If you thought that you need a huge amount of money to start investing, you are mistaken. You can start building your portfolio with $1,000 or even lesser. Do not wait to have more money, as the sooner you start investing, the higher your returns will be. Here are some simple ways to start your investment with a small amount of money. [Read more…]
How Much Money to Keep Aside from Your Monthly Income for Future Planning
It is imperative to plan for emergencies, little luxuries here and there, and irregular expense such as vacations, holidays, buying a car, renovating your home etc. Planned and regular savings will help you lead a more financially secure life. [Read more…]
How to Get Back on Your Feet After the Recession
The economy has recovered from the recession and is again growing at a good rate. The value of stocks has started rising again and investor interest in stock market is slowly picking up. The government is also retracting some of its liberal policies that were introduced to deal with the recession and the inter-bank lending rate could soon be increased by the Fed. [Read more…]
How to Build Your Retirement Savings
When you are young, retirement seems like a distant prospect, which you do not need to worry about. However, before you know, time will fly and you will be close to your retirement age. Instead of being sorry later, it is better you start investing when you still have ample time to build your retirement savings without unnecessary pressure. If you start early, you get more time to earn higher returns on your investment. [Read more…]
Building Your Retirement Kitty Using IRA
Before you retire, you should build some funds that can last your life after retirement. After all those years of hard work, who wouldn’t a comfortable and hassle free life. That is why I highly recommend that you give financial planning for retirement a serious thought and plan well for the sunset years. [Read more…]
Retirement Planning for Late Starters
For those who have ignored the fact that at some point of time they will no longer draw a monthly paycheck, a looming retirement date can give nightmares. While it is certainly not advisable to leave retirement planning until the last, it is also true that it is never ‘too late’ to start doing something about it. After all, some retirement fund is better than none at all. [Read more…]
Financial Considerations for the Most Expensive Years of Your Life
Retirement is inevitable. There will be a time in your life when you wouldn’t be working any longer in your regular job. But did you know that the post retirement period can be quite expensive, especially because of medical costs? [Read more…]
It May be Time to Change Your Investment Strategy
The old wisdom about investing your money included avoiding touts, looking for low cost investments, being consistent, and keeping a diversified portfolio. However, there are certain changes that you should bring in your investment strategy to adapt to the changes in the economic situation. [Read more…]
Rethinking Investment of Retirement Savings in Your 401(k) Plan
If you have been investing the money for your retirement savings in a 401(k) plan offered by your employer, then it is time to rethink your strategy. Although, 401(k) is considered almost sacred as far as retirement savings go, its value has been decreasing lately. [Read more…]
Quick Guide to Traditional IRA Investment
IRA or Individual Retirement Account is an investment option through which people can save funds for their post-retirement life. There are many types of IRAs including Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs. Both of these IRAs can be created by individuals, who can invest up to a fixed amount every year in these accounts. Two other IRAs – SEPs and SIMPLEs are established by employers. [Read more…]
Don’t Forget About Tax Breaks when Filing Your Taxes | IRA
In these economically tough times, most people are looking for ways of saving taxes. There are many ncentive tax savings through purchasing of homes or starting new businesses, but only a few taxpayers would go to those lengths to save tax. The good news is that there are numerous other tax breaks ranging from energy saving home improvements to tuition costs and child credits that you can avail. [Read more…]
Divorce and Division of Assets
Undergoing a divorce is quite painful emotionally, but there are practical aspects too that you have to manage, such as division of your or your spouse’s assets. Asset division laws are not straightforward and there can be cases where particular assets are given to one party, whereas in others they might be shared equally or in some other proportion between the two. [Read more…]
Plan Early for Your Retirement
Retirement can bring a lot of changes to your lifestyle. Whether these are pleasant or not largely depends on how much planning has been put in during your years of employment.
Financial stability and independence play a huge role in laying the foundation for peaceful and stress free retired years. Post retirement, you cannot fall back on a regular monthly paycheck to meet expenses, and that is why having a reliable stream of funds coming in from your investments is important. With proper management of your finances during employment, this can be achieved quite effectively. [Read more…]
Don’t Forget Your Medical Expenses when Filing Taxes
When filing taxes, you should take advantage of all possible deductions and tax credits to minimize your liability. An important deduction that many people tend to ignore is medical expenses.
First of all, it is important to understand what is included and what is excluded from the IRA’s definition of ‘medical expenses”. Anything that you pay for doctors or dentists qualifies as a medical expense. If you had to spend some time in a hospital or if you paid for medical equipment and prescription medication, then you can add these expenses too. [Read more…]
Unemployment Tax Benefits that You Should Be Aware Of
Paying taxes is never pleasant, and the experience can be even worse when you are unemployed and trying to hold on to every dollar of your savings. But by judicious tax planning and careful application of the rules on deductions, you stand a good chance to get some much needed savings while filing your taxes. [Read more…]
