Since my side income seems to be growing more than I expected this year, I’ve decided to increase my 401(k) contributions to reduce taxable income. In February, I increased my income deferral rate from 4%—the minimum contribution necessary to maximize the company’s match rate—to 6%. I was already maxing out my $4,000 yearly contribution to my Roth IRA, so adding more to the 401(k) made sense. At some point, I increased the rate again to 8%.
Today, I doubled my contribution rate to 16%. I will try to keep it at this rate for the rest of the year.
$55 of my savings each paycheck goes to a savings account at ING Direct earmarked for “relocation.” This will hopefully provide me with enough cash for a down payment on a house at some point, but it’s only at $1,755 right now.
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4:56 pm (reply)
i had just this week increased my 401k contributions too! from $135/wk to 150/wk (we are paid weekly. my co does not match) and i max out my roth each yr. i supply ing acct as able (at least 100-200 or more per mo).
6:34 pm (reply)
I only put 5% into my 401(k), but my employer matches it with 4% that is fully vested on day one. Then, they have a profit sharing plan that is 8%, and there is an annual contribution of 2%, both of which will be fully vested in about a year.
I put $45/pay (semi-monthly pay, so $90/month) in HSBC, as well as some extra money from eBay and mystery shopping.
2:10 am (reply)
My company matches 6%. I am currently contributing 16%. I’ve been doing this consistently for the past 5 years. My goal is to get it up to 30% (max) if I can find a cushion or other streams of income.
750 – 1000 a month go into an ING DIRECT acct monthly.