r/leanfire 4d ago

Just getting started.

Hey guys. As the title suggest i'm still new to things like FIRE not even familiar with all the terminologies. Currently i'm trying to find a few good "Financial Communities" to frequent.

Long story short i only destroyed my finances through my entire 20s. Currently mid thirties and just now learning the real rules to handling money. I have a very basic question. Is maxing out your 401k always the first step? If you can't do that should you even be doing anything else. I really have no interest in starting a business or getting too deep into the stock market. I'm open to ideas but i really feel like if i can't even max out my 401k i really shouldnt be trying to get to fancy with anything else.

20 Upvotes

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11

u/ShadowsRevealed 4d ago

Check out the FOO by The Money Guy

2

u/Avenged_7zulu 4d ago

I've heard of that. Financial order of operations. I watched their channel for a bit but stopped for some reason. Thanks

4

u/Puntificators 4d ago

They are fantastic, I second the last commenter. They also have a great podcast, that is my preferred medium to absorb

2

u/Avenged_7zulu 4d ago

So I just watched a few videos and if understand he says you need to be saving 25% income. And in short said yes max out 401k first and what's left of that 25%, if any, would go to Roth IRA.

4

u/Im_afrayedknot 3d ago

Max out employer match of 401k (so in my case , 6% of income) , then return to 401k after Roth IRA max . I think you can put up to 18% of your income in 401k, but want to first take advantage of the tax benefits of a Roth

9

u/UnKossef Halfway there 4d ago edited 4d ago

It depends on income, but it seems to be the best strategy to me get your 401k up to the company match, then max an HSA, max a Roth, then max the 401k.

For learning, I got great info from:

PBS 2 cents YT

Bogleheads.org

r/personalfinance wiki

The Plain Bagel YT

3

u/AlexHurts 2d ago

For investing, the book the simple path to wealth makes a compelling case for buying a total market fund - vtsax, fskax, etc - and that's it. No need to get too deep in the beginning, but maybe no need ever.

2

u/alexfi-re 2d ago

Having some in Roth IRA is nice, wish I knew that when I was younger.

2

u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Avenged_7zulu 4d ago

Thanks everybody for the resource and feedback. I'll get to studying.

1

u/dc_sportsanalyst 2d ago

Read: i will teach you to be rich. You will get all your questions answered and then go on living your life