First off, "Hi!" To quickly introduce myself, I'm 22, recently married, and live in New York City. My wife and I are big savers (she converted me), and we hope to be financially free within 15-20 years. Briefly, our current stats:
Combined Salary: $135,000 (as of June, when I graduate and start work)
Cash Savings (in a 5% 6 month CD now): $130,000
Taxable Investment Account: $52,000
Roth IRA: $18,000
Wife's 401(k): $10,000
Total Assets: $210,000
Total Liabilities: $0
Expenses currently run about $24,000/year, leaving us with some serious savings. Invested money is almost entirely in index funds with about 15% in a bond fund. I think that we're on the right track for hitting financial freedom pretty early on.
Anyway, my question:
Does it make sense to fully fund our 401(k) accounts, given that we would have to wait until 59 1/2 to access the cash? Remember, we're 22 and will potentially be FIREd by 40.
(Taking "substantially equal periodic payments" doesn't make sense and I don't know if we want to buy real estate. The potential future value of $31k/year after 15 years is $700k - $900k, a substantial chunk of what we would need for early retirement / financial freedom.) *Please explain your reasons if you vote.*
Combined Salary: $135,000 (as of June, when I graduate and start work)
Cash Savings (in a 5% 6 month CD now): $130,000
Taxable Investment Account: $52,000
Roth IRA: $18,000
Wife's 401(k): $10,000
Total Assets: $210,000
Total Liabilities: $0
Expenses currently run about $24,000/year, leaving us with some serious savings. Invested money is almost entirely in index funds with about 15% in a bond fund. I think that we're on the right track for hitting financial freedom pretty early on.
Anyway, my question:
Does it make sense to fully fund our 401(k) accounts, given that we would have to wait until 59 1/2 to access the cash? Remember, we're 22 and will potentially be FIREd by 40.
(Taking "substantially equal periodic payments" doesn't make sense and I don't know if we want to buy real estate. The potential future value of $31k/year after 15 years is $700k - $900k, a substantial chunk of what we would need for early retirement / financial freedom.) *Please explain your reasons if you vote.*
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