After undergrad, I didn’t immediately enter corporate america like most of my peers. Most of them purchased cookie cutter starter homes with minimal money down, and spoke highly regarding the security of having 401k’s for retirement.
One thing about entrepreneurship is that there are no solid guarantees regarding, investments, returns, or economic predictions.
Most companies matched a portion of their 401k contributions, which was great! BUT, when I inquired regarding what exactly the money was invested in the responses were evasive if answered at all. Many flat out said, “I don’t know”. And I didn’t know either…..
Instead I decided to invest my after tax income into a Roth IRA, so that upon retirement my withdrawal and interest would be tax free.
This was done at a brokerage which I choose not to name, but I was very hands on as a beginning investor. Because my maximum yearly contribution may have not been much to others, but was very important to me. It was done consistently, and not a single tax return dollar was splurged anywhere else.
Fast forward, to the last recession. While many of my peers went into foreclosure and lost nearly all of their savings, due to lack of knowledge primarily. I only lost $318.70.
Had I known then what I know now; “buy low, sell high”. By the increase of purchasing power, with the right moves it would have been a major payday.
The moral to this story is do your own research; trust your intuition before buying into the status quo “American Dream”.
Adventures of an Entrepreneur 