I've been in a 401K now since 1994. Since my wife is a teacher, she is automatically in the states IPERS program, but she can't add to this, so we started a 403b plan for her on the side as well.
Depending on your plan, it is very important to spread out how much you allocate to each check in the various options. A good rule of thumb is to put the same percentage in more guaranteed funds, as your age. For ex., if your 30, place 30% of your money into say bonds or mutual funds. The other 70% can be put in more risky categories. It is good to be very diversified in many categories, that way if some areas are not doing well, others may help balance out your overall percentage of return.
Saving money is tuff man, especially when you have other bills and activities you enjoy. At least you guys are doing the right thing by saving for retirment. I know guys that I work with that have been with the company longer than I, and they don't do the 401K because they say they can't afford to, or they don't have enough money now to live on. I say "They can't afford not to do it". Most of them don't understand the concept of compounding money.
It is like the old question, what would you take if I gave you:
A) A million bucks right now.
OR
B) A penny each day doubled for 30 days. So a penny today, two pennies tomorrow, four pennies the next day, etc....for 30 days.
Most people say give me the million now man, WRONG answer. The penny doubled everyday for 30 days ammounts to over 5 million. That is the whole concept of compounding money.
Good luck, and put the most you can in your plans, and hope some of your ammount is matched by your companies...
Ya gotta get a house man, there is nothing better than realstate for being a good investment, especially if you can apply a little extra each month, to build on the equity. We lived in our first house for 10 years. Since the value of homes keeps going up, we had a lot of equity so we where able to build a new house about 3 years ago.
There are many types of loans available, some for new home buyers where you don't have to come up with as much money for a down payment. I would try to see if any of your friends can refer you to a realtor that can talk about the various types of home loans available. You may be suprised, and your payment might be the same or less than renting.
Good luck Ken.
