conversation: User (shaansha): "Out of college I joined a financial services company.  The gig was fabulous.  I was able to pitch to senior executives, run my own projects and develop my business skills.\n\nTo match my excitement I purchased a $140,000 condo, a bunch of new clothes and drove around town in a brand new car.\n\nBut in this new found independence I ‘forgot’ to invest in my 401k plan.  To be completely honest, after two years of education at a top Boarding School, four years at a top University, and growing up in a loving and supportive family my reaction was:\n\n“Eh, Whatever.”\n\nStupid decision for a kid right out of college right?\n\nEinstein once called compound interest the eighth wonder of the world.  The reason is because if I had contributed 6% of my salary along with my company match for those three years and never touched it again I would have $400,000 by retirement.  That’s right, $400,000.\n\nIt wasn’t a just stupid decision, it was a monumentally stupid one.\n\nI lost close to half a million dollars by being lazy.\n\nSadly, this is the case for many people as the r/personalfinance group talks about often.  \n\nThere's a simple plan you can execute quickly that will save you the money I lost. \n\n- Call your HR office and ask them about their 401k plan.  Ask them specifically "how can I automatically contribute a portion of my salary into a low cost index fund?"\n\n- Follow the steps they provide you to auto enroll\n\n- At the very least sign up for contributing 1%.  Everyone can give 1% of their salary.  \n\n- If you get overwhelmed by choosing the investment option go with a target date mutual fund (e.g., "Vanguard's Target Date 2050 Fund")\n\nI recommend sitting down and doing this all in one sitting.  It will take 2 to 3 hours.  But man, it's one of the best things that you can do for your family."
  Self: "Can confirm, been in my first job for about 8 months now and contribute 10%....very big number sitting in my fidelity account"
  