<prompt> Human: I currently make good money in a HCOL area novaDC. I am working to pay off my student loans and should be able to and make car repairs by 28 yrs old. I only have about 20k in 401k but started 2-3 years ago with only 6 matching.I guess my question is: once I get all my debts paid and purchase another used vehicle within the next year or two current one is on the edge of crapping out probably, should I change my 401k targets to more match a lower retirement year? Currently I set them to 2050 because I wasnt sure. But if I want to retire when Im 50 instead of 60, should I then allocate most of them in target 2040?To be 100 honest, Im not sure how well these target funds are organized and if theyre that useful.  <response>: Lower the target date will shift your allocation to more conservative investments more bonds, less stocks. Since you need a lot of growth to make your goal, this would probably be counterproductive. With a more aggressive allocation to your age 65, not your age 50 if you find you reach age 50 and the markets are not as up as you want, you can postpone your retirement a few years. If you switch to a too conservative investment strategy and find you dont have enough growth to reach your goal, you might have to wait a lot longer and save a lot more to compensate. 