With increasing longevity, retirement is not a single period but a multi-stage journey. Financial plans must distinguish between the early, active "golden years" focused on travel and hobbies, and later years dominated by higher, often unpredictable medical expenses. This requires a more dynamic approach to saving and investing.

While Buffett's 22% annual returns are impressive, his fortune is primarily a result of starting at age 11 and continuing into his 90s. Had he followed a typical career timeline (age 25 to 65), his net worth would be millions, not billions, demonstrating that time is the most powerful force in compounding.

Young investors should consider allocating 100% of their 401k to stocks. The 'aggressive' label is misleading because even these funds are highly diversified. This strategy maximizes long-term growth by leveraging the market's historical tendency to recover from downturns over a long time horizon.

Viewing saving as 'delayed gratification' is emotionally taxing. Instead, frame it as an immediate transaction: you are purchasing independence. Each dollar saved provides an instant psychological return in the form of increased security and control over your own future, shifting the act from one of sacrifice to one of empowerment.

While DC plans receive huge inflows, a large portion of assets leaks out annually into rollover IRAs as employees change jobs. This dynamic means the net growth of the captive 401(k) asset pool is less explosive than top-line numbers suggest, tempering the "flood of capital" narrative for private markets.

Contrary to common advice, withdrawing from an IRA and paying taxes to clear high-interest debt offers a guaranteed, risk-free return. This "return" from debt elimination can be financially superior to the potential, yet risky and unguaranteed, returns from keeping the money invested in the stock market.

Called "upside investing," this strategy involves creating a baseline financial plan using only safe assets, assuming all stock investments go to zero. This establishes a guaranteed floor for your living standard, ensuring any market gains are purely upside without risking your core lifestyle.

When moving funds from an old 401(k), instructing the provider to do a 'direct rollover' is crucial. If they send a check to you personally, the IRS considers it a taxable distribution, triggering mandatory withholding and penalties.

A common mistake after a 401(k) rollover is assuming the money is working for you. The funds often arrive in the new IRA as uninvested cash. You must manually select investments to ensure the capital continues to grow and doesn't lose value to inflation.