I finally set up my 401(k) today. I know what you’re thinking. This gal wants to be a financial educator and she hasn’t set up a basic retirement account after working for 18 months?! Crazy, I know. I am ashamed. To be honest, I just didn’t know where to start…then I got busy…and then I saw something shiny…and well, it never got done.

With the prospect of a dear friend moving to New York and wanting to be a helpful financial mentor, I decided I needed to step up my game before I could really provide her with any help. The trouble is, I needed my own financial mentor!

Last night I had a friend walk me through retirement planning matters over the phone. For ninety minutes we discussed plan options, contribution amounts, income limits, asset allocation and tax forecasts (sounds like a barrel of laughs, right?!). I can’t emphasize enough how helpful it is to talk to someone in a similar place professionally, who is a couple of steps ahead when it comes to personal finance.

A lot of young professionals haven’t set up their 401(k) and/or IRA plans yet. From my observations, it’s mainly because we just don’t know how – and while there are thousands of websites, blogs, magazines, books and TV shows about personal finance – ideally we just want someone to walk us through it all in plain English.

As it turns out, it was very straight forward. Fidelity does a great job of making the process relatively painless. Now I have a good chunk of my paycheck going straight to my Roth 401(k) invested in 60% US equities (evenly between Large Cap, Mid Cap and Small Cap), 30% foreign equities and 10% bonds. I am planning on closely monitoring performance of the portfolio over the next two months, as well as making sure I am not contributing too much or too little to the plan and adjusting if necessary.

As I travel down this journey of life, I’m realizing that the path ahead is complicated and full of surprises. Overcoming the obstacles and complexities that life throws can be difficult all alone, but with a trusted friend in your corner those decisions can be made much easier. Morale of the story: don’t be afraid to reach out for help. However basic the question is, when it comes to your personal finance it is always an important question to ask.

(Originally posted March 26, 2010)