“Contribute at least 4% to your 401(k) to capture the full match first, that's free money. Then I'd put the rest into a high-yield savings account for the house, because three years is too short to gamble in the market.”
“I’d put in at least the 4% match first, because that’s free money and you won’t get it back later. After that, split what’s left toward the house fund in something safe, since three years is too short a timeline to gamble in the market.”
“I’d put at least the 4% into the 401(k) first, because that match is a 100% return on your money the day it hits, and I’ve seen too many people leave free money on the table because they wanted to wait until things calm down.”
“I’d grab the full 4% match first, because that’s a 100% return on your money before the market even opens. Then I’d split whatever else I could save: half into a Roth 401(k) at your age, half into a boring, safe bucket for the house down payment in three years.”
“I'd take the 4% match first, because that's an immediate 100% return on your money, then split the rest so the house fund is safe enough to actually be there in three years. At 34, starting is the win; the question is whether you can keep contributing once the mortgage shows up.”
“I would take the full 4% company match first, because that is a guaranteed 100% return on your money. Anything extra you want to save for the house in three years should go somewhere safe and boring, not the stock market, because three years is not long enough to recover from a drop.”