Up the 401k to the actual max. That's at least $19,500 if your company doesn't allow after-tax contributions (not the same as Roth, that's a different thing). If your company DOES allow after-tax contributions, then your max is $58,000 INCLUDING company contributions (have to leave enough room for company contribution; if you max out early they can't put any more in, even a true-up). We're trying to max that out this year, probably won't (we're looking at an income over $85k/yr, so things are a bit tighter for us than you), but we can still try.
I'm not sure if I would use after-tax contribution space myself unless I had a mega-backdoor Roth path. Don't earnings on after-tax contributions come out as ordinary income. If you invest in taxable instead, most of the earnings come out at LTCG. Of course the flip side is that sometimes you can't avoid realizing earnings in the taxable account, but you can avoid realizing earnings from 401k (until you reach the age where RMDs apply).
Honestly, not sure. Just recently found out wife's 403b has the mega backdoor Roth option. Popped in $50 in the last paycheck to test and yup, it shows the $50 being put in, then $50 taken out, then $50 in the Roth.
My posts can get pretty long so I try to trim down best I can. Could have gone on and on about how everyone has a different definition of "maxing out the 401k" (maxing out the employer match? maxing out the $19,500 pre-tax? maxing out the whole $58k?). When I read anonymous internet advice I always double-check, ask questions if needed, etc. instead of blindly following it. Hopefully I gave the OP some info that can be used in their research. Max out that $19,500, that's easy! Once that's done and they can contribute more, check with HR if there's some kind of "after-tax" contribution that's in addition to the $19,500 (if your employer has a Roth 401k, HR may think you are referring to that when you say "contribution to the 401 after-tax"...a Roth 401k shares the same $19,500 bucket as the pre-tax; after-tax is completely outside that bucket but still within the $58k 401k limit). Anyways...
Another piece of advice for the OP. Open an IRA. With your income, I'd probably look into the traditional IRA, BUT I would open a Roth as well for two reasons. #1, there is a 5-year waiting period for a Roth that applies for various things. I won't get into details, but the sooner you open one the sooner that 5 year countdown can start. By the time it's even a concern, ten years will have passed and it won't matter (except for the five year waiting period to be eligible to withdraw a rollover, but that's for another topic). #2, I personally think it serves as a good emergency fund. You can withdraw contributions for ANY reason without penalty. Put in $12k, you can take out $12k. You only (potentially) get hit with penalties if you withdraw more than the contribution amount. So, you don't have much cash on hand in case of an emergency. Fully fund your and your spouse's Roth IRA for last year (you have until April 15 to contribute to an IRA for the prior tax year). If your MAGI is under $196k for both you and your spouse, you can fully max out your IRAs at $6k each. Pop in $6k for you and $6k for your spouse, that's a $12k emergency fund (it can go up or down, so I'd still have a thousand or so in a checking account just in case...but in a real emergency you can withdraw from the Roth). Again, this is for a true emergency, not a "oh crap the car needs tires, who could have ever seen that coming?" No, it's for "I lost my job, kid ended up in the ER for a broken bone, spouse has something medical going on that's still being diagnosed, AND the car needs two new tires because a deer decided to commit seppuku." Note that if you're using an IRA as an emergency fund, it's the Roth you want to touch in an actual emergency, not a Traditional. Traditional IRA has penalties on the entire amount withdrawn unless it's for an exempt reason; Roth can have the contributions withdrawn at any time for any reason without penalty; it's the earnings that can't be withdrawn unless it's for an exempt reason.
