Prior to 2010, individuals were permitted to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA under the tax law for Roth IRA conversion. There were only two stipulations that governs the conversion: (1) you have to pay taxes on the converted money and (2) you must be within the income limit which determined your eligibility [...]
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 [...]
How To Prioritize Your Debt Repayment Plan
Everyone knows that healthy personal finances requires debt reduction. However, paying down debt can become discouraging when you have a great deal of it, from a variety of sources. Paying a little bit extra every month on each of your debts doesn’t seem to make a dent, thanks to high interest charges. Instead, you can [...]
Tax Diversification — Why It Pays To Tax Diversify
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.
Photo [...]
401k Rollover To IRA: What is it and how does it work?
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 [...]
Buying iShares Barclays TIPS Bond (TIP) ETF versus Individual TIPS
In this Ask the Expert with Larry Swedroe article, Thomas is wondering why his iShares Barclays TIPS Bond TIP ETF hasn’t paid dividend since last October and if he should switch to individual TIPS through Treasury Direct instead. Here’s the question from Thomas:
I own the TIP ETF (iShares Barclays TIPS Bond). It has not paid [...]
Understanding Roth 401k And Its Benefits
In this Ask The Expert With Larry Swedroe article, Erin from Working for Financial Freedom wants to learn more about contribution limit for Roth 401k. She also wants to know if and how she should split her investment between traditional 401k and Roth 401(k). Here’s the question from Erin:
Is there a limit to how much [...]
TurboTax Online Income Tax Preparation Software Review
The other day I was wondering if I owe any income tax this year, so I decided to give Intuit TurboTax Online Federal Free software a try. In general, I was impressed at how far online software industry has evolved over the years (not just Intuit’s). For this 2008 tax year software, you could hardly [...]
Ask The Expert with Larry Swedroe, January 2009 Issue
This is the 12th issue of the Ask The Expert column by Larry Swedroe. You can see Larry’s full biography and important disclaimer below. If you are interested in having your question answered by Larry, please send me an email via the contact page.
Now, let’s get to the questions and answers (please note that the [...]
Ask The Expert with Larry Swedroe, June 2008 Issue
This is the 7th issue of the Ask The Expert column by Larry Swedroe. You can see Larry’s full biography and important disclaimer below. If you are interested in having your question answered by Larry, please send me an email via the contact page.
Now, let’s get to the questions and answers (please note that the [...]
| High Interest Savings Accounts | 1.51% |
| High Yield CDs (1-year) | 1.60% |
| High Yield Checking Accounts | 1.46% |
| Best Credit Card | TrueEarnings® |
| 0% APR Balance Transfer | 12 mo |
| Lowest Interest Rate | 9.75% |
| Best Cash Back Reward | 5% |