycare when I bought a place in N. Arlington. I was maxing out the whole time. I decided that my mortgage and utilities had to be paid for by a single paycheck. Daycare took a bit more than half of the other check, which left about half for everything else. (I didn't carry any other debt) Those two found pay checks were the breathing room. My dad tax refund went into my "next car" fund and emergency fund. I did not take fancy vacations then - couple days in Williamsburg.

[Anonymous]

I have no idea what a "dad tax refund" is. No idea what I was trying to type before autocorrect fixed it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:29 year old fed, GS-14 attorney. We just bought a house, and have a 14 month old. Uncle Sam keeps getting me on taxes, and the CPA told me to max out tsp. Just curious how logistically others make it work, with young kids and childcare, etc... Luckily, we took a mortgage for a lot less than we qualified for. However, that money goes to savings in case of an emergency. If I keep increasing tsp, I won't have any savings of feels like.

As others have said, put step increases into your TSP. COLA increases as well. You may want to make your emergency fund smaller to max out your TSP. If an emergency does arise and you find your emergency fund isn't sufficient, you can take out a TSP loan to cover shortfalls. Better to max out your TSP tap into it for a loan in the event of an emergency than to have an emergency fund sitting around in a low-interest account.

[Anonymous]

One other thing you can do is increase your TSP contribution in October or whenever your paychecks go up because you hit the $118,000 social security limit. So the last few months of the year you put in a little more--maybe another $1-2K each.

Lots of people don't contribute when they are younger and have kids in daycare. You just have to increase it a little every year, along with every step and every COLA, and after a couple of years you get there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We only have one car, so that helps.

We're in a gov't subsidized daycare, so that helps.

We live in a 2 bedroom townhouse in S. Arlington, so that helps.

It all adds up and makes it not painful to contribute the max (HH of one GS14 and one GS15).

We are a GS 14 and 15 family too. How do you get gov't subsidized daycare? What agency?

It's subsidized in that it's $1400 / month downtown, so not cheap, but lower than the market rate for a center in DC. It's DOS.

[Anonymous]

I get what you're saying bc it also feels "better" to me to have money "available" in savings rather than locked away for retirement 3 decades for now. However, I think you need to set a number for what you want in the savings account. Once that number is hit, reduce those savings and contribute whatever % of your paycheck needed to max out.

You work for the gov't -- you have to plan for usual life expenditures like anyone else - say if the washer/dryer or the roof were to go; but you don't exactly need to be worried about being laid off with a 2 week severance. Unless you are planning to leave the govt soon, do you REALLY need that much in an emergency fund?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Contribute enough to get your employer match.
The rest goes to Roth IRA.
If there's more left over, start adding more to 401k.

With this approach, I wasn't able to max my 401k until age 38 or so, when our childcare costs went way down. DH started maxing around 35. Do what you can. Every little bit helps.

Wait, why a Roth first? I thought the rule of thumb is to make out 401k since you'll pay more in income tax now vs later when you're retired.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I get what you're saying bc it also feels "better" to me to have money "available" in savings rather than locked away for retirement 3 decades for now. However, I think you need to set a number for what you want in the savings account. Once that number is hit, reduce those savings and contribute whatever % of your paycheck needed to max out.

You work for the gov't -- you have to plan for usual life expenditures like anyone else - say if the washer/dryer or the roof were to go; but you don't exactly need to be worried about being laid off with a 2 week severance. Unless you are planning to leave the govt soon, do you REALLY need that much in an emergency fund?

There are many other emergencies - like needing an expensive house repair or being a fed that gets injured or your spouse is injured and you need to take unpaid leave.

[Anonymous]

Single parent, rent a 1BR for $3K per month (san fran rent ?), income is $100k. It is not possible for me. I pay $500/month in afterschool care. One child only. I think a lot of it depends on your income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Contribute enough to get your employer match.
The rest goes to Roth IRA.
If there's more left over, start adding more to 401k.

With this approach, I wasn't able to max my 401k until age 38 or so, when our childcare costs went way down. DH started maxing around 35. Do what you can. Every little bit helps.

Wait, why a Roth first? I thought the rule of thumb is to make out 401k since you'll pay more in income tax now vs later when you're retired.

Guess it depends on who you ask.

http://www.daveramsey.com/askdave/posts/6323

[Anonymous]

Both DH and I max out our 401ks each year as a priority because we get killed in taxes and it is one of the few deductions we can take. Also, my company matches and last year their contribution was 10k, do I alone contributed 28k. This is a huge no brainer. No way am I leaving 20k on the table. Like you, we have a low mortgage and designed it that way. We are financially cinservative.

Also, it's the long game. We are 38 & 40 and just hit 1M in retirement savings and am very happy that we will be going into retirement in a very solid and secure position.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One other thing you can do is increase your TSP contribution in October or whenever your paychecks go up because you hit the $118,000 social security limit. So the last few months of the year you put in a little more--maybe another $1-2K each.

Lots of people don't contribute when they are younger and have kids in daycare. You just have to increase it a little every year, along with every step and every COLA, and after a couple of years you get there.

That assumes you are making over $118,000 a year. Not everyone does. Even low-level 14s aren't hitting that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:29 year old fed, GS-14 attorney. We just bought a house, and have a 14 month old. Uncle Sam keeps getting me on taxes, and the CPA told me to max out tsp. Just curious how logistically others make it work, with young kids and childcare, etc... Luckily, we took a mortgage for a lot less than we qualified for. However, that money goes to savings in case of an emergency. If I keep increasing tsp, I won't have any savings of feels like.

If Uncle Sam were paying my wage, I would be rather less churlish about paying my share of taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:29 year old fed, GS-14 attorney. We just bought a house, and have a 14 month old. Uncle Sam keeps getting me on taxes, and the CPA told me to max out tsp. Just curious how logistically others make it work, with young kids and childcare, etc... Luckily, we took a mortgage for a lot less than we qualified for. However, that money goes to savings in case of an emergency. If I keep increasing tsp, I won't have any savings of feels like.

If Uncle Sam were paying my wage, I would be rather less churlish about paying my share of taxes.

Uncle Sam does not pay her wage not her pension, a luxury not afforded to the producers in this country, the American people do. federal workers tax, is just a big circle jerk.

[Anonymous]

I tell ya, even with double GS-15 10s and a kid it ain't easy. We want to move someplace where the air is cleaner and the groceries are cheaper.