Gotta brag...

[SumDay]

My youngest son is 24, and just graduated last May. After watching the Frontline PBS special about fees, I peppered him with questions about his 401(k). He got frustrated with me and just emailed me a link to the website, along with his username and password.

Anyway, I just got on, and see that he has $11,298 in there after less than a year on the job.

I almost bawled. But I did text him to tell him how proud I am of him. I don't think we had that much when we were 30.

Sorry, I'll stop acting like a mom now. And thanks for reading.

 

[just walk away]

Yay .. That is great news! Thanks for sharing

 

[obgyn65]

Well done.

 

[heeyy_joe]

my youngest son is 24, and just graduated last may. After watching the frontline pbs special about fees, i peppered him with questions about his 401(k). He got frustrated with me and just emailed me a link to the website, along with his username and password.

Anyway, i just got on, and see that he has $11,298 in there after less than a year on the job.

I almost bawled. But i did text him to tell him how proud i am of him. I don't think we had that much when we were 30.

Sorry, i'll stop acting like a mom now. And thanks for reading.

keep peppering!

 

[bssc]

Keep peppering but don't over season.

 

[Midpack]

That's outstanding, and bragworthy indeed. At 24 I had somewhere between $2-$4K, and was wondering what to buy with it...saving & investing was more than a little foggy then for me.

 

[haloFIRE]

Off to a great start! Sounds like a case of good parenting to me!

 

[bbbamI]

I don't have to be a mom to understand why you are so proud.

Congrats to you both!

 

[Sue J]

I know the feeling

My son is 28 and he doesn't share his account info with me but he openly talks about his savings and investments. I'm so proud of him and honored that he talks to me about it. When I asked for an idea about what Vanguard fund he'd recommend for last years Roth IRA for me he listed a few funds and gave me reasons why he liked them for me at my age and situation. His reasons made sense and I chose one that he recommended.

It's nice to know that our kids won't be broke and are making sound financial decisions.

 

[Rambler]

Good for you and your son!

It's interesting how our kids turn out. My 21 year old daughter has been married for almost two years, worked thru college, got scholarships, saved a bit more than a third of the 15k allowance we gave her for the wedding, got scholarships the last two years of school, and saved another 7k or so with her DH during her two years of marriage. On the other had my engaged 26 year old son is still in school, has done 12 semesters, didn't find a pt job until I told him I would only pay tuition and rent and that he had to work if he wanted to eat and put gas in his car. I've also had to tell him no more tuition support beyond the end of thus year and he'd better graduate by then...and we thought we'd raised them the same. Love them both dearly, but while usually the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, it sometimes does roll down the hill.

R

 

[pb4uski]

That's great. My DD is similar but had been out of school for a while. She actually asked me to look at her retirement planning when she was home for the holidays last year. She has a healthy 401k balance and is saving but not depriving herself and is on a good track to FI. Her 401k was spread over about seven funds and I explained why that was too many and we winnowed it down to a few.

 

[SecretlyFI]

Almost nothing more gratifying than when you realize they were listening after all. A wonderful moment for you! Congratulations.

 

[Midpack]

What's better than seeing your children get off to a good start in life, and thereafter? Not much that I can think of. Congrats to all of you...

 

[er33]

Great to read this! My DD is 3 months but I am really hoping she turns out savvy as well.

 

[Dancer373]

Isn't it nice to find out that it all DID sink in ?? Wonderful

 

[sheehs1]

Yay! We didn't have that much at that age either! As parents of this generation I think we really worry about what is in store for our children so kudos to him for starting early and to you for "being the voice in his ear". !!

 

[UnderTheRadar]

IMO - questioning and discussing = great. Logging-in to a financial account to inspect = helicopter parent.

 

[nun]

My youngest son is 24, and just graduated last May. After watching the Frontline PBS special about fees, I peppered him with questions about his 401(k). He got frustrated with me and just emailed me a link to the website, along with his username and password.

Anyway, I just got on, and see that he has $11,298 in there after less than a year on the job.

I almost bawled. But I did text him to tell him how proud I am of him. I don't think we had that much when we were 30.

