Effect of provisional income on effective marginal tax rate According to David McKnight, author of the Power of Zero, the name of the game in retirement is to get yourself into the zero percent tax bracket, as tax rates are likely to...
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October 2020 was an ugly month for the U.S. stock market. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite all declined more than 2%, registering their second down month in a row.Some will attribute this market weakness to pre-election jitters....
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With the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates at or near zero, you may wonder about your mortgage. Is it a good time to refinance or even pay off the debt entirely? After all, your mortgage is one of the biggest expenses you may...
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On October 26, the Treasury Department released the 2021 adjusted figures for retirement account savings. Although these adjustments won’t bring any major changes, there are some minor elements to note.401(k)sThe salary deferral...
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Thursday, October 29, 2020
In early 1948, a group of US Air Force officers was working on a secret research project in the California desert codenamed MX981. The purpose of MX981 was to test how extreme gravitational forces from fast-moving fighter jets would...
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As the U.S. presidential election draws near, expect to see more and more headlines that propose, "What will happen next if this person is elected?" or, "What policy changes to prepare for in the next four years?"In reality, however,...
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Wednesday, October 21, 2020
In the summer of 1687, after years of study and reflection, the legendary English scientist Isaac Newton published one of the most important works in the history of the world. He called it Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica,...
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Sunday, October 18, 2020
Most people have not been planning for a tax-free retirement. They have been accumulating assets; they have not been thinking about distribution. They usually have accumulated assets in tax-postponed accounts. That tax will be paid at...
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Sunday, October 18, 2020
When saving for retirement, it’s best to assume slightly lower returns than average to make sure you’re not relying on risky investments to save enough. Overly-aggressive return assumptions could well cause you to not have...
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In the good old days (before coronavirus), many people could rely on working longer to wrangle a wayward retirement plan back on track. Not anymore. The devastating loss of jobs set off by the COVID-19 pandemic is depriving many folks...
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Saturday, August 29, 2020
Folks didn't like this idea because it seemed too simple... Back in 2015, Neil Jordan proposed a simple way to save the cows in southern Africa. At first, experts in the conservation and biology fields took the scientist to task for...
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By Andreas Antonopoulos In October 2008, on an obscure electronic mailing list, a participant using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto made an announcement. He said, “I think I have solved a problem in computer science. I have found...
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Saturday, August 22, 2020
Do you dream of life with no alarm clock, no commute, and no boss? Then you might be one of the many Americans who aspire to retire early. But for many, the dream of early retirement leads to a rude awakening when the reality of...
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In the old days, they had this rule of thumb that your age should be your percentage allocation to bonds. So if you were 70 years old, you should have a 70% allocation to bonds. The reason is simple. When you’re close to...
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Saturday, August 1, 2020
I often get the question about Mr. Ramsey...here are my candid thoughts... “Ramsey is the pro bono financial adviser to millions of Americans who otherwise could never afford one.”—Politico.com There’s a gap in...
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Lately, it can feel like each day brings a new headline about fluctuating market behavior. But amid the ups and downs of 2020, there may be some potential good news on the horizon. On July 16, 2020, the interest rate for a 30-year...
Read MoreAARP published a report in which it found that 71% of Americans believe they pay no fees at all to have a 401(k) plan. (Put another way, more than 7 out of 10 people in America today are completely unaware that they are even being...
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Thursday, July 9, 2020
As you may be well aware, Social Security retirement benefits can be taxable to you, depending upon how much other income you have. What you may not be aware of is how this can seriously increase your taxes for small amounts of...
Read MoreThe CARES Act made a few changes to the rules surrounding retirement account withdrawals... Under normal circumstances, if you withdraw money from your qualified retirement plan – like a 401(k) or 403(b) plan – or...
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An “eye-popping” $2 trillion in cash has been stashed in deposit accounts at U.S. banks since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit the country in January.1This surge of money into banks has no precedent in history.Several...
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Saturday, April 25, 2020
According to the Financial Times: “One of the basic rules of investment is coming unstuck, forcing some fund managers to rethink how they build their portfolios.” All to say the classic portfolio structure — 60%...
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Monday, April 20, 2020
For many people, the term 401k is synonymous with retirement preparation, and sometimes represents the full extent of their preparedness. Such accounts are often included as part of a benefits package provided by employers, and...
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Wednesday, April 15, 2020
A Roth IRA is an individual retirement account that offers tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals in retirement. Roth IRA rules dictate that as long as you've owned your account for 5 years and you're age 59½ or older, you...
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