Anyone know about 401K and Investing?

I have to set up my 401K for work, I know we're in a recession right now and people at work are saying to invest mostly in bonds to be safe.

Anyone know a lot about this kind of shit?

depending on how old you are depends on you should invest. Everyone that I have talk to says if you are young 20-25 or so, that they should invest sorta on the aggressive side which would be stocks. I don't know anything really about bonds so I can't help you that much.

i'm 28 and just started a 401K at my work last year. i think it's best to start putting money in while you're young to get to as much in as you can, 'cause you can't rely on social security by the time we retire. i put 5% of my check into the 401K. i don't know anything about bonds, but mutual funds are a good idea and i think IRAs are good too.

your company should have a financial advisor that can help you with those kinds of decisions

i did high risk mutual funds, good turnaround quickly.... well i did half that and half into the company.... the company stocks didnt do much for me....

if your young go high risk ---- you have time to recover if it does not pan out ----- but due to the "recession" you are right keep your funds in bonds and ride it out . i work at a bank and our investors give us some advice once and a while ---- good luck ...

This is election year, even if we are in a recession, it won't last long. I feel gas prices will be back under $3.00 by October when Bush sells all his oil stocks BUSH

You always want to buy low and sell high. As the market is generally depressed it is a better time to buy. Always put in at least what your employer matches, if not you throwing away free money. So if they match first 3%, put in at least 3%.
Always invest where your risk tolerance is, if you want to grow money faster and can stand to see your fund fluctuve, if you cant then go more stable. You should get a sheet that shows return on investement from the 401k. Good luck and make sure you put in as much ass lowers your taxable income.

Everyone above has given some pretty good advice. I'll throw in my advice as well.

If your employer has a 401K plan where they will match a certain percentage of your investment in the 401K, then put at least the maximum amount that your employer will match. Any matched funds from your employer is free money, and you should always take advantage o of this. If your employer doesn't match, I would try to set aside as much as you can afford to save each month towards a 401K or an IRA.

Here are some explanations for the most common investments - 401K and IRA

There are some distinct differences between a 401K and an IRA. 401K's are good when you have an employer that will match your investment, and there is a much higher cap for how much you can invest into a 401K for tax advantages. If I remember correctly, 401K contributions are also tax deductible (for federal income taxes) in the year in which the investment is made. The disadvantages to a 401K are that they may have limited flexibility, you may pay higher fees to maintain them, and as you withdraw money from a 401K, it is treated as normal income.

An IRA allows you to deposit a specified amount (up to $2000 if I remember correctly). The advantages are little or no maintenance fees, flexibility in where you invest the funds, and the investments may or may not be deductible (depending on your tax bracket). The disadvantages are a low investment rate ( capped at $2000 year, but may be a little higher now), treated as normal income when you withdraw the funds, and if you withdraw funds early, you have to pay penalties.

To clarify a few questions from above on bonds and risk in general, many people will recommend government bonds as a safe investment. While this is very true, government bonds also have a very low return. To get higher returns ,you have to live with higher risks.

look Georgia Tech did teach Gump something!!!! or maybe he copied it out of his text books