401k Tips from Fool

Since I've been running a mini-series on 401ks, an article on MSNBC caught my attention. It was simply titled 401k Tips and was from the Motley Fool staff.  It's pretty basic stuff (like the stuff I've been posting), but I love 401ks so much that I think it doesn't hurt to keep reinforcing their benefits. Here are the key parts of the article:

• Begin participating in your company's plan as soon as possible, contributing as much as you can. It not only builds your nest egg but also reduces your taxable income.
• If your employer matches your contributions to any degree, take full advantage of the available matching -- it's free money.
• Stocks might be scary, but over the long run they perform best, by far. Unfortunately, more than two-thirds of 401(k) money is in low-yielding bond or money market funds, where it grows very slowly.
• Your best stock-fund bet is probably a stock market index fund (such as one tracking the S&P 500 or the "total market"), which usually outperforms most other mutual funds and has lower annual fees, to boot.

If you want more, stop by and read 401k Tips.