Since you went with 10/2 for a 240v outlet that means your cable will have two hots and a single ground. But the cable you bought will have a black, white and bare/green wire. Make sure that you wrap both ends of the white conductor with red electrical tape to indicate that it is also a hot wire. White normally indicates a neutral, but since you won’t have a neutral wire in this cable, it’s important to mark it. Otherwise someone else may work on this outlet in the future, see a white wire, assume it’s a neutral, wire something up with it as a neutral, and give themselves a pretty bad shock.
Yup, I already have the electrical tape to mark it. Though I was told I could mark it red or black and both are universal markings for hot wire. Is that wrong? It doesn’t matter here because I have red tape but for future reference it would be good to know
I’m an electrician. It is too late but for future reference all new work must be done up to code. An electric dryer requires 10/3 on a 30A breaker that is listed for the panel.
While this is not code compliant, 10/2 will still work but requires you to install the jumper from the neutral to the ground inside the dryer itself.
Ya, I know I need to jump the ground when wiring to power cable for the dryer. I was going to do 10/3 since I had the money for it, but lowes and Home Depot were both sold out when I went to pick it up. Whirlpool told me 10/2 would work so I just went with that in the effort of saving time. New dryer is delivered Tuesday so I want the wiring done before then. The 30a double pole breaker was easy though. Probably the least questionable part of this process
Employers are limited in paying into 401ks for highly compensated employees, and are required to have a certain percentage of their normal employees putting money in if they want to go hog for their execs. That's why many give matches, to incentivize folks to contribute so that they can then funnel more to the C-suite.
Your coworker is right that the lack of match makes the 401k less appealing. That said, it's still the stock market, but you may have severely limited options.
You'll want to do what you're required to do, but then you should look into a ROTH IRA, which will give you a lot more control over that extra 5%.
im just surprised that there weren't any checks that could have prevented an unknowing customer from exposing their devices. Nothing on the fiber modem was labeled, so im kinda worried how many things could be potentially exposed
The best I ever had was a 6% full match, and the company contributed another 3% that I didn’t have to match. The result was company contributing 9% and me contributing 3%. So I agree with other comments saying you should probably be contributing about 15% total. That extra 3% doesn’t have to be in the same account though, you could open your own if you get better investment options with lower fees.
12% contribution that you don’t have to match is amazing and just make sure you’re fully vested before you take a new job. Sometimes there is a rule that those contributions are not truly yours until you’ve been at the company for a number of year.
The best I ever had was a 6% full match, and the company contributed another 3% that I didn’t have to match. The result was company contributing 9% and me contributing 3%. So I agree with other comments saying you should probably be contributing about 15% total. That extra 3% doesn’t have to be in the same account though, you could open your own if you get better investment options with lower fees.
12% contribution that you don’t have to match is amazing and just make sure you’re fully vested before you take a new job. Sometimes there is a rule that those contributions are not truly yours until you’ve been at the company for a number of year.
taxes - 401k contributions defer taxes (or prepay for a Roth account), and there’s only so much tax-advantaged space available
investment options - 401k plans have limited fund selection, but many are good enough
If you’re planning to invest 5% regardless, choose the account that gives you the best tax advantages that matches your investment plan. For most, that’ll be the 401k in an S&P 500 or total US stock market fund. If the fees aren’t too bad, I’d absolutely go with the 401k.
If you’re in the 12% or below bracket, I recommend Roth if it’s available. If you’re above, deferring taxes is probably the better plan. If your funds are super expensive (say, >0.5% fees for an index fund), you might be better off in a taxable account.
As others have mentioned, you can invest in the stock market within your 401k, though your options can sometimes be limited or saddled with high fees depending on what broker the 401k is through.
If yours is through a shitty broker then you might be better served by opening an individual retirement account (IRA), likely a Roth IRA given the limited info you’ve shared. You can open one with a broker of your choice, so go with one of the better ones like vanguard or fidelity. Using tax advantaged retirement accounts will always beat saving your retirement money in a non-tax advantaged one, all else being equal.
I would put it all in VTI or VTSAX and read all I can about Financial Independence (FI). FI is great as a lot of the writing is intended to be accessible. Until you are more knowledgeable, then a broad index fund like VTI is great.
If you won’t miss the 5%, then contribute it. There are two contribution limits for 401Ks, one for money you put in and another that includes that amount your employer puts in.
I would aim to save as much as you can when it does not hurt. Some in 401K, some in a bank account, and other in a brokerage. 6 month emergency fund and all that. 50% or more saved each month will be great for your future. I have run at 50% 401K contribution.
If there’s an option for the company contributions to be Roth I’d make sure to do that. Roth is a “suffer now, collect later” type of thing. You pay taxes now, and NOT during retirement (good because you’re young, likely in a lower tax bracket than you’ll be in during retirement, etc.). Even the earnings are tax free in retirement.
Anything extra you put in should also be Roth. There are IRS maximums for personal contributions, and a higher maximum for combined personal/company contributions. At your salary you likely will not encounter these maximums unless you are saving $1,875/month (which would make you hit the maximum in December) in addition to company contributions.
To 401k or not to 401k – I say 401k. With Roth you pay now, not later. With traditional you don’t pay now, but pay later. Outside of 401k you pay taxes now AND later (on the earnings).
12% even if you don’t put any in should set off alarm bells.
Like, who is managing that 401k? Is it related to someone running your company?
How’s the salary compared to similar jobs? Are you making 15% less and that’s where it’s coming from?
What is mid 5 digits? 50k? That means you’d be making 56k if you got it all in pay.
It’s not a bad wage, but something crazy like 12% 401k no matter what is usually for stuff at least twice your salary for tax reasons.
I get not wanting to put details online, but you should find a coworker who’s been there a long time and ask about what’s going on. If no one’s been there more than a few years, that’s another huge red flag
Most likely this is a category of 401k (or IRA) called a SEP IRA. It works to the company's tax advantage and they have the ability to force it on all employees. All employees is a requirement of this. I don't have a ton of knowledge about this, but about a decade ago I dug in to it because my wife's company did this to us at a time we really needed more flexibility on what she was contributing. I don't remember the nuances, but sadly I found it out that (at least at the time) while it seems sketchy as hell, it was legal if the company met all the requirements/followed all the rules to do this.
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