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If you are lucky enough to be employed by a company that offers a 401K plan, you should definitely take advantage of it. Put in all that your employer will match. If you want to put in more that is fine. In fact I would say if you do not take advantage of your opportunity to get in a 401K plan, your elevator doesn't quite go to the top. A 401K is the best deal going as far as saving and interest rates go.

Various employers match more or less but the majority of them match fifty cents on the dollar up to the first six percent of your salary. That is what my company does. Folks that i fifty percent interest and I don't know of anyplace else that you can make a guaranteed fifty percent. My oldest daughter works for a group of surgeons and they pay seventy five cents on the dollar up to ten percent of your pay. that is awesome and no matter how you figure it, that is seventy five percent interest. If I could get seventy five percent interest on my money, I would retire in a lot less time than I would have. Then there are the outfits that are too cheap to match. My son works for Kroger/King Soopers and they don't match at all. I think it is pretty sad when an outfit as big as Kroger doesn't offer some kind of a match but they don't.

Even if the company doesn't offer a match it is still a pretty good deal because all your contributions are before tax dollars. That means that the money you invest is taken out before income tax is figured. At the end of the year, you pay income tax on your salary MINUS what you invested in your 401K. Your 401K investments are taken away from your gross income. That adds up over the years too.

Something else that is real good about contributing to a 401K plan is that the money comes out of your check automatically. That makes it a lot easier for many folks because they never see the money and have a chance to spend it on something else. Somehow if you don't see it, it makes it easier. I guess it is just human nature.

As with all savings accounts or retirement savings plans, there are a lot of options as to what you invest your money in. What you invest in depends a lot on your tolerance for risk. It also depends a lot on your age and how close to retirement you are. If you are young and don't mind the possibility of losing some of your money, you can invest in some aggressive funds and maybe really hit the jackpot on top of what you are already making from the company match. On the other hand if you are getting close to retirement, you

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