Sad Day in New Bern and All Hatteras Owners

[nyrussell]

who said more than the match. on the other hand it is tax free investing (so far). And over 40-60 years it does pay off. Like any other long term investment.

Noel

[Dave Phipps]

The real answer is not in new taxes or increased taxes on individuals or corporations. The real answer is reigning in government spending, and dealing with the impending social and financial crisis that Social Security and Medicare are imposing on all of us. There are solutions, even palatable ones, but our political system is broken and corrupt....

The rest of the financial world sees the impending implosion looming, and the dollar is taking the hit as our government fails to address the crisis. With our population growing, and the demographics of that growth being what they are, be prepared for the "I'm entitled to government help" era....at your expense.

Genesis is right...this country is on the way to bankruptcy absent any real leadership.

[Passages]

Krush - I like you buddy, but it appears you spent too much time in the engineering lab and shrugged off the personal finance 101 elective.

You need to get into 401k now even though retirement seems along way off. Since you are just starting out, maybe the deferred tax status does not help that much. However the future is uncertain and 401k is one of the few havens to hold investments safe from bankrupcy, liens and attachments.

Also, now is the time to plant the nest egg. You have 40 years of growth on your side. Don't piss that opportunity away in favor of that new car to impress your friends. Better to put 5000 a year into 401k for the next 10 years and STOP, than to wait 10 years and then contribute 5000 per year, every year until you retire.

Einstien was once asked what he considered mans greatest invention - he answered "Compound interest".

[thoward]

The real answer is not in new taxes or increased taxes on individuals or corporations. The real answer is reigning in government spending, and dealing with the impending social and financial crisis that Social Security and Medicare are imposing on all of us. There are solutions, even palatable ones, but our political system is broken and corrupt....

The rest of the financial world sees the impending implosion looming, and the dollar is taking the hit as our government fails to address the crisis. With our population growing, and the demographics of that growth being what they are, be prepared for the "I'm entitled to government help" era....at your expense.

Genesis is right...this country is on the way to bankruptcy absent any real leadership.

We just had a local yokal council member state on record "the city should raise taxes so we do not have to let any staff go". I about chit myself. The area we are in has 2 big industries, construction and government.

The Social Security issue is being passed like a hot potato. Bottom line is it will not be here 15 years from now. I think The loss of SS could be a blessing, It could force families back together and reduce the drain on other social programs like child care.

[krush]

Krush - I like you buddy, but it appears you spent too much time in the engineering lab and shrugged off the personal finance 101 elective.

You need to get into 401k now even though retirement seems along way off..

Ahh yes, now is a GREAT time to get into 401k heavy....when the best one is doing .01% return and the others are at least -10% YTD (and actually two year negative) with most being -15 to -25%. It's PERFECT!

Edit: Oh yeah, I can't touch it till I'm uber old....not very appealing. It's a system invented to give the pigmen on wallstreet an easy way to pass the bag.

[oldboat]

if you pay attention and carefully pick your investments a 401k is still making money. mine had a 4.79% return the last quarter. not the great returns of the last few years but is still good. if the company wants to give me extra money every month, i will take it.

[nyrussell]

amn Krush, sounds like you want to be poor! I never had the benefit of a pension plan, 401k or anything else. So stop complaining and sock to the max. It adds up and if you put the money elsewhere the returns can be a lot less.

Also, unless you are a financial wizard and can spend all day looking at a chart (IE... day trader and they do get burned often) the 401K is a good lan. it was better years ago, but still a good deal. Now ask yourself who you would like to borrow from for a down on a house, the bank or against your own money... Just one of the benefits of the 401K. But the biggest benefit is TIME. listen to us "geezers" for once will ya. Also, if you pt 10% away on top of that.... Even in a regular savings account... It adds up after 10 years, the first ten are always ugly but then....

Sheesh, give a guy some common sense advice..

LOL

Noel

[krush]

I'm still missing the part where investing in something that is currently consistently LOSING value is wise. Guess I'm a young dum full [sic] BUAHHA

[Boatsb]

Krush the 401K can be put into CD's or other interest bearing funds that will not make big buck but wont lose. Also the tax advantage and the fact that the money has so long to grow will be huge.

[Jaxfishgyd]

Since ATT matches my money, dollar for dollar (to a certain percent) seems I make a 100% profit the second the money hits my 401. Up until a few years ago, all the money had to go into the company's stock.
Now we have options and can invest it where we want.
After over 30 yrs of putting money into it, and now 2 yrs till I can touch it, am glad I have.
And I started out just putting $10 a payday into it in the beginning.