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The All-American Rejects spoke backstage at Riot Fest about forging an independent path, creating their first album in almost 15 years and prioritizing the fan experience

The U.S. power grid has changed little since Edison and now strains under soaring demand. Flush with capital, data centers may be forcing it to catch up.

Personal finance bestselling author and radio host Dave Ramsey has a blunt warning for Americans about their traditional workplace 401(k) plans. And he recommends a lucrative alternative retirement savings strategy.

Ramsey describes a traditional 401(k) plan as a pretax account. He explains that investing this way involves making contributions to the account before they are taxed, which reduces taxable income each year.

“But all you’re really doing is kicking the can down the road, because you’ll have to pay taxes when you take that money out of your account in retirement,” he warned. “You can’t escape the tax man forever.”

Ramsey offered workers an alternative way to handle taxes through a Roth 401(k) plan, which he described as an after-tax account.

“That means your contributions go into your Roth account after they’re taxed,” Ramsey wrote. “Basically, you’re paying taxes now so you don’t have to pay later.”

Ramsey recommends using a Roth 401(k)

Traditional 401(k) withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income during retirement. By contrast, a Roth 401(k) lets one withdraw their money tax-free in retirement since they contributed using money that was already taxed.

“This may sound like something only Captain Obvious would say, but your retirement savings will last longer if you don’t have to pay taxes on your withdrawals,” Ramsey wrote. “That’s why Roth plans have a huge advantage over traditional retirement savings accounts — and why you should take advantage of all the Roth options you have.”

Ramsey offers an example of the contrast between traditional 401(k)s and Roth 401(k)s in a real-life scenario involving someone with $1 million nest egg.

“If it’s in a traditional 401(k), every penny you withdraw in retirement is subject to income taxes,” Ramsey wrote. “Depending on your tax bracket and what the tax rates are when you retire (and who knows what those will be), you could owe hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes throughout your retirement.”

“But if your retirement savings are parked in a Roth 401(k), most, if not all (depending on how your employer structured their match under the SECURE 2.0 Act), of that $1 million is all yours, since you already paid taxes on it.”

Dave Ramsey warns traditional 401(k) account holders that Roth 401(k) plans might be more lucrative.Shutterstock

IRS explains 401(k) plan matching contributions

Employer matching contributions are funds added to an employee’s retirement account by their employer when the worker makes salary contributions to the plan.

These matched dollars do not count toward the individual’s personal salary contribution limit, allowing the employee’s total retirement savings to expand further.

Once deposited, the matching funds grow tax-free within the account and are only subject to income taxes when the employee withdraws them in retirement.

“You may be walking away from free money by not contributing to your employer-sponsored retirement plan,” the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) wrote. “Many retirement plans, such as SIMPLE IRAs and 401(k)s, provide that your employer will match some portion of the amount you contribute to your retirement account.”

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The IRS offers a real-life scenario of its own.

“You contribute $2,000 from your $30,000 annual salary to your company’s 401(k) plan,” the IRS wrote. “Your employer’s 50% match on your contributions up to 5% of your salary means an additional $750 ($1,500 X 50%) would be added to your retirement account for the year.”

“Note, that the matching contribution is not $1,000 because the plan’s match is capped at 50% of the contributions you make up to 5% of your salary ($30,000 x 5% = $1,500 and $1,500 X 50% = $750),” added the IRS.

Fidelity explains considerations on choosing 401(k) plan

Fidelity Investments suggests a few factors to consider when deciding between a traditional 401(k) and a Roth 401(k).

“If you believe your marginal tax rate will be significantly higher in retirement than it is now, a Roth account may make sense, because qualified withdrawals may be tax-free,” Fidelity wrote.

“If you believe your marginal tax rate will be significantly lower in retirement than it is now, a traditional account may be more appropriate, because you will pay a lower tax on your withdrawals,” Fidelity added.

You may be walking away from free money by not contributing to your employer-sponsored retirement plan.

If your tax bracket remains the same in retirement, traditional and Roth IRAs yield the exact same total tax savings. However, a traditional IRA gives you immediate savings you can spend this year, whereas a Roth IRA delivers its tax savings down the road through tax-free withdrawals.

Electing to contribute to a traditional 401(k), 403(b), or IRA increases your current take-home pay by lowering your present taxable income, according to Fidelity.

“These tax savings can help you reach your retirement goal only if you invest them,” Fidelity wrote. “If you spend your tax savings, it’s not going to help you when you retire.”

“On the other hand, a contribution to a Roth account reduces the amount of money left in your pocket compared with a similar contribution to a traditional account, because you pay taxes on your contributions up front,” Fidelity continued.

