401k contribution question? Is it figured from gross or net pay?

8% is taken out. Taxes are taken out on what's left.

401k is pretax.

 

Clearly you don’t pay much attention to the Dow Jones prior to 08 crash it was at 13000 at the top before it lost half its value its now at 23000 that’s pretty much double and if you look at individual stocks we’ll snap I remember back before 08 and holy cow they were sooo much cheaper than now. Me personally I think market will crash soon verrrry soon. I have put options open for that cant wait

 

Yeah but the problems is this ... almost all 401k accounts are invested in the stock market and the number one rule in any investment in the stock market is never use money that you can't afford to use.

So while those who "lost" money in 2009, they can also lose everything in the future.

It is all gambling.

 

Diversity in your investments is key. The real estate market crashed in the 80s. The stock market crashed during the great recession. Inflation can eat away your savings account. Every investment has a down side, and an upside. You are investing for the long haul, even when you retire, you have a 20 year horizon to continue your investments.
Also, saving every pay period over a life time of earnings, is an easy way and smart way to build retirement savings.

Always get the full employer match on a 401k, otherwise you are leaving free money on the table.
Your 401k plan should allow you choices. Again, diversify your investments.....mutual funds offer built in diversity, as they include many different stocks, but not more than a few percent of any one stock. Warren Buffet says a stock index fund can be the best investment for novice investors. I would agree with him.

Two concepts Financial experts say are most important: Save every pay period for retirement. Diversify your investments. A 401k can do both, plus your employer contribution can double your retirement savings.

I have never made money in the real estate market. Almost broke even on the sale of three homes, but they were great places to live. Could have bought a farm for 3k per acre years ago....did not...the price seemed too high, and I didnt want the debt load. Now it is worth more than twice that. Had a small reit fund in my 401k that went bust, still waiting for it to come back. Guess I should have went to trump university....

 

Thats correct.

I met a guy at one of my parents wine parties who was a professional investor. I told him of my interest in investing long-term. He told me to just keep in mind that stocks will go down faster than they go up, but they go up more than they go down, generally speaking.

There is always an "October Surprise" that causes the overall market to decline, especially on election years. Also January gets hit hard due to everyone selling to pay taxes and holiday spending. Other than that, the rest of the year gives growth, in general, of course.

He told me market declines at the end and beginning of the year gives you the best buying opportunities, when most people are selling.

When the market is bare, be bullish. When its bullish, be bare.

I have a ROTH I use to buy conservative ETFs and mutual funds, stuff like that. Also have a brokerage where is choose individual companies like Microsoft and Amazon.

I doubled down on a Chinese entertainment company when the value tanked due to irrational trade war fears. Its a high risk investment. If we ever went to war with China, their government would probably seize my money. But I am betting knowing how much the Chinese love their video games and anime. And they are doing well, and when a society is doing well and growing, it doesn't want war.

 

iwar.its not gambling. Gambling is a zero-sum game. People lose money because they panic and sell. Then they blame the market because they didn't know what they were doing.

 

Despite all the crashes that happened since early 1900s the stock market still produced10% return over the lifespan of the Dow. What other crap can you get that kind of return? Maybe peer to peer lending? Plus the employer contributions I put in 80 they put in 40 Thats 40 dollars free every week

 

Real estate, consider REITs. They typically pay a good dividend, like a utility.

 

As Cramer said to me you need both a 401k retirement with minimum risk etfs index funds and you need a mad money portfolio where you buy 5 to 10 stocks good stocks and ball

Very very true famous saying on the street stocks go down faster than they go up. Honestly a 401k shouldn’t be your only investments I have a Robinhood account they charge zero fees for trading you can’t short stocks tho but what I do when the market is tanking I get put options and inverse etfs I returned 22% in the last three months of last year cuz I went short you cant go short in a 401k o well now I’m already up 12% in the first month of this year now I’m just chilling I got my return target of 12% for this year it’s that easy you just gotta feel the sentiment changing in the markets I listen to CNBC all day long on Sirius xm and get alerts to phone I highly recommend Robinhood! Best broker I ever used and they do offer margin and it’s a hell of a lot cheaper than every other broker online and they are starting a checking savings account that returns 3% god I wish this company would go public I’d go all in lol. My advise buy alibaba not amazon forget apple and buy oil leveraged etfs

 

If you do your homework you can pull out a lot better than 10%. My best performing position grew 200% in the last year. Lol.

Stick to industries you understand. I invest mostly in tech and entertainment.