As every calendar year ends, the window slowly closes on a set of financial opportunities. Here are several you might want to explore before 2015 arrives. Don’t forget that IRA RMD. If you own one or more traditional IRAs,you have to take your annual required minimum...
If your loved ones have invested, saved or insured themselves to any degree, you may be named as a beneficiary to one or more of their accounts, policies or assets in the event of their deaths. While we all hope “that day” never comes, we...
Your assets matter more than your age. Isn’t 65 the traditional retirement age? Perhaps, but baby boomers are modifying the definition of a traditional retirement (if not redefining it altogether). The Social Security Administration has subtly revised its definition of the traditional retirement age as well. If...
Certain financial & lifestyle choices may lead you toward a better future. Some retirees succeed at realizing the life they want, others don’t. Fate aside, it isn’t merely a matter of stock market performance or investment selection that makes the difference. There are certain dos and...
Rules changes for IRAs, 401(k)s & other savings vehicles. The IRS has made minor adjustments to retirement plan limitations for 2014. As inflation has been tame in 2013, these COLAs aren’t dramatic; as a result, some retirement plans won’t see any next year. Here is a...
WEEKLY QUOTE“In the successful organization, no detail is too small to escape close attention.” - Lou Holtz WEEKLY TIP Ongoing expenses are common in life – mortgage payments, monthly bills and so forth. View your retirement savings effort in the same way – a monthly expense...
Is higher education really the prerequisite for success? Do you need a college degree to succeed? That assumption is long-entrenched, and it isn’t hard to see a relationship between education and earning power. Yet the cost and debt linked to getting a degree are so significant...
If federal budget cuts occur March 1, how might they be felt economically? On March 1, $85 billion in federal budget cuts are supposed to take place – and it doesn’t look like they will be delayed any longer. Congress went on recess last week, so...
Different ways to respond to the challenge. As you retire, there are variables you can’t control; investment performance and fate are certainly toward the top of the list. Your approach to withdrawing and preserving your retirement savings, however, may give you more control over your financial...
Many of these options go unrecognized. Today’s average student borrower takes out more than $25K in loans. Education debt has reached record levels in America – more than $1 trillion. In the face of those numbers, parents and students are looking for assorted ways to pay...