When Elizabeth's part-time job offered her 401(k) benefits, she knew she should take advantage of the opportunity, but she didn't know much about retirement plans or about investing, in general. To learn what to do, she read her company's informational packet and asked a lot of questions about the 401(k) plan and its options.

Once it was time to sign up, Elizabeth felt much more confident about selecting the mutual funds in which her 401(k) would be invested a mix of stock and bond funds. "I decided to invest in riskier, more aggressive funds," she says. "I learned that younger people benefit by investing in aggressive funds because they have more opportunity to grow over the years."

So far, she says her investment is doing well and she has received nice tax benefits. Plus, her employer matches the money she contributes to her 401(k) account; so every dollar she puts in her account is matched by a dollar from her employer. "Why not invest in a 401(k)?" she asks. "It's really a small percentage of your paycheck that is set aside and you're getting free money from your employer!"

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