401(k) account

In your 20’s and don’t think that you need to worry about your security later on down the line? There’s no need to worry about making yourself secure for once you reach your 30’s and 40’s, right? That’s probably the mentality of most people who are twenty-something. Most are in college or are just having [...]

The contribution limit for IRA did not change for 2010. Like 2009, the maximum you may contribute to your Traditional and Roth IRAs combined is $5,000. If you are 50 years and older, your contribution limit is $6,000 (due to $1,000 catch-up contribution allowance). Note this is a per individual limit and as a married [...]

At least once  a year, if not more, you visit the dentist and doctor to make sure everything’s working properly – why not give your finances the same opportunity? As we approach the busy holiday season, it’s easy to let attention slip from personal finance. If you find yourself barreling toward the end of 2009 [...]

Saving more money is a goal most of us share, but many Americans find that they have very little saved at the end of the month. The recent recession saw Americans saving more than we have in years, up to nearly 7% at one point. In recent months though, that number has been falling back [...]

The young people today have a wide range of financial struggles. For the most part, young people have too much debt, bad spending habits, not enough savings and poor investing skills. Throw in today’s record unemployment for young workers and the result isn’t pretty. Most people would agree that investing should be a part of [...]

With the recent stock market crash, many people are understandably wary about investing. Concerns about the volatility of the stock market, and the prospect of losses during downturn, have convinced many that stock investing is not for them. However, “safer” investments like cash and bonds may not provide the needed returns for your portfolio to [...]

Up until about 10 years ago, there was one type of IRA, the traditional IRA which was deducted from your taxable income, grows tax deferred, and upon withdrawal, is taxed at whatever rate you find yourself. Its cousin, the Roth IRA is the mirror image, the money you put in is after tax money, but [...]

We hear a lot about diversifying across asset classes — owning stocks, bonds, real estate, etc. We also hear a lot about diversifying within asset classes — owning mutual funds of hundreds of stocks rather than owning a few individual stocks. But there’s another, lesser-known form of diversification from which you could benefit: Tax diversification.

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Converting to a Roth IRA is not new, so what with all the buzz about about this Roth IRA Conversion event in 2010? What makes it such a big deal is that up until then, most people couldn’t convert to a Roth IRA because their income was too high. For example, in 2009 if an [...]

When you are leaving a job where you have contributed to a 401k plan, you have three options: cash out your 401k, keep it in your current plan, or move it to another qualified retirement account. A qualified retirement account could be your new employer’s 401k plan, a Traditional IRA, or a Roth IRA. The [...]