I contribute 6% of my monthly paycheck to a company matched 401k, it currently has about 5k in it. My (boomer) father insists I continue to contribute to it and it’s “just what you do” as a working adult.
I know the company match is essentially free money. But at the same time, I’m locking away a chunk of my paycheck into an account I literally can’t touch for 30 more years (I’m 29) without getting taxed like crazy.
I make decent money but have also accepted the fact that with the current state of the world I will probably never be able to buy a house, truly retire, have genuine savings, afford to have kids etc. In the next 5-10 years we are facing the effects of climate change, the potential for pretty serious world and government issues, honestly anything could happen at this point. I don’t even know if I’ll make it to 60 years old.
Just feels like I’m throwing my money in the trash and I might as well have slightly more money now instead of holding onto some old practice that doesn’t really make sense anymore for someone my age. If I see 60, cool, but a lot of crazy shit will happen between now and then and I’m probably going to be cashing out my 401k with the world on fire.