“If you’re like many people who tend to spend their take-home pay, opting for a Roth and thus having less available to spend might be a good thing when it comes to your retirement savings.”

Related: Dave Ramsey has blunt warning on Social Security, 401(k)s

Bank of America is doubling down on Micron Technology (MU) days before the memory-chip giant faces a major test of 2026.

For the better part of the year, Micron stock has been on fire, surging 276% this year through Sept. 23, according to Yahoo Finance data, and transforming a cyclical chipmaker into one of the market’s hottest AI plays.

Momentum has cooled off, with shares gaining about 2% over three months after retreating from their June record.

That pause has sharpened the debate. 

Investors are firmly in “show-me” mode with AI and asking whether Micron can preserve the market’s extraordinary pricing, margins, and earnings as new memory capacity enters the market.

Its recent quarterly showing raised the stakes. 

Q3 revenue more than quadrupled to a record $41.46 billion, adjusted earnings crushed expectations, and gross margin reached 84.9%. Micron guided toward $50 billion in fiscal Q4 sales.

But Bank of America believes investors are watching the wrong issue ahead of Micron’s Sept. 30 report. Its focus points to what could keep this rally alive.

Bank of America sees 45% more upside in Micron stock

Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya reiterated a Buy rating and $1,550 price target on Micron.

That represents 45% upside from the stock’s Sept. 23 close of $1,071.88, above the 41.4% upside from the report’s reference price.

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The thesis is less about another dramatic pricing surprise and more about whether Micron can keep its fiscal 2027 gross margin near its current mid-80% level. 

BofA believes that durability can effectively support earnings of $150 to $200 per share, more than double year over year, while leaving the stock valued at only about seven times forward earnings.

That is well below the roughly 10-times multiple Micron has historically sustained.

Near-term industry checks strengthen the case. BofA says most DRAM average selling prices increased 20% to 30% sequentially during Q3, while NAND pricing rose more than 15%. It also assumes at least a single-digit increase during the fourth quarter.

More importantly, hyperscalers are reportedly agreeing to pay higher DRAM prices in the first half of 2027 than during late 2026.

That gives Micron unusual earnings visibility. 

BofA’s argument is that investors should focus on margin durability and AI demand, without becoming distracted by the mechanics of its new customer contracts.

Bank of America backs Micron stock as investors await crucial quarterly results.Bloomberg / Getty Images

Buybacks could become Micron’s next powerful catalyst 

Margins are one part of Bank of America’s bullish setup. 

The firm believes Micron could restart share buybacks after Dec. 9, when restrictions tied to its CHIPS Act grants expire.

BofA estimates Micron’s trailing free cash flow could finance the retirement of 8% to 10% of outstanding shares. A program that large would lift per-share earnings while signaling that management considers the current memory upcycle durable enough to return capital.

Nevertheless, the elevated CapEx creates tension. 

BofA expects fiscal 2027 capital spending between $45 billion and $48 billion, an increase of more than 60%. However, management has indicated that over half the growth should fund longer-cycle cleanroom construction rather than immediate capacity additions, which lays to rest the fears that new supply could quickly crush prices.

BofA pushes back against concerns that Nvidia products may require less high-bandwidth memory. Some chips could use lower specifications, but tightness may persist as demand shifts between 12-high and 8-high stacks.

TrendForce forecasts cited in the note point to HBM pricing rising more than 120% next year to above $3.80 per gigabyte, supported by HBM4 and HBM4E adoption.

Even if Nvidia reduces memory content, AMD could differentiate its accelerators by maintaining higher HBM specifications.

Micron’s discount comes with real cycle risk

Micron looks inexpensive at seven times BofA’s projected fiscal 2027 earnings, compared with its sustained multiple of about 10 times. 

That discount, though, reflects a concern, which is that earnings estimates can collapse when the memory cycle turns.

BofA itself models memory pricing falling more than 10% in calendar 2028. New capacity arriving during the second half of 2027 could pressure prices, margins, and the earnings supporting Micron’s valuation.

The bank’s $1,550 target assumes generous outcomes. Its sum-of-the-parts model values Micron’s memory business at $1,040 per share using three times 2028 book value, near the top of its historical range. 

The AI HBM operation receives a 31-times earnings multiple, in line with AI-compute peers. Investors should therefore treat Micron as an execution-sensitive AI holding, not a conventional bargain.

The key markers are clear.

Fiscal 2027 gross margin must remain near the mid-80s, AI capital spending must stay resilient, and new capacity must not overwhelm demand. A buyback would strengthen the case.

Still, weaker data-center spending, steeper pricing declines, Chinese competition, or market-share losses could turn a low earnings multiple into a value trap.

Related: 5-star analyst sets jaw-dropping price target on SanDisk stock