So I, uh, looked at my 401(k) just now. I basically contributed for the employer match until right before the market started tanking last spring, and then had to take a break so I could manage our other finances. Um, yeah, about that employer match?
Gone. Entirely. With a little extra to boot. Even *with* the employer match, I've lost about $30 (-34.9% YTD change).
BUT! I'm going to be able to start investing in my 401(k) again very soon. So hopefully I'm getting some great bargains now, and will make back the money I lost and then some. Plus I'll be putting some money into my employer's stock purchase plan. The stock is selling for about half what it was earlier this year . . . yay! Of course, this means I won't be paying off my credit cards as fast (we went back into debt recently, in addition to the mortgage of course), but my gut says that we'll do OK on that anyways, and we're better off building up our savings right now. I find that it's easier for me to save by investing than by putting $$ in the bank, so that's what I'm focusing on. Having a large savings account somehow just doesn't make me feel very secure - but having $$ in investments does.
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I'm really confused. You feel safer with money in investments than savings?? I can see that to some extent, but you really need savings in case of emergency. The general advice is 3-6 months in case of unemployment, so you don't have credit card debt when you run out of money. Even $2000 is a good place to start, but I'd much rather add another zero.
Oh, and life insurance. Really good to have life insurance. You probably have it through your work, though. We had a college friend die when Gabe was 1, and what did he do for a living? He was a life insurance salesman. That's when we bought ours. Egad. :)
Yeah, I get life insurance through MS. Not as much as I would like to have eventually, though; won't even cover the mortgage. We didn't have the mortgage when we set it up, and were assuming DH would return to work. Since then, we've realized he makes dirt after childcare expenses - so we really need to re-work the numbers and adjust the amount upwards. But at the very least, it would keep him afloat without a job for a couple of years - three or four years if he is moderately frugal, and longer if he moves to a more affordable home. That should be long enough for him to get a job and figure out how to manage.
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