Whether you are already retired or planning to retire within the next ten, twenty or even thirty years or more, it’s never too early (or too late) to put a plan in place. Take a moment to take my Retirement preparedness Quiz to get a sense of where you are. Do you know approximately how […]
Take the Retirement Preparedness Quiz
Still Time to Cut Your Tax Bill
No doubt that you’re at least thinking about gathering your financial information needed to file your 2014 tax return. Well, add this article to the pile because here are potentially hundreds of dollars’ worth of tax-saving strategies. Max out your IRA contribution. You have until April 15, 2015 to contribute to a traditional IRA and […]
Three Money-Making Concepts
The stock market started out this year a lot of negative volatility and has many investors worried that the next ‘crash’ is just around the corner. First know that it’s impossible to predict what the stock market is going to do and when it’s going to do it. It’s also very instructive to remember that […]
Required Minimum Distributions on Roth IRAs? Say it Ain’t So!
Last week’s column generated a couple of follow up questions from a couple of savvy readers! Reader Follow Up Question #1: This question had to do with the advisability of a sixty-five-year old doing a Roth conversion. I intimated that it made sense if the conversion could be done at lower tax brackets, say 15%, […]
Can I Avoid Taxes on Inheritance From Mom?
Reader Question: After my dad passed away last year, my mother came to live with my wife and me. She has an estate worth about $1,500,000 including $400,000 in cash; $800,000 in annuities (both non-qualified and qualified); $100,000 in a 5-year CD; $160,000 in one stock of a publicly traded large bank; and $90,000 in […]
Where to Invest in 2015
Looking back, 2014 turned out to be a year of breaking records for the stock market. The Dow broke through 18,000 and the S&P 500 broke through 2,000 for the first time. Investors tend to get nervous when the market breaks into new territory as they anticipate a significant correction. So where is the best […]
2 Simple Strategies for Financial Success in 2015
How happy are you with your financial success in 2014? How would you like 2015 to be your best year ever, financially speaking? Creating financial success does not have to be complicated. If you implement my two simple strategies, you can put your 2015 success on auto-pilot. Reverse Budget Strategy. Budget…such a distasteful six-letter word. […]
Last Minute Tax Benefits for 2014
Better late than not at all. Congress voted to extend certain tax breaks this past week that include a couple of key taxpayer benefits. They also included a couple of new tax benefits as well. Here is a sampling: Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) direct transfers to charity. When you turn age 70 ½, you must […]
IRA Annuity- A Good Choice?
Reader Question: Please address the pros and cons of placing retirement funds in an annuity. The market has been volatile and there is talk of another drastic drop in the stock market. I’m looking for a sustainable investment. We would also like to pass on to children and grandchildren an inheritance if anything is left. […]
Dumping Your Timeshare
Reader Question: My mother decided that she does not want to pay the $2500 maintenance fee on her resort timeshare. She told me she gets letters and phone calls and she does not care. She does not care if she forfeits the points because she never uses them. She told me she paid $1000 to […]