What HHI did you start your 401k?

[Anonymous]

First job out of college. I was on the Hill making $21k per year. Contributed enough for the match every year until I went to law school. When I got out, I started again and maxed out.

[Anonymous]

First jobs. So age 22 for my husband and 26 for me. He made $35k at the time (we weren't married yet) and I made $42 a few years later when I started working. We contributed enough to get the match, always, and started maxing two accounts when I hit 30 and he was 28. We upped our percentage every year until we hit the max every time we got a raise. Now we adjust every year to meet the IRS limit.

[Anonymous]

We married quite young and only my DH was working at that time. My first job was in 1992, I started at 25K.

I put everything in my 401K, full match was for 5% of salary or something like that. My earnings increased substantially after the first year, but I continued to put away my entire salary in my 401k for the next 12 years. I retired after that to become a SAHM.

We have basically lived way below our means all our lives. Contributing to the full extent (to get match) to 401k, funding for college etc., and living on one salary. We are quite comfortable.

We have always lived on my DH's salary (including saving for retirement and college).

[Anonymous]

First job, 40k. I only put 5% in originally. I actually didn't miss it much.

[Anonymous]

First job after grad school. I did not contribute for the 2 years I worked before grad school. As I recall there was no matching, and I was making $14,500/year anyway (this was a long time ago) and needed any extra money to pay for grad school. When I first started contributing I did not contribute the max because I was paying back big student loans. It's all worked out in the end.

[Anonymous]

First job, immediately. I think I was making $27,000 as a base salary. I now have 5 separate 401(k) plans, and the total is just shy of $1mm. You need to start somewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When did you start contributing to your 401k?

Day one of employment, well it wasn't a 401k it was the equivalent for my employer. I made $18,204 in 1988.

[Anonymous]

When I started my first job at 23. Contributed 6 percent to get the match.

[Anonymous]

First job out of grad school, $49K, contributed 5% to max employer match. I was 28 at the time. I started maxing my contributions after I finished repaying school loans.

[Anonymous]

Late start too, I was 27, making $24K, did the max contribution, it was 1998.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When did you start contributing to your 401k?

First job out of college, $27.

[Anonymous]

First job out of college making $28K per year. I make sure to get the maximum match each and every year. I want to stop owrking as soon as freaking possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
We married quite young and only my DH was working at that time. My first job was in 1992, I started at 25K.

I put everything in my 401K, full match was for 5% of salary or something like that. My earnings increased substantially after the first year, but I continued to put away my entire salary in my 401k for the next 12 years. I retired after that to become a SAHM.

We have basically lived way below our means all our lives. Contributing to the full extent (to get match) to 401k, funding for college etc., and living on one salary. We are quite comfortable.

We have always lived on my DH's salary (including saving for retirement and college).

You're quite comfortable because of when you were born. You bought a house before the market runup. You worked during the economic boom of the 90s.

Those of us born in the 80s can't float by like people born in the 50s/60s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
We married quite young and only my DH was working at that time. My first job was in 1992, I started at 25K.

I put everything in my 401K, full match was for 5% of salary or something like that. My earnings increased substantially after the first year, but I continued to put away my entire salary in my 401k for the next 12 years. I retired after that to become a SAHM.

We have basically lived way below our means all our lives. Contributing to the full extent (to get match) to 401k, funding for college etc., and living on one salary. We are quite comfortable.

We have always lived on my DH's salary (including saving for retirement and college).

You're quite comfortable because of when you were born. You bought a house before the market runup. You worked during the economic boom of the 90s.

Those of us born in the 80s can't float by like people born in the 50s/60s.

PP is quite comfortable b/c they were smart. I wish I had been so smart. Most people COULD live on one salary but choose not to.

[Anonymous]

First job out of college. A % per paycheck, but I don't recall what %. Single and $32K annually.

Paid off for me b/c when I left that job they didn't stop making contributions! I called and the VG person told me, heard my surprise and then swiftly had me do a rollover...