As some know I recently started my first post-grad job.

The company matches 5% for 401K investments, so I just put 5% on the form as I would be a fool to pass up free money.
I am thinking of upping that to maybe 10%, I believe the cap is 15%.
The earlier it gets in, the longer it will have to compound up is my thinking.
Another bonus is that it will also reduce my taxable income.

I have approximately $8,500 in student loans to pay back at an interest rate of 4%.
Planning on being fairly aggressive on repayment, thinking $800ish per month as I hate the idea of paying interest.

One of my first priorities is to get an emergency fund built up.
That is an absolute must.

I don't plan on purchasing a house at least for likely 3-5 years as home might be bouncing around abit.
My current monthly rent($400ish) is such that I don't believe I could justify purchasing a house with how little I am home.

That said, I am also thinking of maybe other investments.
A rental property here in Auburn would seem like a good idea.

Any input or am I pretty much on track?
I'm open to sound suggestions.

Sounds like you have a solid plan.

X2, compounding interest is your friend in your 401k. I would also throw in getting yourself some term life insurance, should be dirt cheap for a young healthy person.

You're light years ahead of most people your age.

Sounds like you're following Dave Ramsey's scheme more or less.

I'd max my pre-tax investment into 401k, even after matching stops, up to the $18,000 max that the government allows.

Life insurance is the family business...my parents sent me off to Auburn with a staggering amount of Life insurance.
I'm not even sure how my stepdad managed to get what they got on me.

Ehhh Dave Ramsey is interesting but I don't buy into what he has to say fully.
My line of work I need access to credit.

I would really research the rental property in Auburn before diving in as that landscape and market continues to change. Several of the engineers that worked for me straight out of college there bought houses and rentals and have had an awful time with them due to the changes in student housing and all the new dorms on campus. I know Auburn is growing and the real estate market is doing better than the rest of the state, however out of the 8 or so that bought houses there in the 2007-2010 timeframe all but 1 lost money so just something to think about.

You have your head on straight. For emergency funds, put up 6 months of your net pay. Contribute the max allowable to your 401K, and when you turn 50 years old, be sure to invest your "catch-up" money.

Don't be scared to buy precious metals like "silver rounds" which you can buy as little as 1/10th oz at a time, and gold bars in small quantities at a time. You'll pay more than spot, but silver price is based on 5000 troy ounces at a whack. Don't worry about if it goes up and down, just buy it constantly and DON'T buy certificates. buy the real metal. To keep it simple, don't buy gold or silver coins (numismatics) very frequently because that's two different investments rolled into one and can be confusing.

In a SHTF scenario, you will want small denominations of precious metals. I've been doing it for 40 some years. A dollar bill is a piece of paper backed by nothing but confidence.

Buy real property, too, but buy to rent out. Don't go out and buy a friggin' castle to live in because you'll be sitting in all your equity that YOU had to pay for. Get a nice but modest house to live in.

You'll do fine because you think ahead, I've seen.

Others may differ with my recommendations, but I was able to retire very early and my plan worked for me. I'm no different than anybody else, I just set a course and stayed with it.

Well, everything you said fits into Dave's scheme perfectly. So you probably agree with him more than you think. And I don't think Dave is completely opposed to using a credit card (I could be wrong on that). I think not carrying a balance is the big thing. And most folks get themselves into trouble with a credit card, whether or not they'll actually admit it.

Doing good with the 401k. If I were young again, I would definitely invest in silver. It is around 17 dollars an ounce right now and has been higher than 50 dollars an ounce. Some time in your life, it will definitely go back and perhaps much higher than 50. If you buy in at 17 and it drops to 13-14, then buy some more. If it drops again to 8-10 purchase some more. You have time on your side. I don't! As far as rental property - there are some good write-offs but it can be a nightmare. I was in the rental business for awhile and am very happy that I am out. I also flipped some houses which did very well. If Trump reduces the capital gains tax, then flipping could be a very lucrative opportunity.

I have approximately 50ish OZ of silver, it is in the gun safe at my parents house in California. Bars/rounds, 90%, and American Silver Eagles.

I should probably bring that silver back with me next trip.

Good start. You can NEVER rely on fiat currency when hyper inflation hits, like in Venezuela.

You're gonna do just fine in life.

Oh, own your own house BEFORE you get married, and don't co-mingle funds from that into the family finances, ever.

I'd find a sugar momma with lots of land.

That certainly isn't my girlfriend.
Super sweet girl from Blount Co but from very humble means.

That whole date within your own tax bracket, I see why someone might say that.
There are complexities that wouldn't be there.

I read this all the time, but in a real SHTF scenario, I can't see gold, silver or diamonds being worth spit. I would think the real currency would be water, food, medicine, fuel, booze, tobacco, drugs and sex and not necessarily in that order.

1. Emergency fund of a couple thousand at first and then 6 months salary as soon as you can.

2. 401k up to employer matching = Free money.

3. Pay off loans.

4. Roth IRA at your age. My son is in college, but just got a full time gig at a tech company that is about equal to an internship, but better. I got him starting to invest 10% into a Roth IRA at www.betterment.com because there was no minimum to start with.

