New to investing questions with the current markets

[cypher1]

I have a friend at work who's 35 and never hasn't started investing yet. He's almost done paying off his student loans and is now starting to show interest with investing. I've been recommending he start contributing to his 401K the bare minimum 6% (Match up to 6%), at the very least. And then look at Roth IRA as well.

With the markets so volatile, is there anything you would do differently, if you were starting over with investing? Or to recommend to others just getting into the market at such lower points?

[greenskeeper]

I have a friend at work who's 35 and never hasn't started investing yet. He's almost done paying off his student loans and is now starting to show interest with investing. I've been recommending he start contributing to his 401K the bare minimum 6% (Match up to 6%), at the very least. And then look at Roth IRA as well.

With the markets so volatile, is there anything you would do differently, if you were starting over with investing? Or to recommend to others just getting into the market at such lower points?

At 35 years old I'd contribute at least to the company match, more if possible. Personally I'd do 100% stocks....been that way since age 18...turned 40 last year.

[Scallywag]

My spouse and I are a decade older, and my suggestion is to start ASAP. Ironically, we did not have a 401K match until our mid-30s, so were were lucky to be able to take advantage of the bull market run.

If your friend plans to work at least until age 65, that's a good 30 years away and I'd do dollar cost averaging as usual. I wouldn't try to time the market as when I did do that, I've ended up LOSING money. Over a 35 year period, the ups & downs will all even out for a net positive. So, just tell him to start now and keep going.

How much to contribute? - Depends on his life circumstances. If he's paid off all his loans and has a 3-6 month emergency fund then I'd start by investing to get the match on my 401K (to get the match) and then max out ROTH IRA contributions, preferably in index funds or good growth stock mutual funds. Does he already own a home? Does he plan to buy one? If so, then after paying off his bills, he should divide the remaining money into 2 pots -- one for the ROTH and the rest for a downpayment of 20% on a home (since he already would have emergency savings at this point, he doesn't need to worry about money in the bank.

Good luck!