I'm not sure if this has been answered before but figured I would ask:
My employer goes through Vanguard for my 401(k). Recently I decided to contribute the max $17,500/year to it (previously I was contributing enough for the match), as my income is within the marginal 25% tax bracket. Previously I avoided this because I didn't plan to retire early and assumed I would be in the same income bracket at retirement. Since I intend to retire early on a smaller budget I changed my mind.
Anyway, Vanguard allows me to contribute up to 50% of my pre-tax income each paycheck and I'm allowed to change it online whenever I want. I make well over $35K so I don't need to contribute 50% to hit $17,500. I was considering contributing 50% of my pre-tax pay for a few months, and then lowering the contribution to the amount needed to get the company match for the rest of the year. That way I get the money in as soon as possible. Note that I can easily live off what my take-home will be while I contribute 50% and I have enough cash to get me by if something came up.
Any thoughts on this? A follow-up: I didn't contribute close to $17,500 in 2013. Are there any tax rules where I can include contributions this year as part of last year's contributions, effectively allowing me to contribute more than $17,500 this year? I haven't done my taxes yet.