Not a bad idea to just rent for awhile, home ownership is not the great investment it once was, plus there are a lot of unexpected costs associated with home ownership.

So yeah, you are on the right track.

I appreciate that. Thank you.

You're single right? Why would you want life insurance? Life insurance is primarily to provide for your loved ones in the event of your demise. If you're single with no family, life insurance seems like a waste.

Max your 401K and put any remaining in an IRA. Drop the rental property idea. If you're on the road a lot, do you have a contingency plan for when emergency repairs arise at the rental property? If you want to keep tenants happy, you need to be able to address these issues quickly. It's hard to do that when you're out of town.

I haven't purchased any.
Parents pulled a good bit on me and the company gave me a little bit.

I am merely spitballing ideas right now.
I'm not committed to any one strategy or line of thinking.

If I do go ahead with the rental property idea I would be looking into a property management company.

ROTH is your friend....it grows tax free. Put as much of it in a ROTH to keep the governments hands off of it later.

You can buy a rental with a self directed ROTH IRA and all your profits are tax free then. After working in the public sector I love the rental business and wish I had gotten in earlier

That's a good point that I've considered too. How would a potential trader even verify it was real silver and not an arcade token?

Definitely buy some precious metals, silver more than anything else. While beans, bullets, and bandaids would be a valuable commodity should SHTF, eventually trade would resume for a more normalized currency. Gold and silver have been valuable and in demand for literally thousands of years...through good times and through the downfalls of entire civilizations. It's a safe bet that it could help ride out anything else that might pop up in your lifetime.

I use betterment and I'm satisfied with the platform so far. Set it and forget it.

I'm not investing/prepping for SHFT.

I'll keep a couples of water around and some food but I'm not a Rambo survivalist type.

You would do better to contribute to the max match of your employer, then take the rest and invest in a Roth IRA. You can contribute a max of $5,500/yr in a Roth. It's like a savings account, so when you have kids and life gets short on time and money you can use a Roth IRA whereas, you would be forced to take a loan out on a 401(k) then pay back the amount.

The 401(k) is only a good investment vehicle for up to the amount that an employer contributes. If you go beyond that you'd be better of in a Roth IRA or bonds (municipal).

A 401(k) must be vested to earn the employer match. Most companies require that you work for them for 5 years before you are 100% vested and you can take their contribution to your 401(k) with you when you leave. If you aren't employed by them for the minimal amount of time that it takes to be fully vested, then you forfeit their match amount.

The Roth IRA matures after 5 years. If you cash it in before that time, then you can cash it in for the amount that you paid for it. If you keep it until you retire, then the interest compounds.

Don't pay off your student loan early. It is the cheapest interest loan available and it gives you good credit during the time that you are paying it. It was the best investment you could have made and the interest is so low that it is actually less than the inflation rate. You're shooting yourself in the foot if you pay it off early.

If you plan to live somewhere less than 8-10 years, then you're better off renting in most cases. You're going to get stuck paying Private Mortgage Insurance if you don't have 10% down on a home loan. PMI can cost a couple hundred bucks per month on top of a mortgage. Once you're invested for 10% then the payment goes away. VA loans don't require money down or PMI.

An 8-month emergency fund will be there to help in case you have hospital bills or wind up without work. Take the amount that it takes to live each month and multiply it by 8. You can have that much in cash, precious medals, or Roth IRA's but it should be much more important to stash than paying off student loans right now.

I wish I had followed the same financial path when I was younger. I did pretty well until I got married.

It may be worth your time to talk to a professional.

I started putting money into the work 401k when I was 21. Converted to roth 401k when that came available. My company does a 2/1 match up to 4%, so I have to put in the 8 to get the 4. I've invested as much as 18% before, but I've never maxed it out to the yearly limit.

Anyways my wife and I met with a financial advisor this year after having our first child. He used his projection tool and said I was on a current track to be overinvested for retirement. It would be in my best interest to back off the retirement account to build up the emergency fund even more and pay down our house faster since I was sitting good on my retirement account. I'm sitting at 10% right now.

As a 23 yr old starting my first job and knowing I would be getting married within a year or so, I started 401k at 7% of my salary. Went up 2% with each raise and was quickly at the 15% max. I wish now that I would have started the Roth IRA sooner,
but oh well. 5% for me to Roth. If you never see the money, you will not ever miss it.

My advice is to
a. If you have limited options in market, do not chase the winner for a 6 month period. This is LONG term investing, so look at 10 year returns and make your decisions.

b. Don't worry when you see some big losses

c. Don't get too excited when you see some big gains.

Pretax 401k = you don't feel quite the sting on your check.

Post Tax Roth IRA = that sum beach hurts

His projection tool is wrong and you've been given some terrible advice. 10% savings is certainly not enough, especially with kids.

He's projecting you'll get an 8%-10% return. This won't happen. It happened for our parents, but it won't happen for you. Find a new advisor, seriously.

Good to hear an independent review. Thanks.

Put as much back as you can while you're single. It's nearly impossible with all kids and a wife.

True. and buy small denominations so that folks that are not able to make change for large denominations don't have to. Also, never let the government know how much you have. Just get a sales receipt without your name on it. They have confiscated it before.

