Most of the people you know aren’t on track to retire. Are you? Wells Fargo & Co did a telephone retirement savings survey of 1,000 Americans age 25 to 75 in late 2012. It scared the daylights out of me. Here’s why: Most respondents estimated that they need $300,000 in order to retire and that […]
Are Your Funds Too Risky?
If you invest in funds or ETFs, you already know that there is always risk involved. But are you taking too much risk? If so, you have a greater chance of suffering catastrophic losses and being taken out of the game for good. That spells a retirement working at Flippy Burger. No Bueno. What follows […]
Is Your IRA A Source for Short Term Borrowing?
If you need to do some short term borrowing, you might be tempted to tap your IRA for that cash. It’s there. It’s yours. Why not use it? As you’ll see below, there are plenty of reasons to think twice or three times before moving forward with this scheme. How to Borrow From Your IRA […]
How to Buy A House With A Friend
Let’s say you decide it’s time to buy property but you don’t have the scratch. What do you do? One option is to buy a house with a friend. I can see the logic in that. It could make it easier to come up with the down payment and/ or the monthly mortgage payments. Plus […]
How To Loan Money To Family Without Losing Both
Lending money to family is rotten idea. If you can find a way NOT to do it, don’t. Of all the financial mistakes I’ve ever seen, loaning money to family or friends is probably the biggest. When your brother in law comes to you looking for a bail out, point them in enlighten them about […]
Why You Pay Tax ON Mutual Funds Even If You Make No WIthdrawals
The tax treatment of mutual funds is confusing. It’s very possible to make a ton of money on your funds and pay no tax. But it’s just as easy to watch your account values drop and still face a painful tax liability at the end of the year. It has nothing to do with whether […]