Today’s article is all about emergency funds – including what the purposes of an emergency fund are (aside from the obvious), what does (and does not) constitute a good emergency fund, how to invest an emergency fund, whether a health savings account should be considered part of an emergency fund, the inherent problem with emergency funds – and whether emergency…
Lawmakers in Washington seem determined to make it harder – not easier – for Americans to save for retirement, including possibly eliminating the tax-exempt status of 401(k) contributions. But today’s article outlines how Americans can regain control of their retirement using options: “By using two very basic options trading strategies – call buying and put buying – you can take…
“One of the trickier decisions of saving for retirement is determining which accounts to prioritize with your savings,” notes the author of today’s article. As such, he proceeds to outline a general recommended order when it comes to saving for retirement. Number one in that order is, of course, investing enough in your 401(k) to at least get any employer…
Your tax-advantaged retirement accounts are funds for retirement, so you should tap those funds once in retirement…right? The authors of today’s article argue that those accounts shouldn’t be relied on to fund the early part of retirement, but instead advocate a “two-phase retirement” where the first phase is funded by taxable funds and the second phase is funded by 401(k)/tax-advantaged…
Whether you are in your 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, or 60s and beyond, today’s article has some tailor-made investing guidance for you – including some specific funds for those in each decade of life to consider. In addition, the article examines whether – contrary to conventional wisdom – a 50-50 stock/bond split may be appropriate for retirees, as has been…
If you think you’ve put off saving for retirement way too late, all hope may not be lost. Today’s article highlights research from the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) showing that, “even starting at age 50, it is possible to save more than $1 million for retirement”. How? AAII identifies five different scenarios where, by saving from age 50…
“There is no arguing that sitting in cash is a lousy investment,” asserts the author of today’s article, noting that cash earns next to nothing in the average checking account and does not even keep pace with inflation. But research shows that there is an emotional upside to having more cash on hand than is generally recommended: it makes us…
How much do you need to save for retirement? In what order should you fund various retirement savings vehicles? What insurance policies will you need in retirement? How can you safely go about drawing down your assets once in retirement? Retirement planning is incredibly complex – which is why the author of today’s article breaks the process down into several…
The FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement is growing as more and more workers seek to save enough so that they can leave full-time work in their 30s, 40s or 50s – and those that have achieved early retirement have developed some tools to help those who aspire to do so. Are you on track to retire early based on…
With a few exceptions (e.g. collectibles, life insurance), you can own pretty much anything in an individual retirement account, from real estate and precious metals to farming interests and church bonds. And with concerns that the stock market is overvalued (and rising interest rates affecting bond prices), nontraditional assets – with their juicy return potential and diversification benefits – may…