Sooner or later, you’re going to start drawing IRA income. Once you start that process, you’ll want to make sure you’re getting the most money you can. There are two basic principles you need to understand in order to achieve just that: 1. Tap into your taxable accounts first. If you want to invest for [...]
With a few smart moves (literally), you can avoid capital gains taxes on selling a house. That’s good news. But even if you don’t have a gain, I still have good news for you. You don’t have to worry about taxes (but you should still read this post and you’ll see why in a minute). [...]
There have been a number of estate tax changes that make it easier to save money now and in the future. This is because there was a huge gift tax exemption passed that allows you to transfer up to $5 million when you die without paying any estate tax. But you don’t even have to [...]
If you’re looking to jump into a second home because of the ridiculously low prices, you’re probably a very smart cookie. But you have to be very smart about financing and understand how a mortgage works if you want to get a fair rate. This is especially true if you are going to buy a [...]
What is tax deferral and is it a good thing? The definition is very straightforward. Tax deferral is simply a legally acceptable way of putting off paying taxes. That’s the easy part. What makes tax deferral so darn powerful? You invest to get a return on your money – to make a profit. Sometimes the [...]
You can make a few very smart moves and significantly cut the taxes on inherited IRA distributions. The best way to show you how to do this is by way of example. Let’s say that you and your two sisters are the named beneficiaries of your father’s IRA. Unfortunately, your father passes away. You now [...]
You might think that in order to achieve early retirement, you have to embrace a harsh and Spartan lifestyle. I don’t accept that premise, and you don’t have to either. In fact, I believe the only way to really reach your early retirement goal is to learn to love the process. Suffering through your life [...]
If you want to know when to take Social Security benefits, the answer is “as late as possible” up to age 70. This is true in almost all cases (I’ll discuss when you should not adhere to this advice.) The issue of when to take benefits isn’t a question of how to maximize your income. It’s [...]
Do you know what to do with inheritance money or any other windfall? I received a question like that from Nancy a few weeks ago. Here’s the situation. Nancy and Jim are both 31. They have two small children. They rent an apartment and have almost no debt. When Jim’s great-aunt passed away, they inherited [...]
Not everyone can achieve retirement without debt. But if you really want to do it, you can. In fact, if you follow the following 5 steps, you can make sure of it. But please understand that being debt-free isn’t always the most financially savvy step to take. I say that it’s not always the best [...]
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