Reply to Anyone NOT maxing out your 401(k) even though you're making decent money?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]*raises hand* we're contributing but not maxing out. We have really sound personal finance habits but very little faith in the future of the economy. Signed, disallusioned millennial.[/quote]

I am curious where you put your money that you consider safer than a 401k, given your lack of faith in the future of the economy.  Gold bullion?  What investments do you think are immune to the collapse of the US economy?[/quote]

None are. That's the point. Stay out of debt, have an emergency fund, live within means, put some away for a rainy day. If there's something you want to buy or do that will enrich your life, so it now. Spend the money. There's no guarantee that you and/or your money will be there later. [/quote]

You're disillusioned enough to believe that the market (stocks or bonds) won't outperform your checking and savings accounts with their 0.1% interest rates? Or you're disillusioned enough to believe that the theory of compounding won't apply anymore?

I'm cringing just thinking about this -- and I'm an (older) millennial too.[/quote]

The more I see this, the more I think it's not actually a thought-out financial plan, but rather a [i]post hac[/i] rationalization for excessive consumer spending.  "I want that new Tesla, but the only way I can afford it, and my new condo, is to severely limit my savings.  Well, it's not like the stock market is going to do anything anyway . . . "[/quote]

THIS. I'm a millennial who is very much into investing (older one - in my 30s), and I feel like I hear this year after year. People always say -- oh I could invest it, but it's not like the market is doing well anyway, so let me just get the Benz or Tesla or vacation or whatever. [b]And sometimes they are right that the market isn't doing well right that moment -- it's had a week or 2 of a slide or lateral movement.[/b] Yet they fail to look at it long term. I've heard coworkers say it this year -- that it's been a bad year and it isn't worth investing beyond the bare minimum; and yet the S&P is up 5%+ YTD despite the volatility, so there's a 5% return they missed out on.[/quote]

Yeah, it would be terrible to invest in the market when it's down.  They should wait until it's at the peak, and THEN invest.

*headdesk*[/quote]

Are you just looking for someone to lecture? I'm the millennial that invests plenty -- maxing out all retirement options + a brokerage account and plenty of buying on all kinds of market shocks. I DO understand that you buy low and sell high. All I'm saying is that I have run across lots of people with confirmation bias -- i.e. I'll buy the car bc what good is investing, look how bad the market is -- while looking at headlines for the last week where the market went down 0.5% -- while ignoring that overall it's up 5% YTD.

So save your lecture for someone who needs it.[/quote]

He wasn't lecturing you, was agreeing with you![/quote]

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