I thought I'd kick off the new month by answering a few more of your questions:
Jaclyn in Cleveland, Ohio, asks: My husband and I are 33 years old with two small children. With an income of $230,000, we max out our TSP and 401(k) plans. Each month we save $250 to a 529, $200 to IRA and brokerage accounts, and $50 to an ING savings account. Given that we are 30 years to retirement and 15 years from college tuition bills, is it smart to maintain our current savings patterns or is it better to adjust according to the economy?
Yes, you should maintain your current savings pattern for two reasons. The first -- and a lot of people have learned this the hard way -- is that one of the best things you can do to secure your financial future is to save when you can because you don't know what income is going to be available to you in the future. Right now, you have an income that allows you to save a great deal of money, and it's great that you're taking advantage of that. If you find yourself facing a different situation down the road, you can scale back on your savings efforts a little bit if need be. But by then, you'll have a nice little emergency cushion.
The second reason is that saving while you're young gives you a huge advantage, especially because of the power of compound interest. If you save $200 a month starting at age 25, you could have close to $700,000 by age 65. Wait until you're 35, and that balance drops to around $300,000. That's a difference of $400,000!
That said, you are young, and you don't want to save so much that you're not allowing yourself to have fun. You're in a great place right now, especially for your age, so take your family on a vacation or splurge on a family gift. You don't want to have any regrets later on, and those kinds of experiences are worth the money.
Jake in Baton Rouge, La., writes: My wife and I just had a baby and bought a house six months ago. With the shaky market today, we were wondering if we should try to pay down our mortgage as much as we can or keep the liquid cash on hand?
Jake, you've probably heard that cash on hand is king -- not just because of today's rocky economy, but because you may be able to get more for your money in investments rather than by paying down the mortgage. Let's say that mortgage is at six percent. After tax, it's likely costing you four percent.
The question you have to ask yourself is -- could I get a better return on my money elsewhere? Eventually, this market is going to bounce back. So yes, buying into good companies on the cheap, or even purchasing high-grade corporate bonds and putting that money where it could grow tax-deferred in an IRA or 401(k), will likely get you a better return in the long run.