Hi, my name is Dally M., and I'm a recovering tax-deferaholic

[gwendally]

I'm really struggling with tax deferred income right now.

Every piece of financial wisdom I have received through the years claims it is better to defer taxes on income. 
Better to pay the taxes later than now. 
Better to pay the taxes in retirement when you're in a lower bracket than now. 
Better to get tax deferred growth, giving a boost to the

Comments

[gwendally]

He happens to be self-employed so I know his company doesn't match. :-)

Generally the rule of thumb is to pick up a match, but sometimes it backfires. If you have no emergency fund anywhere else, i.e., if the ONLY place you'll ever save is through the paternalistic withheld-from-salary model, then you are inevitably going to run into a day when you have an emergency and have to raid your 401(k) and pay taxes and penalties on that, PLUS you've never actually LEARNED to save and are farther behind because of that.

I want people to learn to save. Anyone who buys a house with 0% down (or funds their downpayment through a gift) is someone who is HIGHLY LIKELY to lose the house simply because they never learned that important lesson of saving and they'll lose a job, or need a new roof, or SOMETHING will happen. Houses need money. If you never learned how to save you can't keep it if you encounter even the mildest bump in the road.

Learning to save is an annoying thing. You have to have some motivation to make yourself do it. Wanting to get an emergency fund set up so you can start getting the company match might do it. Wanting to get a kitty together for a home downpayment is another. Sometimes people save for a wedding... whatever goal you have that makes you do it is fine.