An alarming number of people have access to a 401(k) and are either not using it, not getting the full employer match, or not making the simple moves that turn a good account into a great one. Joe and OG dedicate a full episode to the retirement account that most people take for granted -- covering contributions, matching, investment selection, Roth versus traditional, and the specific decisions that separate people who retire comfortably from people who almost got there. Plus wins from the Stacker community and trivia that will make you the most dangerous person at your next dinner party.

What You'll Walk Away With

• Why the employer match is the single highest guaranteed return available to any investor -- and the specific contribution level that captures every dollar of it
• Roth 401(k) versus traditional 401(k): the one question that cuts through all the noise and tells you which one to use right now
• Why your investment menu feels overwhelming and how to make a great choice in under five minutes using one simple filter
• The auto-escalation feature most people never turn on -- and why setting it up once can add tens of thousands of dollars to your balance without you doing anything else
• What to do with your 401(k) when you leave a job: the four options, which one is almost always wrong, and which one most people choose anyway
• Why contribution limits are higher than most people think -- and the catch-up contribution that becomes available at 50 that most people in their 40s don't know to plan for
• The vesting schedule trap: why your employer match might not actually be yours yet -- and what that means for anyone thinking about leaving their job
• Why 403(b) and 457 plans follow most of the same rules -- and the one unique advantage the 457 has that almost nobody knows about
• OG on the single most common 401(k) mistake he sees in client portfolios -- and how long it typically takes to fix
• Stacker wins from the community: the specific moves people made this month that are already paying off

Why This Matters Now

Every year you don't optimize your 401(k) is a year of compounding you don't get back. The moves in this episode are not complicated -- but most people either don't know about them or keep putting them off. This is the episode to send to anyone who has a 401(k) and has never really looked at it.

From the Basement

Joe and OG celebrate the 401(k) in mom's basement while OG recovers from completing the Triple Bypass -- a Colorado cycling event that covers three mountain passes and approximately all of the elevation gain in the western hemisphere. OG's wife asked if he'd do it again. He answered with a childbirth analogy. Doug arrives with trivia that will be re-shared all week. The community delivers wins that prove the system works.

Resources Mentioned

• Stacking Benjamins Basics Guide -- stackingbenjamins.com/basicsguide
• Stacking Benjamins Field Kit -- stackingbenjamins.com/fieldkit
• Stacking Benjamins BAD Groups -- stackingbenjamins.com/bad
• Stacking Benjamins Newsletter (The 201) -- stackingbenjamins.com/201
• OG financial planning calendar -- stackingbenjamins.com/og
• Stacking Benjamins Community -- stackingbenjamins.com/basement

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