Financial mistakes tend to fall into two categories: Small missteps and major crises. Miss a credit card payment and get hit with a late fee? Misstep. Lock in major losses during a market crash? Crisis.
Retirement is different. Decades-long timelines turn routine decisions into make-or-break moments, and the consequences are not always clear. Common 401(k) and IRA mistakes can be a gateway to compounding losses. The most dangerous of these mistakes is deceptively simple.
