Throwing money in a 401(k) every month is a good start toward a comfortable retirement. But if that's all you're doing, you could be missing out on some critical opportunities to maximize your money's growth. You need a strong understanding of your 401(k) and its investments if you want to avoid the following three common mistakes.

Most people don't plan to tap into their 401(k)s until retirement. If you're decades away, it's not always a major issue if you lose a little money in the near term. I know it doesn't feel good when you check your portfolio and find it worth considerably less than the day before. But ups and downs are just part of investing. It doesn't mean you've done anything wrong.

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Source Fool.com