SwiftOnSecurityDec 1, 2022
One of my biggest regrets was not contributing to my 401K with matching employer funds starting when I was 18.
Do NOT fuck this up if you can manage it financially. I've been contributing overtime recently and I'm still in a deficit.
Go login to your employee portal and fix it. It's fucking free money.
Show threadSwiftOnSecurityDec 1, 2022
I promise you all those stupid electronic gadgets and frivolities you're buying because you now have a steady paycheck are absolute bullshit you'll wonder why you ever thought were a good idea. I set so much money on fire holy crap.
Show threadSwiftOnSecurityDec 1, 2022
The tragedy of youth is we usually have to learn the hard way what we've heard, but not yet experienced.
Don't let this be one of the dumbass mistakes.
Show threadSwiftOnSecurity
https://twitter.com/gilrglover/status/1598113128256278528?s=46&t=Xp5mxWQQq1Emqdp5a7r7Ng
gil r. glover on Twitter

“@SwiftOnSecurity I've led some large oganizations and it always drove me nuts I couldn't get all employees to participate in our 401k. "Fucking free money" is not hyperbole. It also gives many their first shot at learning about investing and markets if they're given options in the funds used.”

Twitter
Dec 1, 2022 at 12:39amWeb
Show threadリーハイDec 1, 2022
@SwiftOnSecurity As soon as I got access to my company's 401k I set that up immediately. I can understand only contributing up to the point that the company will match (in fact, that's exactly what I do), but to not contribute at all is wild.
Show threadAlan K. MartinezDec 1, 2022

@SwiftOnSecurity I remember when I was a young adult just getting into a career instead of just a job I had a lot of loans to pay, I had to take care of my mother who wasn't all that well, pay for our utilities, food and housing. For the first couple of years I couldn't afford the withholding to participate/invest in a 401k. Once I did get into a good place no living paycheck to paycheck I did right away though.

Some people might be in a situation where it's not a priority.

Show threadLee Holmes Dec 1, 2022
@SwiftOnSecurity Depending on options, self-directed 401k can quickly go the wrong way. Letting people self-direct into index funds based on estimated year of retirement makes sense. But I also see people wanting to self-direct into individual stocks (and I assume Bitcoin etc.) and that sets them up for failure.
Show threadSwiftOnSecurityDec 1, 2022
@Lee_Holmes tell me more?
Show threadLee Holmes Dec 1, 2022

@SwiftOnSecurity Many companies let you invest in "the 401(k)", where that money goes into some avenue that the company has chosen. This is often a low-cost index fund or the like. Better companies let you select more specifically where you want to invest that 401(k) money - for example, the S&P500 or index funds that auto-balance depending on your expected year of retirement.

Where it can get risky is companies that let you invest in individual stocks or high-growth / high-risk funds.

I'm all for letting people be adults and make their own mistakes, but the 401(k) is a bad playground for that.

Show threadSaphire LatticeDec 1, 2022

@SwiftOnSecurity

Question:

What if the country of your citizenship is kinda on metaphorical fire? :)

Show threadAGTMADCAT 🇬🇧🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼🇵🇸Dec 1, 2022
@saphire @SwiftOnSecurity Join the club I guess! ;)
Show threadSteve NordquistDec 1, 2022
@saphire @SwiftOnSecurity Fire safety for my true friends, sure faff ytterbium for my froyo friends. Not sure about that last one, but I know I don't need to find an Einstein citation for it.
Show threadMike RDec 1, 2022

@SwiftOnSecurity I get those employees’s [short term] logic. You’re asking them to take a pay cut today in exchange they don’t need to work until they die.

If you’re just out of school or low wage industry, you probably don’t have much extra cash floating around to afford that pay cut.

Show threadlippard✅Dec 1, 2022
@appsec4one @SwiftOnSecurity I always tell my youthful colleagues to put in what you can (e.g., get the match), then increase it each year when you get a pay increase--it doesn't have to be all of your pay increase. And put some of your bonus into it. When you're further in your career, you can hopefully max it out (including with after-tax Roth conversion fun to increase the limits) and have control over your take-home pay. I like to give myself a pay cut at the beginning of the new year, and then a few raises during the year as I adjust withholding to just max it out on the last paycheck.
Show threadJon MarnockDec 1, 2022
@SwiftOnSecurity Wait’ll you learn about Australia or like.. almost any other country 😂
Show threadAlex CharrettDec 4, 2022
@SwiftOnSecurity in 2012 the UK government changed the rules to automatically enroll employees in their company pension unless they actively choose to opt out.