I recently acquired a full time position after having contracted for a few years. The contracting wasn't bad, but the income was sporadic. It was enough for me to put some money away and try my hand at running a small design studio for a few months. I learned a lot running the studio, but unfortunately my partner and I were not pulling in the income required to stay afloat, and decided to go back to the working world.
I now hold a full time position within a gaming company, making roughly 64k a year before taxes. My partner is working half time, making roughly 32k a year, but she is contracting so the numbers tend to get wiggly.
I can contribute to a 401k and a Roth IRA through work. They use Putnam Investments. Putnam allows you to choose your investment allocation, but I am unsure of which is best in my situation.
I would like to be "retired" by age 40. By retired I mean no longer required to do the 9-5 for my living wage. I will still likely be working as a designer, probably trying my hand at my own studio again.
The bulk of my income goes to rent and food (if I was paying all of rent + food without partner, roughly 2k a month), I have no debt and a fairly frugal lifestyle. I would feel pretty comfortable putting a lot into a 401k and IRA.
The company I work for will match 50% of a maximum of 6% of what you contribute (so 3% max from them). Anything after that is not matched. Listed below are the various funds I can invest in. I don't have to invest 100% in any one specifically, and it can be split.
T. Rowe Price Retirement Income Fund
T. Rowe Price Retirement 2050 Fund
T. Rowe Price Retirement 2055 Fund
American Funds EuroPacific Gr R5
BlackRock Global Allocation Instl
Oppenheimer Global Y
Oppenheimer Developing Markets Y
Vanguard Developed Markets Index Inv
Vanguard International Value Fund
Vanguard Small Cap Index Signal
Putnam Capital Opportunities Y
Vanguard Small Cap Value Index
Victory Small Company Opportunity R
Vanguard Mid Cap Index Signal
Franklin Growth Adv
T. Rowe Price Retirement 2030 Fund
T. Rowe Price Retirement 2040 Fund
Vanguard Value Index
T. Rowe Price Retirement 2020 Fund
Fidelity Strategic Income
PIMCO Total Return Instl
Fidelity Select Software & Computer Serv
Oppenheimer Real Estate Y
Putnam Stable Value Fund
Vanguard 500 Index Signal
Invesco Comstock R5
I have no idea which of these is best for my situation, and research has only left me more confused. I do know Vanguard tends to be the least evil of these from what I have heard.
Last question, should I be maxing out my Roth IRA every year?
Apologies for the long post, I love this forum and you have all already helped me quite a bit.