DaveNineFive
Dryer sheet wannabe
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2008
- Messages
- 19
I just turned 25, and my goal is to at least have the option to retire comfortably by 45 or 50 (with an awful lot of fun in between). I'm trying to figure out the best way to distribute my savings, and any advice would be greatly appreciated!
At the moment I'm putting almost every dollar I can into cash savings towards a down payment on a home (the only exception is that I'm putting enough in my 401k to get my company match). By July I'll have about $30k, which would be about 10% down in my area (Chicago).
So here's my question: should I continue to put every dime I can towards that down payment until I could put 20% down (I estimate that'd be around $60k and would take another 1.5 years), or should I spread the cash around? Right now I'm planning to hit my $30k goal and then change over to:
-10% 401k contribution (plus 4% company match)
-Max out my Roth IRA
-Continue to save about $10,000 per year towards a home
I'm looking at the 401k and Roth IRA to be the vast majority of my retirement savings when I hit that 45-50 mark (from what I understand I'll be able to make regular deductions from the 401k before I turn 65).
Is it more important to buy a home ASAP, start getting money into retirement investments, or a mix of both?
At the moment I'm putting almost every dollar I can into cash savings towards a down payment on a home (the only exception is that I'm putting enough in my 401k to get my company match). By July I'll have about $30k, which would be about 10% down in my area (Chicago).
So here's my question: should I continue to put every dime I can towards that down payment until I could put 20% down (I estimate that'd be around $60k and would take another 1.5 years), or should I spread the cash around? Right now I'm planning to hit my $30k goal and then change over to:
-10% 401k contribution (plus 4% company match)
-Max out my Roth IRA
-Continue to save about $10,000 per year towards a home
I'm looking at the 401k and Roth IRA to be the vast majority of my retirement savings when I hit that 45-50 mark (from what I understand I'll be able to make regular deductions from the 401k before I turn 65).
Is it more important to buy a home ASAP, start getting money into retirement investments, or a mix of both?