Warning: my buddy's 401k comment made me check my own retirement account

Got coffee with my old roommate Dave last week, and he casually mentioned he's been putting 12% of every paycheck into his 401k since he was 22. I laughed it off, then went home and looked at mine. Turns out I've contributed a grand total of $340 over 6 years, and my employer match was sitting there untouched the whole time because I never signed up for the full amount. He showed me his app balance on his phone, and it was over $48k while I had basically nothing. I felt like a complete idiot, and now I'm trying to figure out how to catch up without eating ramen every night. Has anyone else had that gut punch moment where a friend casually revealed their adulting game and you realized you were sleeping on something super basic?

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hannah2402d ago

Same thing happened to me with a coworker. Used to think 401k stuff was just for people with desk jobs and spreadsheets, but turns out it's just free money sitting there. Big kick in the pants when you see the numbers side by side.