It’s important to plan ahead, especially if you’re getting ready to quit earning income. In the years leading up to retirement, check your retirement benefits regularly to ensure that you’ll have enough income to successfully make it through retirement. Double (and triple) check the numbers, because it’s hard to go back to work after you’ve […]
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How to Take your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD)
After you reach age 70.5, the IRS requires that you take distributions from pre-tax accounts. The reason is that the money has never been taxed before, and removing that money from tax-deferred accounts will result in revenue to the US government: when you take a distribution, you’ll generally owe income taxes. Uncle Sam doesn’t […]
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When Debt Brings you Down
This post is part of the World Suicide Prevention Day blog tour. If you or someone you know is feeling suicidal, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit www.Suicide.org Being in debt – a lot of debt – can be overwhelming. For some, it can become a dangerous situation. This article is intended to be a resource for those who […]
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Money and Happiness
They say money can’t buy happiness, but the situation might be more complex than that. It’s certainly true that wealthy people can be miserable and poor people can be extremely happy, but money can have some effect on your level of happiness. It might even make a huge impact in your life. The popular saying about […]
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Should You Invest in Stocks? It Depends
When saving for your goals, investing in the stock market is just one of your options. But it’s a confusing and sometimes scary option, so you might wonder if it even makes sense to invest in stocks. Should you Invest in Stocks? Why? As with any financial topic, the only responsible way to answer the […]
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How to Sell an Annuity (or Payments)
Annuities do not have a reputation for being flexible, but you can often sell your annuity and get cash if you need to. Getting out of an annuity may be difficult – and expensive – so it’s not a decision to be taken lightly. There are generally two ways to get a lump sum from […]
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401k Losing Money – What to Do?
When your 401k loses money – whether it’s due to market turbulence or fees – it’s important to understand what’s happening. Then you’ve got two choices: do something, or do nothing. Market Turmoil The most dramatic losses in 401k plans come from market losses: the things you buy lose value (or “go down”), and your […]
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MLPs: Mutual Funds Versus Direct
Master limited partnerships (MLPs) gained popularity in recent years as an “alternative” investment. Especially with low interest rates, some investors use MLPs for yield that they can’t get elsewhere (from fixed-income investments in particular). The problem is that MLPs are not the easiest thing in the world to invest in. So, as you might expect, […]
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Why you Shouldn’t Retire Early – Even Though you Want To
Retirement sounds lovely for most people: no boss, no schedule, no problems… There are a million reasons you may want to stop working, even if you don’t hate your job – you might just want to enjoy a life of active leisure while your body is young enough to cooperate. Maybe you don’t even like […]
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Why Diversify?
Diversification is the strategy of spreading your money among different types of investments. But why? Why not pick what you think will do best and let it ride? There are numerous examples of diversified portfolios doing poorly. In 2013, for example, if you’d invested only in US-based stocks, you would have done better than a […]