For the folks that are not fans of precious metals, don't buy it, then. I'd rather be prepared than not, though.

I don't really know how you can make a blanket statement like that. You don't know my salary, how much I have saved, how much my wife is saving, pension, etc. Also,what do kids have to do with how much retirement savings I have?

I agree with what the others have said, it sounds like you are light years ahead of most people at your stage in life. That being said. I like what Deadwood had to say but I would personally change one small thing. I would put up to my company match in my 401k, then I would put the rest in a self-directed IRA (Traditional or Roth). I would go with the ROTH and then invest in Real Estate & some precious metals for diversification (but I personally would mostly invest in real estate). You can do this with a self-directed IRA, your IRA owns the investment, not you personally, so there is no tax liability on the income or the profit when you sell the property. I like the ROTH because with certain acquisition strategies you can pick up real estate without having to use a lot of funds. For example, you can put an option to purchase on a piece of property for a hundred dollars and then sell the option for 5k profit with not tax burden on the profit even when you pull it out at retirement if it is a ROTH. Or you could buy a small lot that is tax delinquent for a $1000 and sell it for 3 or 4k for a quick profit without ever having to pay any taxes on that money. You can see how you could begin to grow that account pretty fast if you continue to keep those profits moving (the velocity of money). These aren't pie in the sky examples, these are just a couple of real world examples that people like me are utilizing within their self-directed IRA's, to make much higher returns with more security than you will find in the stocks, mutual funds, annuities, life ins etc. I know there are always exceptions to the rule on both sides. Yes, you can lose money in real estate but there are many very safe options that you have more control over than the stock market. My number one rule is to never ever buy a speculative property that is totally dependent on the market to rise for me to make money. I will not buy it if I unless it's way below the current market value (this gives you room for the market to drop and you still have equity) and the best properties either allow for immediate positive cash flow or they allow for you to add value to the property that you have already purchased below market. Never go into an investment like this without an exit strategy that has room for market fluctuations. This type of investing does require more effort on your part, but consistent returns of 30% and higher are not uncommon at all.

Just my two cents...This strategy has worked well for me, but you can't go wrong with any of the suggestions that have been given, along with what you already have planned out.

Yes, I am also a Roth fan, but it came a little late in my investing career, about 1989 or so when it was born.

David Lee Roth?

Well, a little, but more of a Sammy Hagar fan.

Not too late at all if you use the strategies that I have mentioned above with real estate. But the downside is that you personally have to sniff out the deals that are going to make you the money, so it is more hands on although you still have to manage those investments at arms length to stay legal. But I don't know of any other way to grow wealth any faster and with the security of real estate. You just have to be particular in the types of properties that you invest in...

I'm up to 14% into my 401k, and looked into splitting some of that into a Roth 401k instead, but I ran some calculations on various online comparison calculators and at my age with 9 years until I retire the calculations showed that I would get more money after taxes by staying with the 401k vs the Roth, all things being equal.

I was surprised, but I think the difference maker is that 14% before taxes is obviously a greater initial investment than 14% after taxes, so you are putting in more money on the front end. Now throw in the fact that I believe we will be in a lower tax bracket when we retire, even favors the 401k more.

However for a younger person, putting as much in the Roth as possible makes sense.

I put myself through college working on cars and graduated standing on a street corner in Downtown B'ham with $1k to my name but no debt. It was kinda like the fat kid that one day shows up and is skinny. I decided I wasn't going to be poor my whole life.

I'm going to stop there because I'm not into putting my life story on the internet. If you want to know what happens next PM me and I'll give you some real advice if you want to hear it.

I'm interested. Post it up here for all to see and possibly learn from.

Sounds like you are off to a good start! I wish I started much younger than I am now. I'm currently putting in 10% to my 401(k) and my employer is putting in 14% (yes, you read that right). I'm about to up my a few percentages as well.

Van Halen not Van Hagar

Wouldn't think it possible for a working man/family to be "over invested for retirement" especially when most you ever put in 401k was 18%.

Compounded interest is a friend to me...

You can flip houses within an IRA with $0 dollars paid in taxes. I would also add that you don't need to buy gold and silver hoping that it will double sometime in your lifetime, in my opinion, that is bad investment strategy. However, I do agree with buying some gold and silver to hedge your bets against the collapse of the dollar which will most likely happen in our lifetime, so for those reasons I agree with diversifying in some precious metals.

ROI is not why I believe in precious metals, but I agree with a lot of your strategy.

A pretty piece of official looking paper printed by ONE private corporation and accepted at face value by the masses and backed by NOTHING just scares the heck outta me. I don't like holding dollars.

Woody, out.

That's is exactly what I was saying in the previous post...The ROI of precious metals, in general, is not the reason to invest in them, but security against the over inflated dollar (and stock market) is. However, having precious metals as your MAIN investment strategy is not wise in my opinion either.

Well, I can't and won't touch my 401K or my corporate pension until I turn 59 1/2, which is 3 1/2 more years. I do own a few long term rental properties, though and I have other savings in a conventional vehicle. So we survive for now. I have never SOLD any gold or silver yet.