New Member Saying Hi from New Mexico!

[James Morehead]

Hey everyone,

Thanks for letting become part of your forum family. I am 34 years old and happily married with three young boys, 6, 8, and 11. We reside about 20 minutes south of Albuquerque in the Village of Los Lunas. 

I work for the local school district and can retire with 25 years of service which will put me around age 52. My wife on the other hand, opted to quit her lousy job and go to school to become a RN at the age of 28. Thankfully, we managed to get by on just my income which allowed her to bet her BSN in just under 4 years at age 32. She now works for Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque in labor and delivery. She is now seriously considering getting her masters to become a Nurse Practitioner. 

I realize we are already behind in the savings process but now that we have a more substantial income we figure it's never too late to start. That's what brings me hear today. My wife's employer offers a 401a through Fidelity for retirement and will match 50 cents per dollar, up to 4% of your income. She's on track to pull in about 70K her first year; however, we've not yet started contributing because we've been debating if this is the best route to go and, honestly, are pretty clueless in these areas. 

So here I am, asking for some advice. I'm no expert and realize I've only scratched the surface but what are some options. Real estate property? Notes? Is it crazy to not take advantage of the money her employer will match? 

We are feeling very overwhelmed, confused, and a bit terrified! Hopefully I've come to the right place! 

It's a pleasure to be here and I hope to hear from some of you.

Cheers,

James

[Mindy Jensen]

Welcome to BiggerPockets, @James Morehead. You asked about my two favorite topics, Real Estate and Personal Finance.

To answer your question, yes it is a mistake to not take advantage of her employer's 401(k) match. That is free money that you are throwing away by not taking advantage of this program. Start contributing at least as much as you have to to get the full match. 

As for real estate, are you interested in passive income or active income? 

@David Torres suggested the podcasts, have you checked out the blog yet?