The Max Match, The Max Contribution and the Max After Tax
Prospective clients would regularly tell me they are “maxing” their 401(k)s. Upon closer inspection, I’d discover that they were not maxing their 401(k)s. What were they doing? They were maxing their employer match. This happens often enough that I think it bears explaining. When financial planners say you should “max your contribution to your 401(k),” I don’t think it means what you think it means. (See The Princess Bride.)
Nobody Talks About their Financial Failures
Let me tell you a “not-so” secret: I bought AAPL (Apple) in 2001 at $17. I had a feeling that the iTunes thing was going to be big. And I was right. Yippee for me! Having just come off the bursting of the dot-com bubble and the horror of 9/11, I made a great call.