Thanks Nasa, Grandma and JTH !
Some advice to those young'ns who feel too straped to increase their TSP Accounts.
If you get a 2% raise from good old Uncle Sam, Find out what that means (Gross)
on a yearly basis. Divide it by two (2) ,,,, then divide it by 26. Add the amount
to your current TSP Contributions. Before you know it, you'll have 17% of your pay
going towards your retirement. However, if your putting in less then 5%, your first
priority is to get that Full 5% Match. The plan stays the same ! Use your yearly
increases to help your TSP grow. This is the simple plan. Some may want you to
only put 5% into the TSP and any post-tax extra going into a Roth IRA. It has its
merits. Point being: YOU MUST ASSIST IN YOUR TSP's GROWTH. Not always
easy to accomplish, but, always necessary !
Great information SB.
The information below is from the TSP website under "Early Career". Sure wish someone had beat this into my brain early on.
The table below illustrates the impact of saving early for two savers, both age 25. The first scenario depicts a saver who invests $200 every month for 40 years. Assuming a 6% annual rate of return, this saver would have accumulated $400,289 by the age of 65.
The second scenario shows a saver who does not start saving at age 25, but decides to wait five years. At a $200 per month savings rate and a 6% annual rate of return, the account value by the time this saver reaches age 65 is $286,367 — a significant amount less than in the first scenario because the five-year delay means five years of forgone earnings and compounding. In fact, under this set of assumptions, a saver who waits five years would have to save almost $280 per month to achieve the same results as the saver in the first scenario.
Return Account Value at Age 65
Scenario 1 Invest $200/month, for 40 years at 6%/year = $400,289.00
Scenario 2 Invest $200/month, for 35 years at 6%/year = $286,367.00
Scenario 3 Invest $280/month, for 35 years at 6%/year = $400,289.00
Of course this assumes that you can make 6%/year for 35 or 40 years.
Remember that starting your retirement savings early is important because the longer you wait, the more difficult it can become to reach your financial goals. By waiting, you may find yourself having to set aside a higher proportion of your income for retirement. Also, you will have forgone any earnings that could have compounded during those missed early years.
If you are a FERS employee, don't miss out on free money from your agency. You should consider contributing no less than 5% of your salary to the TSP. If you do, you will receive the maximum Agency Matching Contributions. To learn more, visit Agency Matching Contributions.
but not as an investor. You sometimes just have to put money in a mix of fund and let it go. DCA over time will help you to make more$$. I almost made 20% this year on less than 10 IFT. I'm now following Intreprid Traders plan. It's on free trial for a few more weeks. Log onto premimum services and follow it for the rest of the month and see how much you gain . Having a plan sometimes is buy and hold, and sometimes trading frequently. Regardless, putting in 20% now you'll be way ahead for retirement than most of your young coworkers. 
