You work, you save, you retire – it’s the American way, right?
But what happens when you have done a good job saving and get to be one of the lucky ones to retire early – are you still subject to the IRS rules of being age 59 1/2 before you can touch your money?
(Side rant: what the heck is up with the IRS and these 1/2 ages anyway? This concludes my rant.)
If you are stressed about having to pay the 10% early withdraw penalty, don’t freak out just yet.
The IRS – believe it or not – does allow methods to withdraw funds from your 401k without penalty. Just make sure you follow the rules before you claim your prize.
A few notes before hand…
You always have the option to take a 401k loan (if your plan allows it). Does that mean you should take it? I’m hoping that you have ample emergency funds that you can tap first. Stated another way and more blunt: You BETTER have enough emergency funds. Got it? If not, make sure you know the 401k hardship rules.
Before you make any withdraws at of your 401k, do more than just read this post. Consult your financial advisor and/or tax professional to make sure you have your bases covered.
If you knew you could use a credit card to finally get out of debt forever, would you be interested in learning more about it?
The very thing that has cost you thousands in interest could end up being the lifeline that pulls you out of debt.
Whether you overspent for a recent celebration, have struggled to make ends meet due to the bad economy, or just recently had an unexpected emergency, your credit card currently has a balance. And there’s one thing we all know about credit card debt: it will cost you a fortune in interest.
Wouldn’t it be nice to get rid of it once and for all? [.....]
These professionals may not lie, cheat, or steal– but they can still harm their clients. Instead of admitting ignorance or learning about the issues, these advisors try to shoehorn servicemembers into a generic profile.
They recommend asset allocations and products that may be appropriate for civilians, but those suggestions could be redundant or even harmful to the finances of military veterans & retirees. They give all financial advisors a bad reputation.
Military clients are a challenge.
Advisors have to know at least a little bit about nearly every financial topic, but military clients are a very small percentage of the population. Not only that, but Jeff is one of literally only a handful of financial advisors with military experience.
Servicemembers could manage their own investments, but it’s not easy to find reliable information. When you’re in the military then you’re busy with duty, career, family, and other high-priority concerns– like not getting shot. Your financial future is probably not even in the top ten of your To-Do list. [.....]
Are your friends planning a last minute Spring Break trip, but you aren’t sure how you’re going to be able to go?
Don’t be left behind at the dorms! Traveling over spring break on some crazy adventure is a rite of passage for college students. You simply haven’t lived if you’ve never booked a flight 24 hours before your spring break starts to travel to the Gulf Coast, Mexico, or New York City.
Or maybe you’re like me and you hate flying. Instead you’re going to be piling in with four of your friends into a suddenly very inadequately sized sedan to drive to the Grand Canyon and back in four days. [.....]
But what about the Traditional IRA? Does it still have it’s place in your retirement plan? You betcha!!
If you are fortunate to work at a company that offers a match on your 401(k) deposits, don’t walk away from that free money. There, however, might be some instances where the traditional IRA has its place.
Here’s a closer look at some of the rules of the Traditional IRA Account.
“If you say you can’t, then you absolutely won’t”. -My dad
My dad would always tell me that whenever I gave up on anything.
“Dad, I just can’t do it!”, I would often say.
It never failed that he would respond with some variation of the quote above. The first several times I heard it I was extremely annoyed, but didn’t have a good retort.
After a while those words started to sink in and I started to believe it.
Mindset is everything. Once you give up hope, you’ll never succeed. Period. [.....]
Update 5/18/2012: FB is live! Facebook IPO hit today at $38.00 share, climbed to $45 intraday and then closed at $38.23. So yes, if you now want to buy Facebook stock, you can now! If you don’t have a brokerage account, you’ll have to open one with one like Scottrade first.
The million $5 billion dollar question of the week,
“How do I buy shares of Facebook’s IPO?”
I’ve literally have had a dozen people ask me how they can get in on the action. Ironically, none of the questions came from Facebook (random thought).
For those that want to know how to buy Facebook IPO, this video is for you:
Spoiler alert: The answer is probably not what you want to hear.
It might seem to be too good to be true. A credit card company will pay for a round trip flight for you? What’s the catch? (Yes, there is a very small catch. We’ll get to that in just a second.) But the bottom line is you actually can get a free flight on Southwest Airlines after you first use your Chase Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card.
For the travel buffs (or business travelers) out there, this is a great travel rewards card.
How Does the Bonus Flight Points Work?
After you apply for the credit card and activate your account, you will qualify for the bonus points after your first purchase on the card. After that first swipe you’ll get 25,000 points applied to your account which is enough to claim two one-way flights that would normally cost you $208 each way. Those two flights will eat up 24,960 of those bonus points.
It’s really that simple.
But a free flight isn’t the only reward you will get. There are other great perks, too.
The holiday season is already behind us but that doesn’t mean you still can’t give the perfect gift.
In the financial world, the term gift has a whole new meaning as it pertains to estate planning. Many investors look to “gift” a portion of their estate to prevent having to pay a hefty estate tax down the road.
If you want the bottom line about the gifting tax here it is: If you make gifts to friends or family that is large enough, there is the possibility that you may owe the federal government some tax money.
Of course, you probably want more information about the current regulations of the federal gift tax. Keep reading and I’ll share a few of the major points for 2012 and beyond. Sorry if this isn’t as exciting as the Nutcracker.
First, and perhaps foremost for some, is the fact that you, as the giver, are not going to be taxed (unless you exceed the gift tax exemption). It is the recipients who will have to pay taxes. For taxes to figure into the equation at all, you will have to have given away in excess of $1 million in cash or other assets over the course of your life.
Plus, if you have a spouse they have their own separate exemption for the same amount. What this means is that most people will never have worry about the federal gift tax at all. (Currently $139,ooo up from $136,000 for 2011 tax year) [.....]
People who know me know I’m not a very violent guy.
I’ve never been in a fist fight in my entire life, I very seldom ever yell (except when the St. Louis Cardinals would blow a four run lead in the bottom of the ninth), and I cover my face with a pillow when there’s a confrontation on the TV (go ahead and laugh…my wife does, too).
In short, my personality type is one that is constantly smiling, and can be easily labeled as “Joe Cool”.
But, like any human being, there are some occurrences that get me really fired up. One of the biggest things that gets me fired up? Financial advisors that lie, steal, and cheat. [.....]
You work, you save, you retire – it’s the American way, right?
This is a guest post from Doug Nordman the author of 
