3 Mistakes to Avoid With Your 401(k)

401k contributions

I contribute 10% of my salary to my companies 401k plan. However, my employer does not match anything. Should I continue to contribute to my employer's plan or send my funds to other annunities that I have with other financial institutions? I'm 61 years old.

401-K

You use 9% gain/year It apears you have some fund I havn't seen. My account

is running -4% for the last 3 years. So write a story about that and see what I will have at retirement!

losses

You talk big about gains. What gains? What do you get if you keep going in the hole every year!

You take big about 9% gains a year over 30 or 40 years. I call bulll shit

investments

every one wants to talk about good scenarios. i am yet to see a investment adviser tell to hold on the investments or reduce investments.

i guess it is like a car salesman telling to wait on buying a car.

we need people that are fair and act on truly for the clients and not to their pockets/business

401k gains

this is to John of MN:

It IS very possible to achieve the 9% gains EVEN in the last 3 years. Like most things in life you get out of it what you put in. You must do your homework. If you just blindly pick a mutual fund or ETF and expect that magically you will gain 9%/year for the next 10-20yrs then you are dead wrong. Research the market. Look at a mutual fund's track record over the last 5 yrs. and also look at what sectors of the market have been doing well in the last 3-6months and then choose your mutual fund(s). Re-evaluate your position in 3-6 months and make changes if necessary.

Over the last 3 years I have averaged about 22%/yr (I am not saying this to brag as believe me I have had some very bad years in the past before I wised up!). This year so far I am up about 10%.

Return on 401k investments

None of the scenarios projected take into consideration the problems associated with fluctuating markets and the effects of ongoing inflation. So none of these projections make any sense. Between the lack of governmental representatives in elimination of taxation on capital gains, dividend and interest there is no incentive to actually set money aside in a 401k or any other plan. No matter what the individual plans to do, business and government will destroy the overall savings plan and render it useless.

Wake up and smell the dollars people...

BUY BUY BUY while funds are cheap. I said funds! As in mutual funds not stocks silly. Position yourself for a two year run... I see it coming... Don't you? Subscribe to morningstar and research your potential funds that meet your investment objective. You know aggressive, moderate, conservative, preservation of capital, or whatever your risk tolerance is. Rebalance your investment objective every 3 months and stay away from munis and bonds for the moment. Remember, bonds make money when interest rates decline. There is an inverse relationship between bonds and interest rates. So, when interates are at historic highes in ten to fifteen years then you buy bonds. Think outside the box for a second. Do you honestly believe our federal government will allow the US economy to fail? How hard is the 'new" president whom ever it may be - going to work on fundamental strategies to improve our economic stability? We may not see results until he/she is out of office but you can rest assured it will come. I see it... Don't you?

Safety First !

When visiting with my stockbroker, he suggested we rebalance my portfolio in light of market volitility, he gave me that ol' song and dance in 2001 and I still tanked. Now I have wised up and purchased an Annuity that guarantees me 8% growth per year for the next ten years, tax-deferred. I sleep well at night now while my cohorts are frantic everyday with market jitters. I trust the big Insurance companies over the so-called experts of Wall Street. As Will Rodgers once said " Their guess is as good as anybodies."

THE ECONOMY

You can THANK NAFTA and CAFTA for ruining our WORLD economy

All of our jobs are sent abroad,so that wealthy people can become SUPER WEALTHY

Do you realize the average wage in Mexico has been lowered because of NAFTA ?

And now wages here in the US, are being lowered

Create a "dollar for dollar" trade balance

Stop allowing illegals to take our jobs

The "middle class" is the largest tax paying base,and they are being destroyed

USE some common sense politicians

Re: Middle class

William wrote: "The "middle class" is the largest tax paying base,and they are being destroyed".

Hardly. Those making over $103,000 per year pay an astounding 97% of all income taxes in this country. And that's a fact, Jack.

Despite the class warfare rhetoric and constant assault on the so-called "rich" consistent with today's Democratic party, the fact is the income tax burden is overwhelmingly placed on the shoulders of the makers in this country rather than the takers. With the left now setting their sites on the most profitable (and most signficant tax payers) corporations in the country, namely the evil "Big Oil", it's conceivable in the coming years we'll see some of these multi-nationals do more to move their businesses to more tax-friendly countries, and we will suffer from it.

Do some homework before posting further nonsense to the Web.

Jason