Last week, a friend made a confession. “So this is terrible,” she said. “But I just realized that when I rolled over my old 401(k) over a year ago to a Fidelity IRA, I never invested it. It’s been sitting there as cash all this time!” At … [Read more...]
Making Prior Year IRA Contributions
April 5, 2013 by 3 Comments
Individual retirement arrangements, or IRAs, provide tax incentives for saving for retirement. If you can afford it, I strongly encourage everybody to contribute at least a little bit to a Roth IRA every year, even if you have a 401(k) or other … [Read more...]
Six Financial Tips for 20-somethings From Financial Planner Cliff Caplan
February 19, 2013 by 16 Comments
It's tempting to think that journalists who write about money for a living have all the answers. (Ugh. You should see my checkbook.) By way of analogy, I'd like to suggest a different way of thinking. We all know Steven Spielberg ranks as one of … [Read more...]
The Five (And Only Five) Times it Might be OK to Tap a Retirement Account
February 14, 2013 by 3 Comments
Back in November, I spotlighted a letter from a reader who agonized over a debt dilemma that involved his retirement savings. "Nick from Michigan" wanted to tap his 401(k) to pay off $12,000 in credit card debt, but couldn't pull the trigger. I … [Read more...]
Roth 401ks vs. Traditional 401ks
May 15, 2012 by
Last week, we asked: 401k or IRA? So the obvious follow-up is: Roth or traditional? If you read that and say, “huh?” Don’t feel bad. Despite hundreds of articles I’ve read on the topic, I have yet to find one that explains the differences … [Read more...]
401(k) or IRA?
May 8, 2012 by
Decoding retirement savings is as thrilling as an all-day cram session for a standardized test. I get that. But just like that grad school exam, your future depends on it. A few weeks ago, I sent my focus group a quick survey on 401k plans. I knew … [Read more...]
The Roth IRA: A Saver’s Best Friend
March 1, 2012 by
Ready to start investing on your own? Then a Roth IRA is the first place to look. Jump To: Roth IRA Contribution Limits Roth IRA Income Limits Before I took a job at SmartMoney Magazine, terms like 401(k), Traditional IRA, and Roth IRA … [Read more...]
The Lending Club IRA
September 2, 2010 by
Did you know that you can open a free individual retirement account (IRA) on Lending Club? It’s true. So if you’re craving an alternative to target-date mutual funds (and stocks, in general), consider adding social lending to your retirement … [Read more...]
Which Retirement Account Is Right For Me?
June 23, 2010 by
Unless you’re new to the personal finance scene, you probably already know that you should be socking away a good deal of money into one of those handy-dandy retirement accounts to prepare for your future. This is especially true for the … [Read more...]
Where’s the Best Place to Open an IRA?
May 11, 2010 by
I’ve been bugging my wife to open an individual retirement account (IRA) in addition to her state retirement plan. Of course, she’s looking to me for the basics like…”OK, where do I open the account?” Easy question; tricky … [Read more...]
