401k – How to Increase Its Potential
The federal limit for how much you can contribute each year is currently $16,500.00 for anyone under 50 years old. Well, did you know that most people cannot even come close to this amount? But there is an exciting way to really increase your retirement savings, and even catch up if you had not contributed over the years.
Look at it this way: If your salary is $100,000.00 a year, and you contribute the percentage that your company matches, which is 3% in most cases, you would be able to save only $3,000.00 a year. That is not even close to the Federal allowance. (In fact, if you wanted to reach the federal limit with the regular contribution percentage, you would have to make $550,000.00 a year.)
Now, if you considered what you would have if you saved $3,000.00 a year for 30 years, you would see that it would be a total of $90,000.00 if you make $100,000.00 a year. (If you make $50,000.00 it would be $45,000.00.)
When you consider these amount in comparison to having a house paid off as soon a possible, you can then see that a mortgage has great potential for being a strategic investment tool.
If you make $100,000.00 or more a year, you would probably have a bigger mortgage than what I am going to show you, but to make the comparison better than fair, lets figure it out with a smaller mortgage. Consider this, if you have a $500.00 a month payment, and you could pay off your 30 year mortgage in 10 years-which is possible-you could save a total amount for the remaining 20 years or $120,000.00. That is quite a bit better than what you can put away with the 401k scenario described above.
After your house is paid off, then you can increase your 401k contributions by that much. Then when you combine this with your regular 401k contributions, and the compound interest you can earn by the time you retire, your retirement savings can be at a much better level.
By the way, if you would like to discover the amazing benefits you can gain from your mortgage, for a free demonstration, click here get free demo.
Alfred Spengly has worked in the financial field for about 15 years. He currently helps individuals and families in managing their own finances for optimum results.
