Back-to-school season is just around the corner! Depending on where you live, your state may be offering huge savings with a sales tax holiday shopping weekend on specific purchases. With most state sales tax ranging from about 4 – 10%, that means more money in your pocket. Dates vary, but this year many states are […]
There is no magic number for retirement savings because everyone’s goals and expenses are unique. That said, averages can still be a useful jumping-off point to let you know if your retirement savings estimate is in the right neighborhood. Charles Schwab Retirement Plan Services recently conducted a nationwide survey of 401(k) participants and found that […]
The average family doesn’t feel as good today as yesterday. Middle-class Americans are less optimistic about their economic prospects than they were just six months ago, according to a new report from CUNA Mutual Group. Although the majority of those polled said they feel relatively stable overall, they graded their chances of achieving the American […]
You read about the “retirement crisis” in newspapers and on the internet. You see members of Congress pushing to expand Social Security and bail out insolvent “multiemployer” pensions, all in fear of retirees falling into poverty. In a country of 325 million people, it’s certainly not hard for reporters to find legitimately heart-rending stories of […]
Worried about making your retirement savings last the rest of your life? Don’t know how much you can spend on living expenses throughout your retirement? Concerned about stock market crashes that could derail your retirement in future years? If so, you’re not alone. Millions of middle-income, older workers are approaching their retirement years and are […]
Reality bites. While millennials garner much of the negative press around financial issues — they live with their parents because they can’t get jobs! They spend all their money on avocado toast! — Gen Xers may be the ones who are really in trouble. “Gen Xers now have the highest average debt burden of any […]
Do you owe the dreaded 15.3% self-employment (SE) tax on random non-employee income that you only collect occasionally or in a one-off circumstance? Good question. This column explains why you probably don’t owe SE tax, after first covering some necessary background information. Here goes. The dreaded self-employment tax The SE tax is the way the […]
Prices in many real estate markets have regained their pre-financial-crisis levels. Prices in some areas have surpassed those levels and are still going up. That means many real estate investors now own properties that are worth way more than their tax basis. That’s especially likely with a rental property for which you’ve claimed depreciation deductions […]
I know this is a bold, and possibly controversial title, but retirement planning is broken and leaving people broke. The destructive narrative is, “work hard, save money in a retirement plan, wait and it will all work out in the long run.” The reality is, without the ingredients of responsibility and accountability, there is no […]
When it comes to company-sponsored retirement accounts, most employers now offer two options: the traditional 401(k) and a Roth 401(k). The Roth 401(k), like a Roth IRA, lets you build a nest egg that grows tax-free, but relatively few workers take advantage of this opportunity. The Roth 401(k) was started 13 year ago. Nearly 75 percent of […]
We all need money on hand for unplanned expenses, yet a frightening 27% of Americans have no savings at all. Without cash in the bank, you risk racking up scores of debt the next time a financial emergency strikes. That debt, in turn, can cost you money in accrued interest, damage your credit score, and […]
Vanguard recently released its 2019 edition of “How America Saves.” This excellent publication summarizes the statistics for the defined-contribution plans that the company administers. Vanguard tends to administer larger plans, so they are often better designed than average, and participants typically have higher incomes. In other words, it presents the best face of the 401(k) […]
