Newblet — ignore all the horrible, inane, foolish, stupid advice you have been given here. There is plenty of real estate wisdom here but it appears the personal financial planning advice is lame (some bordering on dangerous).
MAXIMIZE your 401(k) contribution — which means shoot for the $15,500 IRS pre-tax limit, and THEN pick the investment fund that matches your risk/return profile at this time, and modify your investment strategy as necessary over time.
Period. No discussion necessary.
99.9% of financial planners would echo this advice.
To begin with, the 25% employer match is A 25% RETURN ON YOUR INVESTMENT! There are probably a dozen other reasons I could give you as well.
Regards, NYCLurker (Employee Benefits Director at a large NYC bank, and responsible for employee financial planning education for 20,000 employees nationwide)
