Monday, February 23, I was in the waiting room of my dentist’s office reading “Business Week.” It mentioned your book & if I remember correctly, it was to debut at #1. I am not much of a reader; but I decided to buy it. In my 25 years, and through study of two college degrees, I can honestly say this is only the second book I have read cover-to-cover without putting down! I plan on purchasing copies to send to many of my friends as a gift from me.
First, I am lucky enough to work for a company that offers a dollar-to-dollar match on the first 6% of our pre-tax 401k contributions. My company also offers a direct payroll deduction, up to 8% post-tax, to purchase company stock. This is purchased at a 15% discount of current market price. I only contribute 6% to my 401k, I then max out the 8% option for purchase of company stock. Instead of putting more money into my 401k, I put a monthly contribution of $250 into a Roth IRA (direct ACH). I also keep 6 months of cash in the bank for my “rainy day fund.”
Second, in Chapter 3 “Paying Yourself First,” I have an idea to contribute. One thing that drives me crazy this time of year is people running around cheering that they are getting a two to four thousand dollar tax refund. I am unmarried with no children. Starting last year I changed my payroll Federal tax withholding from “1” to “5”. This gave me an about $200 additional cash flow per month which made it very easy to max out an automatic Roth IRA deposit. My tax refund went from $2600 for 2002 to $1100 for 2003.
Thanks for the great book. You will make a major impact in many people’s lives!