So much is written/discussed/screamed about regarding the Social Security trust fund running out by…name the date – it keeps changing! I think most recently I heard 2034. Does that mean Social Security will no longer be paid? No, but if Congress doesn’t get in gear, there could be some cuts for retirees. Bigger ones for…
Today’s blog is on the light side. My 29th birthday is coming up yet again, so I decided to see what historical figures were also born in June. Here are a few I’d like to share a birthday cake with: Anne Frank Alan Turing Michael J. Fox Meryl Streep Venus Williams Mel Brooks Cyndi…
Except that you do. First off, what is cost basis? The term refers to what it cost you to buy something. Plus improvements (in the case of real assets.) For example, if you bought Amazon stock at $50/share, $50/share is your cost basis. If you bought a house for $150,000 and put $50,000 of improvements…
Those of you small business owners will be familiar with the idea of quarterly estimated tax payments. The idea is that the IRS does not want to wait until April 15th to get all of their tax revenue from you. They want some all during the year. For people who are paid on a W2…
Super-fast blog today! If you are looking to generate regular payments out of your portfolio and find yourself in a quandary of what securities to sell, try this: Turn off the dividend/interest reinvestment feature in your mutual funds. Those distributions will go to cash and can build up your liquid position without selling shares. Caution: …
Is it safe to write about the banking crises that almost was? I try not to feed into the media frenzy when financial news is freaking people out. Maybe we can look back now and see what happened and if you should (or should not) worry about the banking system. First, why do banks fail? …
This week I am excited to share the expertise of interior designer Michelle Ku. What does this have to do with personal finance? Your house is a huge investment. Of course, you want to surround yourself with colors and objects that make you happy. But you might consider resale value when making design decisions. …
I think of creating retirement income plan in terms of funnels and buckets. The funnel is the decision-making process. The buckets are where your various accounts are placed and invested for income. First, the funnel. Start wide at the top with the overall retirement projection. This informs how much you can safely spend in…
Welcome back. For those of you who have stuck with this series, you are rounding 3rd base! Almost through the quick tutorial to help decide what order to tap your savings for retirement. Withdrawal Method #3: Pro Rata. Take withdrawals each year proportionately from the 3 types of accounts. Example: Joe and Sue have 50%…
Welcome back to the bite-size tutorial series about retirement withdrawal methods. This week we look at Method #2. Method 2: Tax-Deferred accounts first, Taxable (aka non-retirement accounts) second, Roth last. Pros: Spreads taxes owed on deferred accounts over a longer period of time. Get ahead of Required Minimum Distributions, possibly keeping yourself in a lower…
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