New to BP and the podcast. I need to save. 401k Questions?

[Scott Rosslow]

I listened to the recent pod cast about being frugal to save money. 

I fell into the rat-race like many before me with my first 'investment' house which i live in. I can cover the bills but the house is eating away at like 50% of my paychecks. I refinanced into a 2.75% 15 year loan to get rid of PMI but it increased my payments slight from the 30 yr FHA.

I have a bad habit that I am on the way to crushing of eating out for lunch 5 days a week. My first step to try to save is the cut out going out to lunch. which should save me roughly $200 month. I liked the idea of house hacking and started looking for a house that had a studio or duplex along with it. My girlfriend (who i am saving for a ring as well) isn't sure she wants to have renters on site.

I have long tossed around the idea of stopping my contributions to my 401k/roth to save to have cash for a deal. I contribute somewhere just less than 10% of what I make to my 401k (no matching). Should I skip on the 401k and add it to my savings?

[Scott Rosslow]

Originally posted by @Jo Lyn Cornelsen:

Get a specific plan for your money management.  Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University?  YNAB budgeting?  These are just a couple suggestions.  Might be good for the two of you to study financial management together - and get on the same page regarding money. 
Never stop saving for your retirement - believe me, the days/years pile up and you're there before you know it... you win if you have resources to live generously when you are no longer working at a job. 
Blessings... 

I used to listen to Dave in college. I am fortunate that I have no outstanding debt except a mortgage. I currently track spending with mint.com. I will look into YNAB.

My girlfriend and I are on different pages (working on that and its going well) with investing etc. I know I can't be too pushy either.