Financial Planning is a broad topic that spans your entire financial life.
These articles cover your early finances, saving for retirement, saving for life events, Social Security, and finally estate planning.
Additionally, check out related articles in these sections: banking, investing, real estate, and risk management
Most of us like simplicity in life, and that even includes retirement planning. If you actively participate in the 401(k) plan with your employer, you may assume that you’ve got your retirement covered. But as the saying goes, never assume anything. Investing in an individual retirement account (IRA) is an opportunity to supplement your 401(k) … Read more
If you are lucky enough to have a pension plan at work, your next concern is how much you can actually depend on it when you get to retirement. In other words, is your pension plan just a nice piece of paper that will be useless in retirement or will you be able to count … Read more
If you’re a dedicated saver and have been for most of your adult life, creating and maintaining a personal savings plan for just about any purpose is pretty easy. But if you haven’t been a saver up to this point it could be a bit more involved. On the surface, saving money should be easy. … Read more
Today marks the beginning of the Roth IRA Movement. There is an astounding lack of knowledge about Roth IRAs in the public; this is especially true of the younger generations that have the most to benefit from the long term tax benefits of saving in a Roth IRA. Table of Content What is a Roth … Read more
Previously, I demonstrated a way to calculate your retirement needs. Now I am going to show you how to use a popular math trick, e.g., the Rule of 72, along with some historical inflation data, to give you a quick way to estimate the annual income needed for a comfortable retirement. Historical Inflation Rate Here … Read more
Many people feel that they could benefit from the help of a financial planner or financial advisor. However, before you decide to work with someone, it’s a good idea to make sure you understand how he or she is compensated. One of the most confusing things to do is figure out what it means when … Read more
In “Are you wealthy? Here’s a test,” I defined financial independence as: “when income from my assets can cover all my family living expenses and a few luxuries”. These words were never clear in my mind until I read Your Money or Your Life by Dominguez and Robin and saw the illustration. The authors called … Read more
Not everyone has the time or inclination to master the subject of personal finance. Luckily, it is not always necessary to master it. In the same way you can hire an electrician without understanding the inner workings of home wiring, you can hire a financial advisor to get your money in order. There are all … Read more
A qualified distribution is a withdrawal from a retirement account that does not result in an early withdrawal penalty. For retirement accounts that are generally withdrawn on a tax-free basis if the withdrawals are made when the account owner is the appropriate age or for certain exceptions, than a qualified distribution from that retirement account … Read more
Roth IRAs are a great way to save for your retirement. Like Traditional IRAs, Roths are set up so that you will only have to pay income taxes on your money once rather than getting the double whammy of paying before you invest and again after you withdraw. Unlike Traditional IRAs, however, Roth accounts are … Read more