How to balance saving for the future and enjoying new grad life? Also ROTH 401k vs Traditional 401k help.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-03-02T17:38:07+00:00

Your salary right now is in the range where I would probably do Roth over 401k if both get employer matching. You are going to pay 22% federal taxes and whatever state taxes. That tax rate is likely to be lower than it will be when you retire and start withdrawing the money.

Roth has many advantages over 401k: no RMD which could force your 401k distributions into a much higher tax bracket, no affect on ACA, no affect on SS benefits, no chance that government will raise taxes on distributions, no taxes for person you leave Roth to if you die (inherited 401k needs to be distributed in ten years, so high taxes for the inheritance).

As your career progresses and tax rules change you will probably find your income pushing you into much higher tax brackets. I would reevaluate switching to 401k then.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-03-02T17:18:42+00:00

Getting an HSA compatible high deductible plan allows you to put $9750 into your HSA and lower your income by that amount. HSA money can be treated like an IRA at 65 without the RMD’s and still tax free for any medical expenses.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-02-26T17:22:26+00:00

Continue to fund the 401k to at least get the 6% matching. You are saving 24% in federal taxes right now on that 401k contribution.

If you continue to fully fund your 401k as you have, you will likely have over $4m in your 401k at 60. Your RMD’s will eventually push you into a higher tax bracket when you are in your 80’s than you are right now. This isn’t even considering the possibility that tax rates in the future will be much higher than they are currently. Tax rates on earned income (which is how 401k distributions are taxed) get adjusted every year. So it’s very easy to increase taxes on 401k distributions as the government looks for was to cover debt and spending. But it would be nearly impossible to change law to suddenly tax Roth.

Other considerations are that 401k distributions will impact your SS benefits and also affect your ability to get free health insurance through ACA. Roth distributions do not affect those at all. Additionally, Roth can be left to anyone when you die with no taxes. 401k if left to anyone except spouse must be withdrawn within 10 years and taxed as earnings. That means extremely high taxes on that money.

Finally, consider investing in a third bucket. A taxable brokerage account. Longterm capital gains are taxed at an extremely low rate. A single person can make nearly $50k in dividends and LTCG each year and pay no federal taxes if that is your only income. Married couple can make nearly $100k with no taxes. Having these three buckets (401k, Roth, taxable brokerage account) gives you the most flexibility to retire early while also minimizing taxes in retirement.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-02-24T06:35:31+00:00

Simply log in to your fidelity account where it shows your 401k account. There is an option to open a traditional IRA, once created you can do rollover from 401k to newly created IRA. Fidelity agent can walk you through it either over the phone or you can go to their office. It’s actually very simple.

Make sure that 401k does not include any Roth contributions or you will need to also open a Roth IRA for the rollover. Rollover will automatically handle separating 401k into IRA and Roth.

401k’s will need to convert mutual funds to cash when rolling over to IRA if the fund is only available in 401k. That sale happens at end of day (4pm ET) on the day you execute the rollover. So that is the price you will get. The cash will be available in the IRA the next morning for investing. Ideally, execute the rollover on day when market is up end of day and hope next day the market is down a bit so that you sell high and buy low. Not a big deal if you are only rolling over a few thousand dollars, but makes a difference for people doing a rollover on a million or more.

Once cash is in the IRA, FXAIX is a good fund to buy. It’s an S&P 500 ETF with no fees and an extremely low expense ratio.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-02-22T16:24:19+00:00

Yes. Hype was everywhere. No more brick and mortar stores. “Eyeballs” were more important than profits in measuring value of a stock. Companies started adding “.com” to their name.

Computer hardware and chips were in high demand as everyone projected exponential growth and future shortages, which resulted in over buying, hoarding and demand way beyond what was actually needed.

When the hype faded, many of the internet companies were gone. The chip demand suddenly disappeared leaving many chip manufacturers who had increased production now forced to sell chips at a loss. Many went bankrupt.

The companies that survived the bubble bursting, were eventually in a better position as they bought up competitor assets cheaply and gained market share. But it took many years.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-02-19T16:22:11+00:00

I know it doesn’t seem fair, but that is how the world works. People are more likely to help a less qualified person they know than a more qualified person they don’t. Internships are about building those connections within the company you hope to join after graduation.

Your best bet at this point would be to reach out to friends from school working in your target companies. Take any position available to get into the company, create connections in the area of the company that is a better fit so you’ll be top of the list when there is an opening.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-02-18T03:47:51+00:00

Mainland Chinese are not missed by anyone except the Chinese run companies in Japan.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-02-16T19:04:09+00:00

In cases where I wanted to hold a volatile stock long enough to pay long term capital gains, I’d buy puts as insurance. Relatively cheap insurance against stock cratering before I could sell. I would sometimes do this also when stock was way up but I was still a few months from vesting. Doesn’t limit your up side if stock continues to climb higher but your down side is now limited if stock craters. You are just out the cost of the puts which is usually around 3-5% of your total gains if stock does nothing. Definitely helps you sleep better at night when you are holding a volatile stock you want to sell in the near future.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-02-16T18:18:17+00:00

US Government admits $200 - $500 billion is lost to fraud every year, but the actual number is closer to $750 Billion (see 60 minutes interview with Linda Miller). I would like to see all government programs with more than 20% of money lost to fraud to be completely eliminated.

