Retirement Articles and Videos - Page 7

With interest rates so low, upgrading to a new home is tempting but what effect will it have on your retirement savings? If you're main goal is to save for retirement, passing on a home upgrade is a better choice.

You are allowed to save for retirement with multiple kinds of retirement accounts. You can have your 401(k) and you can also open up a Roth IRA. It is also possible to have more than one of the same types of IRA account but in different investment firms. Keep your retirement accounts and don't dip…

A retired couple would like to pay cash for their new home. Seniors living on a fixed income should do everything they can to reduce their monthly expenses. You can pay cash for a house and open up a home equity line of credit instead of taking out a mortgage loan.

The retirement age is going up and the cost of retiring is going up too. As many as three quarters of Americans do invest in their company sponsored 401(k) plans, but there are plenty of people who don't. The problem is, most of those who don't participate in 401(k) plans are in their 20's and…

What happens if you are ready for retirement and you have no savings account? It means you may have to work longer than you hoped to and push off retirement a bit. Pay off your credit card debt, stash away as much cash as possible, and try to rebuild your savings.

A couple is in debt and close to retirement. They need to stash away as much cash as possible to rebuild lost savings, pay off debt, and get into a position where they can retire. Since the husband traded a higher-paying job for a lower-paying one, they may have to wait several years before they…

Getting a tax refund from the IRS isn't much to brag about. If you're getting a tax refund from the IRS, you just gave the government an interest free loan by overpaying what you owed. There are some smart moves you can make with your tax refund from the IRS.

One of the great tax saving benefits created by Congress over the past few years is the Roth IRA. One of the reasons Roth IRAs have become so popular with seniors and baby boomers is that they offer four distinct advantages over the conventional IRA. For example, your earnings in a Roth IRA account…

Are you saving enough for your retirement? Most Americans don't have enough put away for retirement. You should be deferring 10 to 15 percent of your income toward retirement. A budget calculator like the one at choosetosave.org can help you figure out how much you'll need for retirement.

What should you consider when you're debating between a Roth IRA and a 401(k) plan? A Roth IRA and 401(k) plan differ in when the money you invest gets taxed. With a Roth IRA you're investing after-tax dollars whereas you invest pre-tax dollars in a 401(k). Roth IRA earnings are tax-free whereas…

Other than the fact that a Roth IRA is also a retirement account, it's very different from a 401(k). With a Roth IRA, you're dealing with after-tax cash. The nice thing about the Roth IRA is that the cash grows tax-free forever and comes with a lot of estate-planning benefits.

Making a profit off of a real estate investment is good news. But where should you invest the money from the sale so it can continue to appreciate? Some investment options include CDs, retirement or stocks, depending on your goals.

The first step to saving money is to spend less, and that includes paying off your debt as quickly as possible. Choose the loan with the highest interest rate first and pay that off, then move to the next highest interest rate, and so on.

Ilyce has several favorite websites for financial advice on real estate and mortgages. Those websites include the consumer website for the National Association of Realtors and the Wall Street Journal's real estate website. Ilyce also has several other favorite websites for personal finance and real…

If you didn't put down 20 percent in cash on your home, you're probably paying private mortgage insurance, also known as PMI, and you're wondering how to get rid of it. A lender will be able to tell you what specific steps to take to cancel PMI. Lenders must automatically cancel your PMI once you've…

As your parents age you may find yourself having to decide how to care for them. Part of choosing the right elder care solution for your family is financial planning including looking at what assets are available to pay for the care and whether the family member is eligible for Medicaid. It's…

Reading up on intimidating topics can help you build your financial foundation. These books will help you learn to manage your retirement, talk to your kids about money and even sell your home.

Each presidential administration launches new plans to help people save and invest money. The Bush administration introduced Lifetime and Retirement Savings Accounts, which were similar to Roth IRAs. Learn also about personal finance advice about saving money in 529 college savings plans.

Disaster-proof your finances with advice from Ilyce R. Glink. The best time to plan for trouble—the death of a spouse, the collapse of a business, the loss of your home—is before you’re overwhelmed by it. This is especially important if you have a family or a small business or are beginning to save…

It's hard enough to save money and be financially solvent when you're working full time. It's even harder to save money and be financially solvent while searching for a new job. Unemployment depletes your savings account quickly and makes being financially solvent a chore. But by cutting back and…

Women used to let their husbands and fathers manage their money. As time goes by more women are taking control of their personal finances. Learn what you can do to build wealth and have healthy personal finances.

Some consumers are pushing toward the idea of investing their retirement dollars in real estate. But the IRS prohibits real estate investments for Roth IRAs, 401(k)s and other retirement accounts. Retirement accounts can only be used in buying and selling mutual funds, bonds, CDs and company stocks…

You can't take money from your 401(k) or IRA retirement account, but you can borrow it if your company will let you. Federal law currently permits you to borrow up to $10,000 from an IRA for the purchase of a first home, without paying a penalty. Borrowing from a 401(k) or IRA should be the absolute…

As you age you'll continue to have expenses but you likely won't have a job or extra income coming in. How can you meet your expenses as an elderly person? If property taxes put a big dent in your resources, you may want to consider selling your property and renting a home. Other options for…

As you get closer to retirement you may have extra money and may be debating whether to prepay your mortgage or invest more money in the stock market. While people tend to get better returns investing in the stock market rather than in real estate, it is nice to have your home paid off when you…