Thought I would ask this here since there are some folks here that seem to be savvy with this stuff.

I have been back working where 401k is available for the past 2 years. I have not been participating because my reason for going back to work for someone else was because I was cash poor (lol) and I wasn't sure how long I would be working for someone else.

Now that I have caught up and have some decent savings and have decided to stay with the company long enough to be 100% vested in my 401k, I am wondering if I should let the current stock market levels effect the amount I should commit to 401k. I am going to invest at least enough to get the maximum company match of course, but I am wondering what to do beyond that.

Would I be better served putting the extra money I would be willing to invest beyond the amount for maximum company match somewhere else besides the 401k plan?

Yup before increasing your 401k pay off any debts you have, have rainy day funds then increase your contributions.

LOL everyone sees what the stock market is doing and wants to jump in. IF you had joined 2 years ago your money would have multiplied by 5 to 10 times. Problem is the money you put in now will be invested at the high rate of cost in what ever they buy up. IT IS GOING to correct itself. Money u invest now (when the correction hits) will be gone in 3 seconds.
Buddy of mine has paid into a 401 for 22 years. He lost 93,000 in one day during the Obummer years. But in the last year his account has grown almost 180,000.
He is seriously looking at moving it to a guaranteed account. If necessary quitting and working for himself and rolling it over into a Roth .

Use the extra to run a trapline.......lol

If it were me I would get started as soon as you can with the 401K. You need to take advantage of the match and remember the benefit is greatly weighted on time. Even if you have a loan you should put everything you can in the program. I also would say is that you stay the course even if the road is rocky don't change directions. Through good and bad times keep contributing and you will win.

The 201K will travel with you regardless if you don't work for that company. I would ask what their protocol is when you leave or laid off what happens to their share they contributed. Either way your part will go with you and you should get started as soon in life as you can.

The only money I owe is on student loans and the new 4 wheeler I bought a couple months ago. The 4 wheeler will be paid off by June. House and vehicles are paid for.

I'm not getting in because of what the market is doing. I am getting back in because I feel like I am missing out on the money that my company would be putting into the account plus any gains. In fact with the market at all time highs I am leery of getting in at this point. I am 40 and the only thing I have for retirement is what is in savings plus the value of my house, land, etc.

Put in the max and don't look at it or change it until you need it.

Hah, that would currently come out of my " fun money" kitty lol.

Snowy I am 100% vested in whatever the company puts in after 5 years of employment. I already have 2 years in.

You realize that you are making 100% gain on the money that the company matches. Get in and stay in, the 401k program made it able for me to "retire" a the ripe old age of 53. I have never heard of being "vested" in a 401k, also I thought once any money is in the 401k it is yours. Minus tax and early withdrawal penalties of course.

IMO get in and stay in even through the good and bad. In bad times you lost nothing when you cash in is the only time that matters. Sell high if you have too don't panic if things go south just go fishing and don't listen the weak stay pat. Good luck

A lot of companies have the 5 year clause. Cuts down on their cost because most people who invest in the future will stick around for the 5 and probably longer. Job turnover costs companies a lot of money. It is better to offer incentives to get employees to stay. Longevity pay is another great incentive.

when the bottom fell out in 08 I bought as much as I could afford at the time. Wife and I each put 10% of income in our own 401Ks now. I get a 6% cash match from my employer too.

Get in, stay in, be consistent and feed that baby man.

I would contribute up to the company match % (free money) now then pay off the loans you have first. Once they are paid off, go with what you can afford. 15% of your income would be a good target.

I just looked into that and you are right. When I was working I was the union representative on the 401k committee and I never heard of the vesting requirements back then.But I couldn't find out what would happen to the gains or losses the company match would incur say if you left the company after 3 or 4 years. I think that would be a complicated formula to figure out. We were 100% vested from the get go which I thought was required at the time.

Are you for hire?

SEC Math

Too bad you did not start as early as you could have many years ago. Time is money.
Some thoughts How old are you? How long do you plan to work and what do you feel will be your average earnings over that time? Say you want to retire at age 65 and would live to say 90. Calculate about how much SS you will have in retirement and how much you would think you need to live the lifestyle you would like for 25 years after you retire. That will tell you about how much you need in your savings or retirement plans to do that.
I would not be so anxious to pay off even higher interest notes instead of starting a retirement plan payment. A dollar at age 30 is worth a lot more than a dollar saved at age 60.
If you are concerned about how much at least do the match. Right now the market is hot and high which means corrections or flat growth may be quite common over the near term. contributing monthly will dollar cost average this for you.
If you would have had a 10 K loan at 6% and you paid 800 per month to get rid of that you would have saved about $450 in interest. If you would have put that in the market monthly you would have probably tripled the $600.

Bryce

If there is any matching money to be had, do it.
Depending in your situation, a ROTH might be better than traditional.