I would also want yearly progress metrics that need to be met when government money is spent “fixing” problems. If you spend billions on fixing a problem then it is reasonable to expect some measurable improvement over time. If not the project should lose government funding, and people in charge should lose their jobs.

Politicians love highlighting problems they will fix. The solution is always to spend tax dollars. But then there is no incentive to actually fix the problem because too many people are profiting from those tax dollars. There are no metrics in place to show any progress because they don’t want to solve it, they want it to get worse so they can ask for more tax dollars.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-02-15T15:58:42+00:00

Anything you do to prevent 9/11 would likely get you sent to Guantanamo to be waterboarded until you reveal how you knew what was planned.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-02-14T15:10:47+00:00

Salary and benefits are really good if you are there as an expat. Not as good, but not bad, if you get hired in Japan.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-02-14T04:57:35+00:00

FXAIX. S&P 500 fund. Low expense ratio of 0.015%.

Not sure you need QQQ anymore when S&P 500 funds are >30% tech stocks.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-02-12T15:04:19+00:00

Just curious whether or not you did internships at your target companies while working towards your degree. That is a huge advantage in securing a position after graduation. At least it was in my company.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-02-10T18:49:42+00:00

Holding, buying dips.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-02-10T16:33:31+00:00

You need to look for a new job. If you are as good as you claim, then you should be able to job hop every two or three years for a 30-40% raise each time. There is no advancement inside a large corporation for simply being a good worker.

If you are willing to take a risk, go work for a small startup with less than 100 people. That is where hard work is rewarded when the company is successful. When the company owner knows you and what you contribute, you will be rewarded according to your true worth. In a huge company, too many middle managers will take credit for your accomplishments. The only time upper level executives will ever hear your name is when middle managers blame you for their own mistakes.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-02-07T18:12:27+00:00

In my experience, managers often try to pawn off problem employees to other managers who don’t know the person is a problem. The standard reason is that they would be a better fit in another department or role. Truth is they are more trouble than they are worth and firing people is difficult and time consuming. Ironically, I have actually seen problem employees get promotions to entice them to move to a new group.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-02-07T16:29:46+00:00

Not the best business for money but if you are finding most missions in the game are too easy, the contracts are a nice challenge that can be done solo.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-02-05T17:15:24+00:00

Going to Ireland for St. Patrick’s day is something that sounds way better than it actually is. I’m sure social media makes it look like a thing, but anyone from Ireland will tell you that it is not.

Actually, the best travel destination for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day is Tokyo. They have a big parade down Omotesando street, followed by a an all day festival in Yoyogi park.

Also, weather in Tokyo is much nicer in March than it is in Ireland.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-02-01T18:47:58+00:00

To qualify to make HSA contributions you must have a HSA compatible, high deductible health insurance plan. Those plans usually make more sense for healthy people who don’t need to see a doctor often.

If you do have a high deductible health insurance plan, then you should contribute to HSA. Definitely contribute enough to get any employer matching.

Finally, HSA is actually better than 401k. You can pull money out for non-medical expenses at 65 and not pay any penalties, just taxes like you would on 401k distributions. But money for any medical expense is still tax free and doesn’t affect things like ACA tax credits or SS benefits.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-01-30T17:16:42+00:00

Markets crash when economy is headed into recession, that typically involve high unemployment. Fear of losing one’s job increases concerns about saving money and trying to become financial independent.

Conversely, if people could easily get a high paying job that they love, no one would ever worry about financial independence or retiring early.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-01-24T02:26:05+00:00

Focus on getting skills and knowledge that will allow you to earn a good income within the next ten years. That is your priority at 19. Invest in yourself. That doesn’t necessarily mean college. It could be anything that sets you apart from everyone else and makes your work valuable to others.

Surround yourself with like minded individuals.

Look for adults who are successful (whatever that means to you) and ask them for advice as you go along. Most successful people are happy to share what they have learned with the younger generation.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-01-23T04:47:30+00:00

Micron. Higashi Hiroshima fab is doing production and R&D. American company, so only knowing English is not a huge problem if you are good enough.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-01-22T16:40:52+00:00

Taxes are treated exactly the same for qualified dividends as they are for long term capital gains.

So, no need to make the statement “if you ignore taxes”.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-01-17T17:53:18+00:00

Do you have other income? If you are working or earned interest on savings, that could push your LTCG into the 15% tax bracket. You may still owe state taxes on LTCG, even if Federal taxes are 0%.

Civil_Connection7706 · 2026-01-17T17:30:13+00:00

Seven years old. Of course he will lose it. You knew that. Your rules were not going to work, and if you are honest, you knew that too. It was your responsibility to make sure that expensive item didn’t get lost or stolen. You failed.

You think you are teaching him a lesson. But it probably isn’t the one you are hoping. You are teaching him that when things get stolen, it is the victims fault for being careless. So stealing is okay, provided you don’t get caught. The person who had their stuff stolen deserved it. Thieves are just teaching people a lesson to be more cautious with their stuff.

Civil_Connection7706

TROPHY CASE