If your employer offers a match to your 401k/403b or equivalent, you should be taking advantage of this FREE MONEY.

Imagine you are playing the game of roulette at a casino that is guaranteed to land on black every time. Would you place a bet on black?

I don’t know about you, but I would bet on black and double my money every time.

Contributing to your retirement account to at least get the full employer match is like betting on roulette and winning every time.

For example, if you make $1,000 per pay period and the employer match is 3%, if you contribute 3%- you instantly double your money to $60 ($30+$30).

The employer match is the same as an instant 100% gain on your investment.

Depending on your employer, you will have a different match available. Some employers may offer 3% match if you put in 6%, or anywhere in the range of 1-10% match, and some do not offer a match.

Employer match is part of your compensation and not taking advantage of it is like shredding part of your paycheck.

My employer does not offer a match, however they provide a generous profit sharing of 8% of my yearly salary once a year as a lump sum (and I don’t have to contribute anything to receive this). My wife’s employer provides a 4% match into her 403(b). In total, our employer contributions are about $11k/year.

Utilize your employer match to increase your savings rate and advance your pursuit to financial independence.

What is your employer retirement match? Are you taking advantage of the match?

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26 Comments

  1. a 401k is just as risky as a casino. 1. you presume the market doesn’t crash.
    2. you assume that inflation won’t wipe the value of future money. 3. you survive that long and are still in good health to enjoy that money. remember a 401k requires to hand over your most valuable assett. TIME. I’d rather go all in on poker than suffer 50 yrs of toil to make someone else rich for the chance of maybe having a decent nest egg. Anyway whats the point in being rich at 65 or 70? yeah you will be the riches guy in the nursing home with gold dentures.

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    1. You entirely miss the point of financial independence. Save heavily early on in your life to retire early.

      401ks are much better odds than a casino.
      It’s laughable to even compare the two. Read a book. I’m not here to convince you otherwise on your hot take. There is insurmountable evidence and historical data to back this up.

      1. Markets will and do crash. This is factored in to average rate of return.

      2. An average 7% growth rate outpaces inflation. Inflation is on average 2-3.5/year.

      3. At my current savings rate, I can retire at age 42. I sure hope I’m not in a nursing home at only 65!!

      My savings rate is high, but I still have money to enjoy my life as well.

      Enjoy your time at the casino, my the odds be in your favor.

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      2. I don’t know the exact number, but many people build up fantastic nest eggs by saving and investing in the stock market.

        401k is just a tax advantaged brokerage account. Look at the historical data for VTSAX.

        I’m not providing plans for people to get rich in their youth, I’m providing plans to become financially stable and how to live off your savings after retiring early.

        When I save $2M I will retire and live off 4% of that per year. That’s $80k per year. The money will last longer than I live at that rate. I wouldn’t call this rich. But I’ll be happy not having to ever work again starting in my 40s

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      3. Unfortunately your missing the point of passing youth and life up the wall for a gamble of future money. Are jobs secure? keep listening to your alarm clock at 6am if it makes you happy. Il have a lie in and make money 👌

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      4. Firstly, I am thoroughly enjoying my youth. I’ve travelled to many parts of the world and take good, long vacations 3-4 times a year.

        I consider my job secure, but no jobs really are. I am talented in my field, have a large network of colleagues, and a fantastic work portfolio under me. As an engineer I have no worries of not being able to find a job in a month if I lost mine today. In fact, I get messages from recruiters through LinkedIn about twice a month.

        Lastly, I throughly enjoy my career at the moment, however I enjoy my family and free time above all. Family is my reason for retiring early.

        Also, I am able to work from home and could wake up at 8:30 if I wanted to. But I prefer to wake earlier to exercise. I do this even on the weekends on vacation.

        In summary, I haven’t passed my youth up. I had lots of fun and will continue to do so. Thank you for worrying about me though.

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      6. I’m not just explaining this to you in the comments section, I’ve actually written about all of these points in my previous blog posts months ago. I have no reasons to lie.

        I love the interaction on comments, this boosts my rankings and helps get more hits and more ad revenue.

        To each their own. Good luck my friend.

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      9. my business is protecting people from scam artists that preach financial independence whilst they are holey dependent on thier employer. whom in your case pays you 18,000x less than the company earns.

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      12. Its a scam to say they provide financial independence and you know it. There’s nothing independent about relying on giving your life to a company for income. BHS 570million pension deficit. stop lieing pal

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      13. Pensions are not the same as a 401ks.
        401ks are not managed by your employer like pensions.

        401ks are one of the many means of achieving financial independence. IRAs, real estate investing, taxable brokerage accounts, or your own business are other ways to achieve FI.

        Seriously, go and learn about basic finances, because you are clearly uninformed especially if your comparing a government run pension to 401ks.

        I’ve stated no lies.

        I’m not giving my life to an employer, I enjoy my work.

        However, once I am financially independent, I will no longer work.

        Please stop trolling.

        Bye bye

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    2. Also, it’s seems the entire concept of employee match went entirely over your head.
      You put in money, your employer matches that money.
      If you don’t put money in, your employer doesn’t match it.

      So let’s say you put in $1,000 a month and your employer matches that, putting in another $1,000.
      You have instantly doubled your money.

      Show me the game at the casino with better odds than this and that doubles your money every time. I’ll play.

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      4. Yes, with a 401k. I can upload a picture of mine and my wife’s paystubs if you’d like. I’m a salary employee (product manager) and make $9,270 per month. I also have an opportunity to make a 40% bonus if I reach profit margin and revenue goals with the business unit I manage. My wife is a registered dietitian and makes $24.25/hour. Do the math.

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      5. per hr. there’s the problem. and how much does your boss make? would it not be better to own the product company 🤔 how long did you have to slave to be a manager? your likely chained to the job because of debt

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      6. My wife is per hour. I’m salary…

        Our only debt is our house. Both cars have been paid off.

        I don’t know how much my boss makes, but the company I work for make around $180M per year in gross revenue.

        I’ve been with the company for about 9 years. Started in college and honestly love the company.

        Not sure why you’re trolling my blog, but this is fun.

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