My state tax return was officially added to my bank account... so I added $150.00 to my Roth for 2007...
Contributions stand at $2,150.00
While I know i'll max out 2007, Part of me doesn't know if I want to max out 2008 anymore...
I really want to save for a house...
what if i'm being too ambitious here with retirement... I'm only 21... shouldn't i focus on saving for a house now and starting retirement at 25???
I know exactly how you feel. However, I'm 26, so I probably should be focusing on retirement. :-) But I'm trying to find balance. I figure if I'm putting 10% in my ROTH each month, then good enough. The rest I'll put toward my debt and as soon as my car is paid off (hopefully October...4 years early!) then I'll keep saving for a house as long as my ROTH contributions stay at 10%.
ReplyDeleteNo, don't do that! The greatest ally you have in the retirement savings battle is time. The longer your money earns interest the more money you have.
ReplyDeleteI've only been reading your blog a couple of days so I'm not sure of your budget, but didn't you just pay off a bill. So is the money you were paying on that bill already earmarked for something else or can that go toward your house fund.
Believe me I understand the itch to stop paying someone else rent and start paying into your own equity. I'm 33 and I've been obsessing over purchasing a home for the past year.
I also remember when I was 23 and I had a chance to start my retirement savings and I said I'd do it after I did something else. I'm sure you'll get around to it because you are way more responsible than I was, but that four years of interest you'll earn may in the long run be worth waiting a little longer to put a down payment on a house.
I've been wrong before and depending on the housing market it could totally be worth it. I guess I really have not been any help. :(
You do know that you can withdraw your Roth contributions (not the earnings) without penalty for the purpose of buying a home...so you can still max it out, let the contributions grow in there while you save for a home, & if you need to borrow some what you have earned off of those contributions can stay in there & keep growing :) So keep maxing out the Roth & then save the extra in a house fund. At least the earnings will keep growing for your retirement later!!
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