Show Them You Care With a Spousal IRA Contribution
August 10, 2007
Let’s be honest. Sometimes a “non-working” spouse actually works harder with their duties at home than the working half does on the job. What’s the best way to show them your appreciation, how about by contributing to a spousal IRA!
Keeping Up IRA ContributionsOkay, this move probably won’t win you the spouse of the week award [...]
When is it Time to Reduce Retirement Plan Contributions?
July 30, 2007
How do you know how much to contribute to your retirment plan? Of course the more you put into your 401k, 403b, or IRA now the more you should have later in life when it is time to retire; but can you invest too much?
Investing DecisionsI’ve always taken the approach of putting in as much [...]
Are Employers Doing Enough to Promote Retirement Plans?
July 3, 2007
Does your employer encourage you to participate in a retirement plan? It took my wife’s employer 6 years to actively promote their retirement plan.
A Tale of Two Retirement PlansToday’s young workers won’t be able to rely on company pensions or Social Security when they’re old and gray so starting to invest right away in a [...]
Vanguard Target Retirement Funds
June 8, 2007
The Semi-Annual Report for Vanguard’s target retirement funds 2030 – 2050 came in the mail today. Our retirement funds aren’t in target accounts but we have some money for our son in the 2030 Fund for when he’s all grown up and ready to take on the world.
I flipped over to the 2045 Retirement [...]
Personal Finance Decision Guide – Roth IRA vs. Traditional IRA
June 4, 2007
What money decision are you trying to make today? Read on, it may be covered in this second edition of the Personal Finance Decision Guide. This is a compilation of money articles from various sites comparing or explaining two sides of money concepts.
In an interesting turn of events, this is the first time [...]
The Simple Secret of Investing
May 18, 2007
What’s the single most important factor in the value of an investment portfolio? Some might say risk or diversification. Others might think costs or taxes. These are all vitally important but not as crucial as the most basic investing principle.
The good news is that getting this factor right is simple. As a [...]
Personal Finance Decision Guide – 1st Edition
April 29, 2007
Simplifying Your Personal Finance
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Personal Finance Decision Guide! Read more about the goals and strategy behind the decision guide here. Then check out the articles listed below to help you focus on simplifying your personal finances by making one decision at a time. If you’ve written about a [...]
Ending Your Retirement Nightmare
February 18, 2007
Have you ever had a nightmare where you showed up for a final exam in school then realized you hadn’t been going to class all semester? Panic time. Why hadn’t you been going? What had you missed? How were you ever going to pass this test?
Retirement Nightmare
Many people dream of retirement [...]
Investing With Simplicity. Reflections On Financial Planning.
February 6, 2007
Emily, the winner of the FinanceSpiration Challenge, emailed me her thoughts on the prize, a one-hour consultation with a financial planner. She shares the recommendations that Kristine made and her reflections on the financial planning process.
The financial consultation with Kristine was extremely helpful. She started by calculating a target number for my retirement [...]
Dumping American Century Ultra Mutual Fund – TWCUX
January 18, 2007
I started investing in American Century Ultra in 2003, a year in which it returned around 25% according to Morningstar. I’ve been dollar cost averaging into the fund ever since and am embarrassed to say that I’ve been meaning to get out of it for a while now but have procrastinated for far too [...]
