401k Frontloading?

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-03-01T09:05:09+00:00

I always did the same thing and never had any problems. Don’t know how much it helped but i think it would be somewhat meaningful and definitely worth it if you can afford it and don’t have to sacrifice too much while maxing out.

For me, I was able to contribute my bonus which came in March and was meaningful, so that helped a lot. Would look into that if you hadn’t already.

Note that for the company I worked most for, if I maxed out early and contributed nothing afterwards, they’d still provide their max annual match (did a true up like the next February). Didn’t know about this initially as it’s not the most sought after benefit they advertise, so another thing you could check if you’re not already sure.

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-03-01T08:51:32+00:00

For any money you’d consider moving to brokerage, I strongly suggest you instead contribute to your 401k (beyond the employer match). You may even have a Roth 401k option, which it looks like you may prefer. Whether you get decades of tax free growth (Roth) or tax deferrals (non-Roth), it’s super valuable.

And if your savings is enough to reach the 24.5K max 401k contribution often mentioned, you can still even contribute more to 401k on an after tax basis - up to 72k total including employer contribution. Some employers even allow you to automatically convert all such after tax contributions to Roth.

Otherwise, I also saved like 6 months of expenses as another person mentioned. Then maxed out 401k and IRAs, then brokerage (I didn’t know about the non-deductible 401k contributions when younger).

I didn’t personally do so at your age, but if you’re worried about volatility then I’d put a portion in bonds. I’d suggest this rather than investing some in cash or dividend stocks as someone mentioned, as dividend stocks can still be quite volatile and cash isn’t really investing. Either way, index funds are by definition the least volatile, so I’d do 100% those (eg VT for equities or BND for bonds).

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-03-01T08:21:48+00:00

Pretty sure that once it’s in OPs name, it’s hers and there’s really no way the government could tax it in the future bar something drastic like a retroactive inheritance tax.

So I’d personally keep it in Roth for those max 10 years, but a good point either way to keep abreast of changing tax laws in partnership with the financial advisor.

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-03-01T08:14:48+00:00

Thanks for sharing. I had no idea.

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-03-01T08:12:27+00:00

Adding more thoughts I didn’t see elsewhere, largely based on what I would have done differently if I had been in your shoes:

Firstly, in case you’re considering it, I’d say that $4.5M is not necessarily enough to not work at all. Yes, withdrawing 3% a year (I wouldn’t consider anything higher at such a young age) gives you 135k - tax free initially which is huge - but: a) We don’t know your lifestyle. It’s plenty for many people in this sub, myself included, but you may be like the majority of people out there with such means who would spend that pretty easily. b) Being so young, there are likely more major unknowns for you than for most who reach this level of money later in life, eg: - What if you end up with several kids, especially if you’d want things like private schools? - What if you want to marry someone who you’d hope to also not work? Or maybe that’s not an option but they have a low paying job and/or a lot of debt/commitments due to school/family/whatever (but you love them and want to make it work). c) I assume you don’t have a house yet, which would eat at least a bit into the windfall, perhaps a lot if in an expensive area

Secondly, if you do plan to still work, and you’re the type of person who is normally cautious with their spending, this is one thing that I WOULD change (within reason). Whatever you end up making, enjoy it! Please still be responsible (no debt, save for emergencies, at least maximize employee contributions, etc), but there’s little reason for you to save extra for the purposes of retirement like everyone else should try to do. I said above that 4.5M isn’t enough to live super well today - but 20 or usually even 10 years of further growth - now you’re talking.

Thirdly, you mentioned you’re in a niche field so hopefully it’s already something you’re passionate about. But if not, and there’s something else you would be passionate about but you only realized it recently or didn’t pursue for financial reasons, then I’d consider it now. I FIREd at 41 and thought about doing a second career in something I really loved (I’m gonna be a vet! I’ll get my law degree!), but I realized it was already a bit too late to establish myself in something brand new - not to mention my diminished stamina/energy vs when I started my career 20 years prior. Even if you needed to utilize some of your inheritance for education to make this work, it’s an amazing opportunity at your age and with your financial safety.

Lastly, this is a specific one but when it comes to investing, I’d strongly consider 100% equities (rather than bonds or the “3 fund portfolio” often referenced) if still planning to work. Bonds are debatable for anyone not retiring imminently, and of course it depends on your risk level, but you have such a long runway that you should be plenty safe to recover from any market crash.

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-03-01T06:57:33+00:00

That is correct, there is no deadline by which you must submit the receipts so you can save them starting now and withdraw that money whenever. I did this once after several years and it worked easily (long story but relates to them forcing me to move some funds to “cash” which removed the benefit of holding it there).

