Yvonne asks: I have been working for the past year and have not yet contributed to my 401(k). The common opinion around the office is to not bother, given the current state of the market. One co-worker had lost 40 percent of what he had contributed the previous year. What do you think? Am I better off placing money for retirement in another savings vehicle? My employer does not match 401(k) contributions. [...]

Jackie asks: I am 26 years old. I own a condo which I am in the process of refinancing for a 15 year loan. My salary is $68K per year. I have just started working full-time in August since finishing grad school. I have 70K of student loan debt. I have no retirement savings what so ever. I do have an emergency savings with four months of expenses. Should I be saving for retirement or paying down my school loans? If I should be doing both, where should more money be going? [...]

Jim asks: My wife and I have over $70K in credit card debt. We can get a loan to pay off $23k over five years at just three percent, but we’re stuck with the rest. Here’s the kicker: All of our interest rates have jumped to 29.99 percent to get ahead of the new laws. We have over ten years until we retire and will have multiple sources of retirement income. Should we use money in our 401(k) to pay off this remaining credit card debt. Our combined income is $120k. [...]

Chris asks: Both my wife and I are in the military. I am currently deployed and will be re-enlisting for another four years of service. My career field receives a bonus for re-enlisting which will be about $78,000. I’ll get half up front, and the rest in annual installments over the next four years (all of which is tax-free because I am in a tax free warzone). We were planning on buying a new vehicle when I returned, but other than that have no plans for the money. We know we want to save for our future (retirement) but don’t know where to start. [...]