How Much Should You Invest Each Month?

Monthly Money Man on May 22, 2026

There’s a question I heard more times than I can count sitting across from people at their kitchen tables.

“Okay, I get it. I need to invest. But how much?”

It’s the right question — and it deserves a real answer, not a vague ‘it depends.’ If you’re wondering how much to invest each month, let’s skip the financial theory and go straight to the recipe.

Step One: Grab Your Company Match First

If your employer offers a 401(k) or 403(b) match, this is your first move — full stop.

Here’s why: a match is an instant, guaranteed return on your money. If your company matches 50% of your contributions up to 6% of your salary, contributing that full 6% means you’re actually putting away 9%. That extra 3% costs you nothing. It’s part of your compensation — and if you don’t claim it, you’re leaving your own money on the table.

Before you think about anything else, find out:

  • Does your employer offer a match?
  • What percentage do you need to contribute to get the full match?

Then contribute at least that amount. That’s your floor, not your ceiling.

Step Two: Pause Here If You Have High-Interest Debt

Now here’s where a lot of people get tripped up — and where I want to be direct with you.

If you’re carrying high-interest debt — credit cards above 10%, personal loans in that range — you should grab your company match first, and then redirect extra dollars toward that debt before investing more.

Why? Because a 20% interest rate on a credit card will eat your investment gains alive. There’s no index fund on earth that reliably beats paying off a 22% APR. Getting the match still makes sense — that’s guaranteed return. But stacking more into a 401(k) while high-interest debt is compounding against you is climbing with a heavy pack when you could set it down.

Once that high-interest debt is gone, those same dollars become your next investment dollars. The path clears fast.

Step Three: Add a Roth IRA to the Mix

Once you’ve captured your full employer match and any high-interest debt is handled, the next step is opening a Roth IRA.

For 2026, you can contribute up to $7,500 per year — or about $625 a month. If that number feels out of reach right now, start smaller. Even $50 or $100 a month gets the account open and the habit started. You can always increase it later.

A Roth IRA gives your money room to grow tax-free, and it sits outside your employer — so it travels with you no matter where life takes you.

Step Four: How Much to Invest Long Term — Work Toward 15%

Here’s the number most financial professionals point to as a long-term target: 15% of your gross income going toward retirement.

Let’s see how it actually adds up. Say you earn $70,000 a year. Your target is roughly $875 a month toward retirement.

Start with your 401(k) contribution to capture the full match. Using our earlier example — you contribute 6% ($350/month), your employer adds 3% ($175/month) — that’s $525 a month already working for you, and $175 of it didn’t cost you anything.

Now open a Roth IRA and work toward maxing it. The 2026 limit is $7,500 a year — about $625 a month. Contributing even $350 a month to your Roth puts you right at that $875 target without ever increasing your 401(k) contribution beyond the match. Max it out, and you’ve actually exceeded 15%.

Grab the match. Max the Roth. You’re essentially at 15% — and you did it in two moves.

You don’t have to get there overnight. Start your Roth with whatever you can — $50, $100, $200 — and increase it as income grows. The direction matters more than the speed.

One more thing worth knowing: if you have access to an HSA through a high-deductible health plan, that tool deserves its own conversation — and its own article.

Your Investment Recipe

If you’re looking for a single reference to bookmark, here it is:

  1. Contribute enough to your 401(k) to get the full employer match. Always.
  2. If you have high-interest debt (above ~10%), tackle that next. The match is still worth it; extra investing can wait.
  3. Open and fund a Roth IRA. Start with what you can. Build from there.
  4. Increase your total retirement contributions over time until you reach 15% of your income.

That’s it. That’s the recipe.

You don’t need a spreadsheet. You don’t need to optimize every dollar before you start. You just need to know which step you’re on — and take it.

This Month’s Action

Pull up your most recent pay stub or log into your HR portal. Find out what percentage you’re currently contributing to your 401(k) — and whether you’re capturing the full employer match.

If you’re not — increase it this month. One small adjustment today is worth more than a perfect plan you start next year.

See you at the top.

This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute personalized financial advice. Please consult a qualified financial professional for guidance specific to your situation.

Pay Yourself First: How to Build Wealth on Autopilot

Monthly Money Man on March 20, 2026

When I was managing money for clients, I saw a pattern that repeated itself over and over again.

The people who built real wealth weren’t necessarily the ones making the most money. They were the ones who had set up systems that worked automatically, without requiring daily willpower or discipline.

The most powerful system? Pay yourself first.

