My Roth 401(k) grew 21%! Woo!

"WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe" (wesbarton89)
10/30/2014 at 17:35 • Filed to: None

Yep! A pretty good rate of return recently. I've got a decent amount invested in the aggressive options, so I got some decent growth. I've only been contributing 2% of my pay each period, for the last year or so, but it's something at least. I'm pretty happy about it.

Here's a stock car for your time.

DISCUSSION (14)

For Sweden > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
10/30/2014 at 17:37

These past few weeks? how?

Saracen > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
10/30/2014 at 17:47

I contribute %6, my company matches up to %3, been averaging %15 rate of return per year since I started working here (about 6 years ago).

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > For Sweden
10/30/2014 at 17:54

I didn't look into it too deeply, but I'm well invested in aggressive stocks, as well as company stock. I had about $300 in there, from what I put in, and from matching. It grew (I invested 1% of pay from Dec-July, and 2% thereafter). Looking at it a little closer, it's been 21.89% ROR average since December of 2013. I lost about a small amount this month, but overall it's been pretty good over the past not-quite-year.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Saracen
10/30/2014 at 17:59

That's not too awful. I can't remember my max company match, but it's either 3% or 5%. Do you do conservative, moderate, or agressive?

Saracen > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
10/30/2014 at 18:02

Aggressive. I'm young, and when I started investing the Dow was really low.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Saracen
10/30/2014 at 18:11

I see. Makes sense. I actually worked a job for a while, where we dealt with Gov't 401(a) tax-deferred contribution plans, with different investment options. This was from 2009-2011, and you could really see how things changed with stock performance firsthand. I learned so much about stocks and investments from that job, and I saw that generally, higher allocations in international funds was much riskier, but had a huge potential for major returns, and these people could gain or lose thousands of dollars a month from it. There was a guaranteed no-loss investment, but it was a super low ROR. It's difficult to play the stock market, but it can really bring some good money if you're smart about how and where you allocate, and you gotta know when to back out, or re-allocate. I'd say it's best left to those that can put in a couple hundred dollars per paycheck at least. I can't afford to do that right now, and that's too risky, so I'm just putting in a few dollars per pay ($10-$15), just so I can get my own feel for it.

GreenN_Gold > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
10/30/2014 at 18:22

Please research the minimum match at your company and at least contribute that much! It's free money. You owe it to yourself.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > GreenN_Gold
10/30/2014 at 18:24

That's a good point. It's 3%, I just found out. I think I can do that, especially with the other half working now too.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Saracen
10/30/2014 at 18:25

My company has an insane match - 100% of 8%, and they throw in 6% as some kind of pension replacement. So I put in 8%, and save an effective 22% of my salary.

The benefits of working alongside high-demand engineers and geologists...

Saracen > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
10/30/2014 at 18:44

I get a %7 pension replacement. So %16 total for me.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Saracen
10/30/2014 at 21:33

Nice - more than enough to set you up nicely for the long haul.

El-Verde > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
10/31/2014 at 17:17

Up those contributions man! Or if the company only matches to 2%, put more in a Roth IRA or Traditional IRA.

My company matches half of my contributions up to 15%, so you'd better believe 15% of my pay goes in there for free money.

Stupidru > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
11/05/2014 at 14:53

While I would've loved to have had been working during the recession (was in school at the time) so I could've cashed in on the rebound, but my account has rebounded from this latest slump pretty well. With a decent amount in my tratitional 401k, I recently started contributing to a Roth 401k (unfortunately we don't get a match yet, but we should in 2015) and my wife and I opened up a 529b for our unborn children. Lucky SOBs will have it good when they go to school and figure out mom & dad were being responsible lol

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Stupidru
11/05/2014 at 15:19

I hear ya. I wish I could've cashed in on it myself. But, I'm glad you opened up an account, especially for your future children. That is being responsible for sure. Better late than never!