re: How do you make your money grow?

Honestly, you can follow a pretty simple strategy and do pretty reasonably without a lot of work. Use the Roth as your emergency fund for anything above the first couple of grand or so - you can pull money out from your Roth with no penalty if you need to and the earnings are tax-free.

Get as much matching company funds as you can in the 401. Once you hit that mark, invest as much as you can in the Roth until you max it. Once you can do that, then work on maxing the 401.

In the 401 and Roth, invest in a target retirement fund, most plans have them.

The above is pretty simplified but isn't bad and should keep you out of trouble.

Also, if your mortgage rate is really low don't worry about paying it off early. For example, I have a 30 year 3.25% note. If I were to pay extra, my after-tax return would be 3.25 x .25, or 2.4%. That's right about the rate of inflation, so there is no benefit to paying early at all. Of course, any loan that has a high rate you should pay ASAP, just be aware that when it is that low it is better to contribute to your Roth or 401.