Start by asking the following questions: What do we own? All bank accounts, retirement/investment accounts, real estate, business interests. Where are these accounts and if they are all over the place, why? What do we owe? Mortgages, loans, credit cards, other debt. Do we have life insurance? What kind? How much? Who is the beneficiary? What is my financial situation if you die before me? “You’ll be fine” is not an acceptable answer. Where, exactly, would my money come from to live? Social Security? Pension? Life Insurance proceeds? Investment Portfolio? If necessary, sit down with a fiduciary financial advisor to help figure it …
Retirement
Good News for Savers in 2020!
2020 is nearly upon us and with it comes higher employee contribution limits for 401k plans. Of course, not everybody is in a position to contribute the max. But no matter how much you are contributing now, I encourage you to increase it for 2020. If you are contributing nothing right now – start with 1% of salary. If your employer matches your contribution, try to capture the entire match. That match is part of your total compensation package – don’t leave your employer dollars on the table! Every time you get a raise – earmark some of it for increased savings. Your balance will seem puny. It will go down when the market does. Then you are buying stocks on …
Are You A Clueless Spouse When It Comes To Finances?
In my work helping single women make sense of their money and their taxes, I frequently talk to women who used to be married, but are not now. If you are a married woman, the odds are high you will not be married in the future. Longer lifespans for women and increasing rates of divorce among those over 50 mean that many married women will inevitably become widows or divorcees. Eighty per cent of women will end up solely responsible for their finances, often for a decade or more. Some are ready for this responsibility - many are not. I have spoken to widows who haven't seen a bill in decades. Divorcees who lived in nice houses, drove nice cars, went on lavish trips who were …
The Power of 1% – Small Changes Produce Big Results Over Time
I am currently reading "Atomic Habits" by James Clear. He writes compellingly about creating big improvements in nearly any area of our lives by making small steady changes over time. I'm not quite done with the book so it is not this month's book giveaway - tune in next month to win a free copy! This formula certainly works for saving money. Many 401k plans have encouraged the idea by offering an "auto escalation" feature. With auto escalation the percentage of salary you contribute goes up, typically by 1% each year. When you sign up for this feature this happens automatically which is a great way to save! To see the impact of escalating your savings percentage let's take a look …
Grandma has to take a distribution from her IRA and pay tax? Make a Qualified Charitable Distribution and save money while doing good!
Everyone has that one friend or family member who complains about problems that aren't really problems. I used to know a woman whose parents-in-law paid for everyone in the family to go on vacation every year to some fabulous place. The problem: She didn't always like the place. Hmmmm..... Not a bad problem to have. Another problem that some fortunate people over 70½ years old have is Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). An RMD is a forced distribution from an IRA for those over age 70½. The dollars contributed to the IRA were (usually) not taxed and the earnings have never been taxed. Eventually the government wants its share. So the rule is you must take distributions …
