Search results for IRA
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Posted
Oct 10 2007, 06:29 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Five Cent Nickel . Have you ever thought of borrowing money from your IRA? While 401(k) plans typically have loan provisions, IRAs don't. That being said, it is possible to take a short-term loan from your IRA without exposing yourself to taxes or penalties. You can withdraw funds from your IRA for 60 days without running into tax-related issues. This 60-day window is intended to allow investors to roll their account over from one IRA custodian to another. However, nothing in the IRS regulations says you have to put the funds into a new account. After all, you could change your mind before completing the rollover and decide to put the money back where it came from. Hence, you could actually pull money from your IRA, use it to bridge a short-term rough patch, and then stick the money back in before the 60-day window is up. No fuss, no muss. A few things to keep in mind before you decide to do something like this: First, you can only do this once within a
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Posted
Oct 30 2007, 07:32 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
If Joe Torre can lose his job, you can too. That's Flexo's point in a post at Consumerism Commentary . He says every worker should have a plan to prevent stagnation and debt if the job should evaporate . That includes access to six months of living expenses, a current resume and portfolio, and a ready file of all those special notes and letters that praise your good work. Keep up with developments in your field and know your industry's economic outlook. And remember that you're always networking, so carry a business card , even if you have to make them yourself. A bonus piece of advice: You can withdraw your contributions to your Roth IRA without penalty to get through the lean times. (That doesn't apply to the earnings.)
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Posted
Nov 14 2007, 07:59 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog FiveCentNickel . Have you maxed out your traditional or Roth IRA for 2007? If not, you have until Tax Day to get it done, so you'd better get crackin'. The maximum allowable IRA contribution for 2007 is $4,000 ($5,000 if you're 50 or older). Assuming that you contribute once a month from now through April, you'll need to squirrel away just shy of $667 a month to reach the maximum ($833 per month if you're 50 or older). Even if you can't hit the full contribution mark, you should do what you can to pump money into your IRA. After all, IRA contribution limits are a use-it-or-lose-it proposition. If you fail to contribute in any given year, you can't carry the unused portion of your contribution limit forward to the next year. Worried that some sort of emergency might arise? No sweat. You can get your money back out if you end up needing it. Remember, you can withdraw your Roth IRA contributions (but not earnings) at any time, for any reason, without taxes
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Posted
Nov 14 2007, 11:01 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
A month ago today, I became debt-free – made the last payment to a relative who had lent me some money. This loan had allowed me to throw a big chunk of cash against credit card debt accrued during divorce proceedings. (Lawyers bill by the hour, you know.) Once the credit card was paid in full, I started repaying the family loan. As money came in through diligence or chance, I’d let it build to $300 and then write a check. I'm not sure why $300 became the magic number; it just sounded good. Now I'm debt-free: no student loans (I'm blessed with a scholarship), no car payment (please let it last another six or seven years), no credit card debt (and there won't be any more). It feels about how you'd think it would: pretty darned great. 'A perpetual grin' This relative wasn’t dunning me. But it bothered me to owe money. Some people count sheep; at night I would lie in bed counting ways to stretch available funds to reach the next $300. Reading some postings from a Smart Spending message board
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Posted
Nov 20 2007, 02:41 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Having a sense of humor helps when you're the Broke Grad Student . Tops on BGS' list of " 8 unique ways to save money " is cheaper underwear. ("OK, so maybe it makes you feel sexy when you’re dancing in front of the mirror, but do you really need it?" BGS asks.) Our student is also practical, offering " The ultimate tipping guide for college students ." Did you know that the tip should be 15% per tattoos and body piercings? In fact, we think it's very classy that BGS recommends a $2 to $5 tip for housekeeping when you stay at a hotel. How many of you do that? Be honest. Funny and practical, yes, but a post about best and worst financial decisions will tell you why we really like this blogger. Starting a Roth IRA is BGS's pick for best decision, and choosing a pricey private university over a public school was the worst. However, "a good/bad financial decision doesn’t necessarily make it a good/bad decision overall," BGS writes. "My worst financial decision resulted in some of the most memorable
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Posted
Nov 23 2007, 10:13 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity . My fiancée and I often play Scrabble . In fact, we've moved on to Super Scrabble (think Scrabble, but larger board and more tiles). At my fiancée's suggestion, I've come up with eight lessons from the tiles I think are crucial for both Scrabble and personal finance. Patience, patience, patience. To win at Scrabble, you need to be patient when you use your tiles. If you can position words on spots with double- or triple-word scores and double- or triple-letter scores, your score will increase exponentially. Personal finance also requires patience. Compounding takes a tremendous amount of time. An 11% gain on $100 is only $11 the first year. If you’re patient and let that 11% accrue over 40 years, you’re talking about a $6,400 gain. An early lead means nothing. You could build up an early lead with the bonus-point spaces in the middle, but as the game progresses and those triple-word-score squares (and quadruple if you
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Posted
Nov 23 2007, 03:33 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
It's one-stop shopping at Moolanomy if you're looking for " 22 money-maximizing moves ." Disclaimer: He's not a financial adviser, but he is a thirtysomething guy with a $200,000-plus investment portfolio, and his list of ideas to consider is comprehensive. It includes ways to reduce your 2007 taxes , such as buying business equipment, paying vendors before the end of the year, and increasing your 401(k) and IRA contributions . He also describes several creative approaches to charitable contributions . Did you ever think about donating your old car? It's time to use up your flexible spending account, he reminds us. Why not conduct annual reviews of your insurance coverage and asset allocation ? It's also a good time to use rewards from your credit card.
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Posted
Dec 07 2007, 09:30 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
When I wrote "Surviving (and thriving) on $12,000 a year" in January, I promised to check in at the end of 2007 to let readers know how I was doing.
I could never have imagined how that article would change my life. It led to additional assignments for MSN Money, and eventually to hosting this blog, for which I earn a part-time salary.
My life changed. My lifestyle didn't.
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Posted
Dec 10 2007, 07:43 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly. Twenty years ago I was a freshman in college. I was a poor kid from a poor family, but my roommates came from wealth. In order to fit in, I went out and picked up a department store credit card. I bought some new clothes, an electric shaver and a bottle of cologne. From that day on, I've been in debt. My debt grew slowly at first. The department store credit card had a $500 limit. I knew that I shouldn't come close to the limit, and that I should pay the card off, but within a year I'd maxed it out and was making only minimum payments. By the time I graduated from college in 1991, I had acquired two additional credit cards. I was glad I had them, too. When my job plans fell through, the credit cards became my emergency fund. I lived off them for months. I also bought a brand-new Geo Storm. Within six months of graduating from college, I was unemployed and carrying $20,000 in debt.
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Posted
Dec 18 2007, 06:11 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.
Earlier I wrote about seven irresponsible and fun ways to spend your holiday bonus, and now I’m going to throw a bone to the responsible crowd and list seven responsible things to do with your holiday bonus. I think everyone is a mix between the two (or at least I am). If you spend your entire bonus on fun things, you aren’t saving enough for the future. If you do responsible things with your bonus, you aren’t really enjoying the fruits of your labor. I think you need to find a nice happy medium without going overboard in either direction.
Eliminate debt. Are you carrying high-interest credit card debt? Before you spend any of that bonus, put it toward your debt. Before you save for your retirement, pay down your debt. Paying down a credit card debt at 19.99% is like earning 19.99% on an investment (not exactly, but you get the idea), so pay down that credit card debt as soon as possible. Before you can build your personal-finance house, you need to firm up your foundation by getting rid of your debt.
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