[FishermanTim]

I've been puuting $$ in my 401k since the mid 80's.
Back in the beginning our company allowed the employees to take a portion of that year's profit sharing contribution as a cash payout.
It was usually done in December, so many people took the cash to help with Christmas. I did only ONCE, and invested all every other year.

Flash forward about 5-10 years and we were having a bull session about our profit sharing, and when I told my coworkers how much I had (we were making around the same salary) they asked me why my savings were so much higher than theirs.
I simply said "I didn't take the cash payout portion."

Now I put in 15%, company matches 50% of the first 6%, and I have it set so that my contribution rate increases by 1% every year, to coincide with our annual raises.

I've got a nice retirement nest egg and I figure on having more by the time I retire.

Oh, and I have been buying a little "precious metals" and coin proof sets as a side investment.
Remember, good investing means diversify, diversify, diversify!!!