In this article, I am specifically referring to cryptocurrencies - blockchains that seek to facilitate financial transactions and potentially replace traditional money. This is a separate topic from blockchains that provide other uses, which I may address separately at another time. We are currently in the mania phase of a bubble. People who don't understand …
Roth/Traditional IRA & 401(k) Playbook
Short and sweet guide on which to max first. Roth and Traditional IRA Differences Roth IRA Contribute up to $5,500 after tax pay (your take home pay) per year You may withdraw up to the amount you contribute with no early withdrawal penalty - this can double as an emergency fund, but any funds withdrawn …
Cheapest Way To Open IRA
How to start saving for retirement with less than $100 in a tax preferred retirement account.
Tesla Predictions
Some predictions about Tesla and other Elon Musk companies. #1 Tesla will acquire or merge with Elon Musk's promising start-ups We got a preview of this with Solar City. Personally, I was and still am a little skeptical of that acquisition - it felt a bit like a bailout. But, I think we got insight …
Saving for College
Update 12/20/2017: Coverdells are being phased out by the tax overhaul and effectively replaced through enhancements to 529s. I am leaving the Coverdell ESA section intact for reference purposes. Updates in italics. 529 The 529 plan also offers tax-free growth and is the most widely used way to save for college and now private …
Protect Yourself From Robots
If you listen to the news, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, etc., you may be worried that artificial intelligence is going to take your job. Hogwash While it is certainly true that there are some promising advancements in AI technology in the works, I sincerely doubt that we will suddenly have mass unemployment due to AI …
Preferred Stocks
Preferred stocks have become a popular asset class in recent years. While I think passive investing is the best choice for most people and the evidence shows a majority of active mutual funds and active investors don't beat the market, I do think active investing makes sense for preferred stock. What is preferred stock? Preferred …
Don’t Use 401(k) Loans
It's a bad deal. What is a 401(k) loan? You borrow money from your 401(k). You have to pay the money back in a certain amount of time. It seems like a good idea because you are "borrowing from yourself", the interest rate is usually "low", and it doesn't affect your credit. What's the catch? …
The Best Savings Account Isn’t At Your Bank
Your bank or broker can't compete with this, so you probably haven't been told about it. Today we'll talk about the Series I Savings Bonds from the US Treasury. Even if you think you know bonds and savings bonds bore you, keep reading. These have special features that most people don't know about. They pay …
Continue reading "The Best Savings Account Isn’t At Your Bank"
The Biggest Retirement Account Myth
You can't access retirement account funds before 59 1/2. WRONG! Ask anyone who thinks they understand retirement accounts when you can access retirement account funds. Even the professionals. They will probably say what has been beaten into everyone: "59 1/2 for 401(k) and IRAs otherwise you pay a 10% early withdrawal penalty" They are wrong …
Overrated Emergency Funds
This should be controversial. Disclaimer This assumes you are pretty far along on your net worth accumulation. You aren't ready to retire yet but you do have substantial stock investments. By substantial, I mean perhaps over $100,000 saved in a margin stock account or well over $100,000 equity in your home. Purpose of Emergency Fund …
Rent or Buy
When people first start thinking about buying a house, they often mistakenly compare the cost of a loan for a house to the cost of rent. Then they think they are being ripped off on their current rent and that they should go buy a house ASAP instead of "throwing money away on rent." The …
Investing Basics
There are so many different ways to invest. What matters at the end of the day is that you let your savings work for you. When you live frugally and have surplus funds, you need those funds to earn more for you. There are endless books and online resources that specialize in the seemingly infinite …
Save half your money, work half as long
Try, save half your money and only work for 13 years. I haven’t always saved half my income, but I have always saved more than the average American. Often in the 10-30% range at the low end. When using online tools such as the “retirement checkups” offered by many online brokers and retirement plans, they …
17 Steps to Clean Up Your Finances
Financial Checklist Any good business needs to get revenue and also needs to control expenses in order to be profitable. Personal finance is no different. You went to school and have some kind of career and that gets you revenue. You have some influence on your revenue but you definitely can control a lot of …
Introduction
Saving and investing has always been important to me. Over the years we got sidetracked from time to time. Our planned retirement horizon was the classic 40-year career, so it was no big deal to splurge as long as we were on track to retire in our early 60s. But, why wait that long? With the …
Pulling Pork 