Pinyo Bhulipongsanon
Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps is a financial plan designed to help you get your finances in order, get out of debt, and achieve financial freedom. Dave Ramsey has taught these 7 Baby Steps to millions via radio, The Total Money Makeover, Financial Peace University, and DaveRamsey.com. But how practical are these steps? I offer a review and … Read more
The 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate (SWR) was first introduced by William Bengen in 1994 and later supported by the Trinity Study in 1998. The rule basically states that when you hit retirement age, you can withdraw 4% of your total retirement savings initially. Each year, you increase the amount by the inflation rate. Assuming you … Read more
When you stop working and have to start withdrawing money from your retirement accounts, you have to decide the best way to withdraw money from different accounts. Do you take money out of your tax-free accounts like Roth IRA and Roth 401(k) first? Or do you withdraw from your tax-deferred accounts like Traditional IRA and … Read more
Asset Location is a tax-efficient investing strategy to help you minimize taxes and grow your investments faster by holding investments in the best-suited investment accounts. This strategy leverages the fact that investments in Roth IRA and 401(k) are tax-free, and investments in Traditional IRA and 401(k) are not taxed until the money is withdrawn. For … Read more
One of the most powerful forces in finances is compound interest. Compound interest is interest that is paid on the principal and also on the interest that previously earned on your investment. This helps you grow your investment at an accelerated rate. On the other hand, compound interest can work against you — for instance, … Read more
You may have come across references such as the S&P 500 has grown 10% annually for the past 30 years or something to that effect. You may wonder what that means and where did they get that number. When someone mentions an annualized return, most likely he is referring to the Compound Annual Growth Rate or … Read more
One of personal finance best practices is to have 3 to 6 months of an emergency fund. Since the money has to be accessible and you can’t risk losing the money, the best place to keep your emergency fund is in a high yield savings account or a short-term CD. These are also the best … Read more
Learn from your mistakes is good advice, but learn from other people’s mistakes is even better. I’ve been investing since 1996. In the process, I have learned a lot, mainly from trial and error. Today, I’d like to share some of the mistakes I’ve made when I was a newbie investor, along with some pitfalls … Read more
When the stock market hits a rough patch after a long Bull Market, it might cause you to think “Should I get out of the stock market?” and “What should I do with my money?” The answer is it depends. Every year, you should be evaluating your needs and adjust your investment strategy to fit … Read more
For parents who are saving for their child’s college education, the main concern is not being able to save enough. The first step is to decide if you’re in the position to help your child. This may sound harsh, but your finances take precedence over your child’s college savings. Goals like paying down your debt, … Read more