Better Late than Never

"Boy, this is all so confusing," said Jason as he stared at the papers on his desk. $"$If only I had taken the advice of my finance instructor, I would not be in such a predicament today." Jason Welch, aged $27,$ graduated five years ago with a degree in food marketing and is currently employed as a middle$-$level manager for a fairly successful grocery chain. His current annual salary of $$75,000$ has increased at an average rate of $5\%$ per year and is projected to increase at least at that rate for the foreseeable future. The firm has a voluntary retirement savings program in place, whereby employees are allowed to contribute up to $11\%$ of their gross annual salary $($up to a maximum of $$12,000$ per year$)$ and the company matches every dollar that the employee contributes. Unfortunately, like many other young people who start out in their first "real" job, Jason has not yet taken advantage of the retirement savings program. He opted instead to buy a fancy car, rent an expensive apartment, and consume most of his income.

However, with wedding plans on the horizon, Jason has finally come to the realization that he had better start putting away some money for the future. His fianc$,$ Jillian, of course, had a lot to do with giving him this reality check. Jillian reminded Jason that besides retirement, there were various other large expenses that would be forthcoming and that it would be wise for him to design a comprehensive savings plan, keeping in mind the various cost estimates and timelines involved.