Hands holding piggy bank with Roth IRA. Pension plan. Getty There’s been a lot of talk about whether the backdoor Roth IRA and mega back door Roth conversions will be eliminated. However, this isn’t the only reason to convert money to Roth. The most common reason is to pay taxes on pre-tax money now so… More
U.S. Department Of Poor Bond Returns (photo by Samuel Corum) © 2021 Bloomberg Finance LP “Last year I moved a small amount of my 401(k) into the Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities fund. Turned out to be a good move for the 5.7% I earned in 2021. Not such good news for the small amount I… More
If you’re out of work, you can’t pay your bills. What should you do? Don’t despair, because there are plenty of options. Let’s look at your biggest expense first: Housing. Many landlords are giving tenants some leeway. Everyone is in this boat, so you might get a break. With mortgages, it will be a little… More
It’s easy to say that you should save as much as you can while you can. But when fear rules the roost, that maxim flies away. There’s a much simpler way of dealing with today’s markets. Act like it’s 2019. The market went up and you were probably not thinking about it. Money came out… More
There’s little debate that Social Security will need more financing to bolster its trust fund. That’s been true for years. But will the trust fund go bust? The doomsayers come out in force on this question, but there are solid reasons why the program will survive and prosper. My prediction is that Social Security will… More
I’m seeing a major difference between average retirement plans and great ones. The best plans offer contribution matches and bend over backwards to get people to save. The average and stinker plans do the absolute minimum. What separates the so-so plans from the stars? These three key features, according to Bradley Bartells, a certified public… More
You want in? Make sure you can remember the password for 30 years. Pre-digital bonds getty Grab high-yielding U.S. Savings Bonds while they last! So proclaim personal finance experts from the rooftops. Bonds bought from now through April will yield 7.12% to start. An individual saver can put in a maximum of $10,000 (a couple,… More
Close-up of vertical sign with logos for ridesharing companies Uber and Lyft, with wheels of a car … [+] in the background, indicating a location where rideshare pickups are available in downtown Los Angeles, California, October 24, 2018. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) Getty Images With all the coverage of the gig economy, you’d think… More
CAMBRIDGE, MA- March 21, 2019: Biogen headquarters. (Staff photo By Nicolaus Czarnecki/MediaNews … [+] Group/Boston Herald) (Photo by Nicolaus Czarnecki/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images) MediaNews Group via Getty Images This week, drugmaker Biogen made a stunning announcement: It is going to cut in half the price of its controversial Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm. Instead of… More
Dollar-cost averaging (DCA) getty As you might guess, one of the most common investment questions we receive on our Financial Coaching Line is about when to buy and when to sell investments to maximize returns. My most common answer to that question is that if I knew precisely when to buy securities at the perfect… More
During the “great resignation,” millions of Americans chose to retire within the past year or so. They either had enough savings or just downsized. But for those who retired, a surprising number chose not to take Social Security right away (assuming they were at least 62). The reason is simple: Social Security benefits increase until… More
Do you gravitate to sky-high payouts? If you must reach for yield, at least be reasonably intelligent about it. Result of reaching for the sky Forbes “Reaching for yield is really stupid,” opined Warren Buffett in a 2020 CNBC interview. “If you need to get 3% and you’re only getting 1%, the answer is to… More
Happy excited middle aged 60s lady getting good news, reading letter at home, making winner success … [+] gesture. getty We spend most of our working lives putting money into our retirement accounts (hopefully), but what happens when we retire? How do we turn that nest egg into income that will last at least as… More
Global perspective Getty Images The typical American saver is likely to suffer from a home-country bias, or so say the experts. The answer to that critique is to take a second look at your allocations. Maybe you have too little of your portfolio invested abroad. This five-part guide to international equity investing starts with a… More
You’re going to get a ton of emails and calls asking you to donate to various causes. It’s that time of year. A lot of these solicitations are scams, though. Here’s how you can avoid them: Individuals should never let any caller pressure them into giving a donation without allowing time for them to do… More
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