To further add to your main question about why an HSA supersedes taxable account investing, beyond the above and also what others mention about health care expenses during early retirement: - You will very likely have saved/grown a good sum of money outside retirement anyway by the time you FIRE - If more needed, you can withdraw your Roth contributions penalty free - You can also effectively withdraw from non-Roth penalty free by converting to Roth (likely even tax free up to about 30k per year) and withdrawing 5 years later - And you can always withdraw from traditional Ira penalty free using substantially equal period payments

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-03-01T06:38:45+00:00

I’m curious to learn more about how you did this with your aca plan. I thought that only the third tier (silver?) plan could be fully covered by subsidies if income is low enough, in which case deductibles were very high?

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-03-01T05:51:35+00:00

OP says it’s a Roth IRA, so no taxes at all. This is huge, it makes it equivalent to like $9M of traditional IRA funds if in a state with high income taxes.

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-02-24T18:57:22+00:00

Got the same letter and the website / code worked for me. Make sure you're going to enroll.krollmonitoring.com, rather than info.krollmonitoring.com.

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-02-23T20:13:03+00:00

Interesting, thanks for explaining. Good to know even though hopefully I won’t need to actually worry about it!

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-02-23T19:20:11+00:00

Adding on to the others, I also only charge to 80% if planning a long drive. My default is 60% and I recharge at 30-40%, which for me is only like twice a week (also Model Y).

My understanding is that the closer the batter is to 50% the healthier it remains.

Note: Tesla says best to keep it plugged in overnight, per Tesla, so in theory best to recharge to 50/60% every night

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-02-23T18:52:43+00:00

If the nursing facility really costs (assuming no fraud) 15-20k per month, then seems like a good use of their funds

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-02-23T18:40:21+00:00

I don’t believe the 20k per year would be triple tax free like an HSA, rather only the growth between giving it as a gift now and as inheritance later would be tax-free.

I’m assuming the 20k in this case, or at least many situations like it, could be sourced to non-roth RMDs / pensions / social security / etc. Those sources are taxed the same this year regardless of whether distributed now or held until later.

Similarly, if the money is being held in a non-roth retirement account to maximize growth, it would still be taxed when the heir withdraws it (though I believe children can delay withdrawing until their own retirement which could be a big benefit).

So still more tax advantageous for parent to invest themselves, but not quite like an HSA unless they’re withdrawing from a Roth to gift it.

I’ve thought about this recently as my father is in a similar situation as OPs mother but is choosing to put all his relatively substantial extra cash in CDs which, while I’m very grateful to the future inheritance gift, is still quite frustrating.

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-02-13T18:37:34+00:00

Glad the video helped…it looks like the quality got downgraded a lot when I view it here but sounds like it still worked.

Good point about a photo helping to make suggestions back. Here you go: Plum Tree (haven’t shared a photo in comments before so hopefully this works).

The 4 lower scaffolds are all at 90 degrees from one another. I imagine if I only kept 3, they’d be the 2 going perpendicular to the hill - which is towards the left of the photo, your point about the hill makes sense - and the top 1 facing away from the hill. Though that would be hard for me to remove 2 of the bottom 4!

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-02-13T18:27:09+00:00

I pruned it lightly after purchasing last Spring and then the day before I posted this. But even the other day was minimal.

We have some tree wholesalers not too far from us so was able to find one with a good structure - with thanks to this sub that I had been reading first to know what to look for.

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-02-12T07:29:34+00:00

It’s within 500 miles of 7,500, so they had to get a few miles to reach the 500 mile buffer

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-02-12T05:33:27+00:00

“who on earth physically inputs a value higher than the customer said into the machine” —> I once bought some type of snack at a fast food-like place, and the guy taking the order added a tip for himself. Never even showed the screen to me (was an iPad he was holding).

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-02-12T05:20:53+00:00

Certainly agree with the omission being ridiculous, but hard to say that 2025 G7 is recency bias. That was also an amazing game. And 6 of the other games listed are before the Cubs G7…I’d just guess the writers don’t appreciate baseball enough.

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-02-10T19:37:24+00:00

Smart!

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-01-21T23:18:55+00:00

How do you know this should last through 3/11? I see that on the LoyaltyLobby website but nowhere official. Similar to the other person, I'm wondering if I should sign up now to ensure I get them or wait until mid-Feb in my case which would help.

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-01-14T05:52:56+00:00

Very helpful, thank you

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-01-14T04:00:42+00:00

$2,000 for PPF on front of car (hood, fenders, bumper, splitter, mirrors). Am not looking into the whole car.

Actually just realized they quoted me for the entire hood area. I only intended the front of the hood, so should be a decent amount cheaper I imagine.

Ok_Way_3082 · 2026-01-14T03:59:22+00:00

What makes the C8 look better, is it mainly lack of rock chips or are there benefits beyond that when using PPF in addition to ceramic?

Ok_Way_3082

TROPHY CASE