Sorry, I'll stop acting like a mom now. And thanks for reading.

This shows your son has the ability to save. IMHO that is the most important thing. But now he needs to invest......I was expecting your post to have some information about the funds in the 401k and your son's AA. So what funds does he own and what are the fees? Does he have a good 401k and is he making sensible fund choices....if it's all in a MM fund or all in some emerging market fund there's room for improvement.

 

[Arifriekinel]

IMO - questioning and discussing = great. Logging-in to a financial account to inspect = helicopter parent.

I can't agree. I think it'd be one thing if my mom made me give her the password. Another thing if I just didn't feel like looking into my own fees and offered it up to her so she could do it. Lots of parents and kids have open relationships like that.

My mom wouldn't go into my account, she's just not into finance, and I looked into my own fees after seeing the special, but if I hadn't, I'd be glad she did, since I saw I'm paying 5.25% of every deposit to some guy, which would add up like crazy over the next 30 or 40 years, or until I retire. Encouraged me to switch over to Vanguard as soon as I get over being scared of self-management, but before I put in this year's 5.5k

 

[Bestwifeever]

My youngest son is 24, and just graduated last May. After watching the Frontline PBS special about fees, I peppered him with questions about his 401(k). He got frustrated with me and just emailed me a link to the website, along with his username and password.

Anyway, I just got on, and see that he has $11,298 in there after less than a year on the job.

I almost bawled. But I did text him to tell him how proud I am of him. I don't think we had that much when we were 30.

Sorry, I'll stop acting like a mom now. And thanks for reading.

So did you look at the account's fees?

 

[eytonxav]

Congrats to you and your son. I think most parents want to see their kids get off to a good start and be successful in life and for me, there is nothing that makes me feel better. My DS is 26, graduated with an MBA, two years ago, has pretty good nest egg started and bought his first house last September to take advantage of the housing market and low interest rates. DD graduates next week, is starting grad school in the Fall, so it will be a while before she lauches into the work force.

 

[lemming]

He needs a lesson in password safety and you need a lesson in boundries.
Do the decent thing and tell him to change his password.
And tell us-were you so brilliant that you could figure out all the fees and costs of a 401k just from looking at the balances? Share that information not your son's personal info.

 

[SumDay]

So did you look at the account's fees?

Oh yes. He doesn't have a wonderful selection, but he's getting a pretty amazing match from his employer. He's in 3 funds, and the average expense ratio is .65%. One is 1.05%, but he's earned 20% in that one this year, and he's only got 19% of his balance in that one. We'll have to discuss it. Honestly, in looking through his options, I'm not sure what I'd have done any differently.

He needs a lesson in password safety and you need a lesson in boundries.
Do the decent thing and tell him to change his password.
And tell us-were you so brilliant that you could figure out all the fees and costs of a 401k just from looking at the balances? Share that information not your son's personal info.

Thanks for your concern. Someone referred to me as a helicopter parent earlier. Believe me, if you knew our situation, helicopter is not a word that would come to mind. He lives 600 miles away, and we're going to visit him for the first time this weekend since he moved there last June.

This all came up because a few weeks ago he texted me a picture of his computer while logged into his 401(k) account, showing his balance in large font, so I could easily see how much he had. Again, after watching Frontline, I wanted to make sure he really understood fees. I'm in this line of work, so my kids are brilliant enough to ask for advice from someone who has worked in this field for 30+ years, even if she did give birth to them. They have solicited my opinion many times to ask about DB, DC, health, life, legal and dental insurance, etc.

Please don't fret about the password issue. We're all a lot smarter than we look.

And congrats to all the other posters with similar success stories. You do the best you can as parents (despite the lack of an instruction manual) and I think it's only fair to pat yourself on the back when something, anything, turns out right.

 

[Dreamer]

Good for him! Count me in the crowd that was not thinking about or had any money for retirement at his age.

 

[OAG]

Outstanding and congratulations to both of you. I do not think I had a positive dime in the bank until about age 30. My 4 kids did very well - now it is the 5 out of 10 grandkids in that age range I have a concern for.