Matt and I have been lucky when it comes to our jobs because both of us have 401K programs available to us. However, we had never really been educated on them and just pretty much guessed when it came to our investment choices and how much money we should be putting away. When we started this money makeover, our coach introduced us to Rick who is an investment specialist in our branch. We gathered all of our paperwork and met up with him to discuss a few options. We had told him that right before we found out we were a part of the makeover we had been considering cashing out Matt’s 401K to use to pay off credit cards, a student loan and the vehicles. He broke down the numbers and at the end of the day; we would not have even been able to cover all of those things with the money because we would have lost almost $13K just in penalties and taxes alone. Losing $13K will knock you off that dream cloud fast let me tell you. Rick showed us how if we were ever in a crisis that yes, we could use that money but it is really a last resort. We are young enough that we could recuperate the loss over time but why even think about using it when you are losing so much up front. He then looked at our debt, which now through the makeover we had consolidated , and showed us a really feasible schedule that showed us how when each item was paid off how to put those funds elsewhere. It was so eye opening and I am so glad that we did not use our 401K money! Matt and I definitely feel more comfortable now and definitely feel much more educated after talking to Rick about our retirement savings! I highly recommended stopping in your local branch to speak with a VyStar investment specialist if you are even the slightest unsure of your retirement savings and goals!
