[jovial_cavalier]

Most of my family is shocked that I haven't vested in a 401k account. The fact that I haven't decided to funnel upwards of 5% of my income straight into the big craps table elicits an almost medical concern from them. They come to me in hushed tones and ask why I'm making such an obvious mistake, so I ask them why they expect their portfolios to perform well, and of course they can't answer.

I think that's what GP is talking about. I don't think it's unreasonable to put your money into stocks, but there are a ton of people in America that put a ton of money into the stock market without even getting to the point of doing some of the reasoning you do in your post.

[dgfitz]

Can I ask how you have planned for the future/retirement, or are you one of the few who found a job you love and never work a day in your life?

[SamoyedFurFluff]

Even if you find a job you love it’s important to save. There is always a concern especially as one ages that they may become disabled in a way that severely impacted income

[jovial_cavalier]

The answer is that I have not, and I probably should. But my only point is that everyone seems to think that this solution is a slam dunk, and I just don't think it is.

[freeone3000]

A 401K account is tax-advantaged and can hold everything from mutual funds to T-bills. It is absolutely a mistake to not invest in one unless you never plan to withdraw.

[Pigalowda]

People put money in their 401k because it’s pretax and often has an employer match. So if you don’t, you’re basically refusing compensation that your employer is including in its pay/benefits package.

If no employer match then you are giving up just the tax benefit. If you don’t really care about that then whatever you alternatively invest in for retirement planning has to already make up for what, like 30% you save in going pretax?

Anyways, you do you.

[funklute]

That is a fair point!