You’ve probably heard this phrase before. Maybe you’ve even tried it. But here’s what I learned watching hundreds of people succeed (and fail) at this: it’s not about intention. It’s about mechanics.

What “Pay Yourself First” Actually Means

It’s simple: before your paycheck hits your checking account and becomes “available” to spend, a portion of it goes somewhere else. To savings. To investments. To your future self.

Not what’s left over at the end of the month. Not “if there’s extra.” First.

I remember sitting with a couple in their early 30s. They made good money—combined household income over $120,000. But every month, they felt broke. Every single month.

“We just don’t know where it goes,” they told me.

I asked them to show me their savings rate. Zero. Because they were trying to save what was left over. And there’s never anything left over when you do it that way.

The Psychology Behind Why This Works

Here’s the truth about human behavior and money: we spend what we see.

If you have $3,000 in your checking account, you’ll find a way to spend closer to $3,000. If you have $2,400 in your checking account, you’ll find a way to live on $2,400.

The difference? That $600 that never showed up in checking went straight to savings the day your paycheck deposited.

This isn’t about deprivation. It’s about making the right choice the easy choice. You’re not fighting yourself every month trying to be disciplined. You made the choice once, set up the system, and now it runs on autopilot.

How to Set Up the System

Step 1: Decide on a percentage

Start with 10% if you’re new to this. Already saving? Push it to 15% or 20%. The exact number matters less than the fact that it’s automatic and consistent.

Step 2: Split your direct deposit

Many payroll systems let you split your direct deposit between multiple accounts—check with your HR department to see if yours does. This is the absolute best way to do it.

  • Option A: Have your employer deposit 10% directly into your savings account and 90% into checking
  • Option B: If your employer doesn’t allow splits, set up an automatic transfer on payday from checking to savings

Step 3: Make it immediate

The transfer should happen the same day you get paid—or before you even see the money. If you wait until the 15th of the month to manually move money around, you’ve already spent it in your head.

Step 4: Treat it like a bill

That 10% (or 15%, or 20%) isn’t optional. It’s not negotiable. It’s the first bill you pay every month. The bill is to your future self.

Where the Money Should Go

This depends on where you are in your financial journey. Use this priority order:

First priority: Build your Safety Net #1—one month of expenses in cash. Until you have this, every dollar you’re paying yourself first goes here.

Second priority: Get your employer match in your 401k or 403b (if it’s 50% or higher). This is the only time I’ll tell you to invest before paying off high-interest debt. Here’s why: if your employer matches 50 cents on every dollar you contribute, that’s an instant 50% return. You can’t get that anywhere else. You also can’t go back in time and claim matches you missed.

Even if you’re carrying credit card debt at 18%, you need to contribute enough to get that full match. Yes, you’re still paying interest on your debt. But you’re also getting free money that will compound for decades. We’ll talk more about balance transfers and refinancing strategies in August—there are ways to lower that interest rate on your debt. But there’s no way to recapture an employer match you let slip away.

Plus, getting that match forces you to learn to live on what’s left. That’s the system working.

Third priority: Pay off high-interest debt (anything over 10%). If you’re carrying credit card debt at 18% or 24%, paying that down is paying yourself first. You’re getting an immediate 18% return. In August, we’ll dive deep into avalanche vs snowball methods and strategies for tackling this.

Fourth priority: Max out your Roth IRA. Once you’ve got your cash reserve built and you’re getting your employer match, this is your next move. We’ll cover Roth IRAs in detail in April and May, but the short version: tax-free growth for the rest of your life. If you got a tax refund and you’ve checked the first two boxes, this is where that money should go.

Fifth priority: Go back to your 401k and increase your contribution beyond the match. Push toward 15% total retirement savings.

What If You Can’t Afford 10%?

Start with 5%. Or 3%. Or even 1%.

The amount is less important than the system. Get the mechanics in place now. A year from now when you get a raise, increase it to 6%. Then 8%. Then 10%.

I’ve seen people go from saving nothing to saving 20% of their income. It didn’t happen overnight. It happened by setting up the system and then adjusting the percentage every time their income increased.

The Backpack Check

Think of this as one of the most important items you’re carrying in your financial backpack: the habit of paying yourself first.

It’s not heavy. It doesn’t require daily attention. But it’s the difference between arriving at the summit with resources—or arriving exhausted and empty-handed.

Set it up once. Let it run. Watch what happens over the next five years.

Action step for this week: Log into your bank or payroll system today. Set up that automatic transfer. Even if it’s just 5% to start. Make the decision once so you don’t have to make it every month.

See you at the top.