Reply to Does everyone on DCUM max out retirement?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Not everyone has the same priorities. My cousin is all carpe diem and buys new everything, high end clothes and every new apple product for everyone in their family.

I make the same as they do, but with an entirely different financial philosophy.

[b]Sometimes it’s just choices[/b]. Other times it’s income. [/quote]
For
Some it’s also an understanding of taxes. When you’re income is high enough that you are not eligible for a refund (not getting a refund is a whole bother topic) it makes more sense to max your 401k then to pay the Feds a lot in taxes. Pay yourself first.

Personal finance should be a required class for ever high school senior. I know I would have benefitted from it.[/quote]

NP. Yes, Sometimes it’s just choices. Other times it’s income. Other times it's financial education. It was a combo for me.

Other times it's options: OP, I have access to both a 403b and 45 and am allowed to max both out ($19k each). DH has access to a TDA and either a 401k or 457, and he can max the TDA and the other account out (22% of his income for the TDA, $19K for the other). Other people don't have access to any pre-tax retirement account through their work, so they put $6k to an IRA. And some have access to SEP IRAs or Solo 401k and can put a lot more away.

And other times it's expenses: We've only recently started maxing out two of our pretax retirement accounts. We were saving for a house for years (decades, in my case -- we are in NYC), paying off student loans, and paying for daycare. Once those expenses eased up, we were able to put more away. We are not maxing everything out but we have these options. We still have afterschool care and summer camp, house repairs and maintenance, 529s, and occasional vacations and restaurants. We don't get family help and haven't had any windfalls (we had to support DH's dad at one point), so we have to budget in order to cover all the categories.

I think it's very rare to max out 401ks or their equivalents year in and out. This board skews wealthy and financially savvy. Feel good that you're able to put $28k away!

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