Once you reach age 65 you will be eligible for Medicare and all the bells and whistles that come with it. But is Medicare enough to take care of all your health insurance needs? In a word, no. Consider to cost of hospital stays. Every time you are a hospital inpatient your Medicare deductible will […]
What You and Your Kids Must Understand About the Roth IRA
If you have children, do yourself and them a favor; teach them about the Roth IRA. Don’t do this because they are your Roth IRA beneficiary. Encourage them to own their own Roth accounts. If you do, they’ll get a huge head start when it comes to understanding how investments work. They will also […]
Why Are There Phases of a Business Cycle?
The phases of a business cycle are easy to define. They are contraction, trough, expansion and peak (more on each in a moment.) What’s more important is how to use this information to make better investments and not lose your money unnecessarily. It also helps answer the question,” how should I invest right now?” In […]
What is Average Tax Rate? What is Effective Tax Rate? Do Either Matter?
What is average tax rate? What is effective tax rate? Which matters most when it comes to making investments? I recently received an email from “S”. He is a friendly reader asking about how his effective tax rate might impact the investments he was considering. Here’s what he wrote: I am trying to figure out […]
How to Have Investment Safety In Your Brokerage Accounts
Investment safety is top of mind for investors these days as well it should be. In the an era of Bernie Madoff and MF Global investment scandals , investors must rely on themselves to make sure that everything is above board and they don’t incur fraudulent investment losses. How do you make sure your brokerage […]
What is a Mutual Fund?
What is a mutual fund? Do you really know? People buy them without really understanding what they are. The problem with doing this is that it can lead to some painful disappointments. What is a mutual fund? A mutual fund is simply an investment pool. You invest $10,000. I invest $1,000. Your rich uncle invests […]