Search results for Retirement
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Posted
May 07 2009, 10:48 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This guest post comes from Frank Curmudgeon at Bad Money Advice.
A reader named Trent pointed me to a story that "60 Minutes" did recently, "Retirement dreams disappear with 401(k)s." It's not their best work, and I'm not one who thinks much of their best work.
Helpfully, the CBS Web site gives a near transcript of it, so I can easily quote the way over-the-top copy read by the reporter, Steve Kroft.
It was a gray, chilly morning in midtown Manhattan and a line of unemployed, mostly white-collar workers stretched for blocks around the Radisson Hotel. More than 1,000 middle managers, stockbrokers, consultants, secretaries and receptionists had come hoping to find a job.
It was called a career fair, but there was no merriment -- only a whiff of desperation.
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Posted
Mar 27 2009, 06:37 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller.
Picking your first mutual fund is kind of like a first date -- scary at first, but later you wonder what all the fuss was about. And with the recent market volatility, investing in the stock market can be downright horrifying.
A couple years ago, a close relative spent some time with my family and me. We'll call her Susie (not her real name). Susie was 31, had one daughter (cute as can be), and had no retirement savings (not so cute). Her employer not only offered a 401(k), but also matched 100% of all contributions up to 6% of Susie's pay.
We got to talking about why she'd never starting saving for retirement, and her answer was illuminating -- she was intimidated.
Sure, there were times when money was tight, but one of the biggest hurdles for her was not knowing what to invest in. We spent about 30 minutes looking over her investment options, and I'm happy to report that she enrolled in her company's Fidelity 401(k) plan and began contributing 7% of her gross pay.
If you or somebody you know is in a situation similar to Susie's, this article is for you.
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Posted
Mar 23 2009, 04:15 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This guest post comes from "vh" at Funny about Money.
This month's statement from Fidelity shows another $10,000 loss in my big IRA, despite my financial advisers' having moved as much as possible into conservative investments, gold and cash.
At the age of 63 -- damn! soon to be 64! -- I'm watching my retirement investments melt away. That IRA has dropped in value from a high of $326,000 to $193,000. Total savings have dropped from more than $600,000 to less than $420,000. Meanwhile, we owe $100,000 more than the investment house is presently worth, and I took out a second on my own house to renovate said investment.
I'm wondering if it's time to do something completely, utterly, totally contrarian. Hang on to your hats, folks, because this is one scary idea:
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Posted
Mar 18 2009, 02:57 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Another blogger has joined the tiny chorus of personal-finance writers outraged about what The New York Times calls the "newest frontier" in debt collecting -- going after debts of the dead.
Why the outrage? These bill collectors are asking surviving family members to pay when they're often under no legal obligation to do so.
"Is this the height of tackiness or what?" said Andrea of Fools and Sages in a post called "From dead to worse."
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Posted
Mar 18 2009, 06:56 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This guest post comes from Mary at Simply Forties.
I have to admit, fear of becoming a bag lady is starting to creep up on me.
Record numbers of women are living alone these days and we're living longer. We're starting to worry about what is going to happen to us when we're too old to work or when no one is willing to hire us.
I'm in a good place in my life right now with an exceptionally good job, which I do from home, and which allows me a great deal of free time. I'm paying down my debt and socking away money as quickly as I can but, having gotten a late start, I have some concerns about getting where I need to be financially by the time I need to be there.
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Posted
Mar 04 2009, 03:18 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Here's a new trend we can do without: Having trouble collecting bad debts from the living, bill-collection agencies are increasingly going after the debt of those who no longer share our space.
It appears to be working, says a story in The New York Times. Relatives of the deceased are scraping together payments -- when they are under no obligation to pay.
The story says: "The law varies from state to state, but generally survivors are not required to pay a dead relative's bills from their own assets. In theory, however, collection agencies could go after any property inherited from the deceased."
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Posted
Mar 02 2009, 02:08 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This guest post comes from Frank Curmudgeon at Bad Money Advice.
Poke around the blogosphere and personal-finance punditocracy and you will find lots of positive references to Roth IRAs and virtually no nice things said about its dull older brother, the traditional IRA. If you didn't know any better (and why would you?) you might assume that the younger and hipper Roth IRA was the way to go. After all, it is the cool new thing and the latest in retirement savings technology.
Here's a rundown of the differences and why you are likely to want to go with the unhip kind after all.
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Posted
Feb 18 2009, 06:32 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller.
Government Web sites provide a wealth of information about money-related topics. But finding what's out there can be a chore. This resource provides links to 70 government Web sites about everything from finding a job to buying a home and paying for college.
Buying a home and mortgages
- Buying a Home -- HUD. A step-by-step guide to the home-buying process.
- FCIC: How to Buy a Home With a Low Down Payment. This brochure describes how families can get into their own homes with little cash upfront. It explains mortgage insurance and how it works, and looks at the two options -- private mortgage insurance and government mortgage insurance.
- Buying a Home: It's a Big Deal. Information on selecting a real estate agent, commissions, and choosing real estate-related services.
- Home-Equity Credit Lines. Everything you'd want to know about a home-equity line of credit, including costs, interest rates, upfront closing costs, and how much you can borrow.
- Home-Equity Loans: Borrowers Beware! According to the FTC, "Homeowners -- particularly elderly, minority and those with low incomes or poor credit -- should be careful when borrowing money based on their home equity. Why? Certain abusive or exploitative lenders target these borrowers, who unwittingly may be putting their home on the line. Abusive lending practices range from equity stripping and loan flipping to hiding loan terms and packing a loan with extra charges."
- HUD -- 100 Q&As for Homebuyers. Covers just about any question a homebuyer could have.
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Posted
Jan 22 2009, 05:16 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Debbie Dragon at partner blog Wise Bread.
Many families make a sacrifice by having one parent stay at home to raise their children. If the stay-at-home parent remains at home and unemployed for the majority of his or her working years, what happens when the stay-at-home parent reaches retirement age?
Without employment, a stay-at-home parent isn't going to have an employer-sponsored retirement plan to help him or her out during the golden years. To open an individual retirement account, the IRS requires that you earn an income, so that's out, too. Even if you're not generating an income, you need to establish retirement savings, but with the limitations on IRAs, what are your options?
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Posted
Jan 07 2009, 01:25 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
On two days this month, you can get free answers to your retirement questions from people who normally charge $150 to $300 an hour.
This wonderful opportunity -- called Jump-Start Your Retirement Plan Days -- is sponsored by Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors -- an organization of fee-only advisers.
If you're nearing the end of your career or just starting out, you're probably worried about your dwindling retirement accounts, so this advice couldn't come at a better time. Here are the details:
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