I've been writing a lot about helping my family lately but today I want to plan my own savings a little. I got paid today! 401k withdrawals didn't start yet ... I guess that will start in July.

Anyway, I'm compressing the $16,500 allowed 401k contribution into 6 months. Starting in July. July is when I'll eligible for the 401k since I'll have been a full-time employee for the required 2 months.

Maxing out the 401k this year was an easy choice: the IRS allows it, my employer allows it, my spending history allows it, and (best of all) it will lower my taxable income significantly. I love that! I'm in a much higher tax bracket now than I expect to be in when I retire.

Depending on how my taxes look at the end of the year, I *might* also be able to max out to my SEP-IRA from my contractor job. That would lower my taxable income too! 2010 might be a very good tax year if I can focus on these retirement savings.

I might be adding almost $20,000 to my retirement savings this year! $16,500 minimum though.

Next year I'm spreading out the 401k contribution over 12 months so I can just leave it alone until the maximum allowed contribution changes.

This paycheck that I got today - about 1/3 of it is going to pay my June rent, and the rest will go into a 6-month CD. The CD will (hopefully) still be there at the end of the year so I can use it for the SEP-IRA contribution. But if some emergency comes up between now and then, I can still withdraw it. The CD penalty is a good incentive for me to leave it alone except for a true emergency.