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Following along with the blogs of financial advisors is a great way to access valuable, educational information about finance — and it doesn’t cost you a thing! Our financial planners love to share their knowledge and help everyone regardless of age or assets.
Catch up on some of the latest posts with this week's roundup:
Why You Shouldn't Try to Time the Market
by Cristina Guglielmetti, Future Perfect Planning
Buying low and selling high is the aim of the entire financial services industry, right? Yes. But that doesn’t mean it’s consistently possible. It just means a lot of people work really hard and spend a lot of money to convince you to try.
Investors – you and me included – are subject to a lot of biases. We are affected by our emotional state, by quirks of personality, by the news of the day, and by various fallacies that can all lead to irrational decisions. If the market falls 2% in a day, should you buy? But what if it falls more tomorrow? If it reaches a new high, should you sell? What if it will keep going higher for another week? Shouldn’t you try to figure it out? Remember, to successfully time the market you have to time it correctly twice: when to buy, and when to sell. In fact, to successfully beat a benchmark over the long term, you need to accurately time the market 74% of the time.
Can You Maximize a 401(k), 401(b), and a 457?
by Daniel Wrenne, Wrenne Financial Planning
How much do you know about your retirement plan, or retirement plans in general? Questions about these plans come up all the time, and you might be surprised by what you don’t know!
Q: Can I max out my 401k, 403b and 457b? Or am I limited to the $18,000 annual maximum (for 2015) collectively among all three type accounts?
A: While you cannot max out all three, you can max out the 401k or 403b at $18,000/yr AND the 457b at $18,000/yr for a total of $36,000 (2015 maximum) PLUS any catch up contributions. The IRS rules used to limit you to a total maximum per individual of $18,000/yr, however, those rules changed in the early 2000’s.
Changing Jobs or Retiring? Don’t Forget Your Retirement Savings!
by Emilie Goldman, Tamarind Financial Planning
Your retirement savings plan offers you several choices when you decide to change jobs or when you retire. This report explains some of the options you may be able to choose from in deciding how you want the money in your plan treated when one of these events occurs.
A distribution is simply defined as a payout of the amount of money that has accumulated in your retirement savings plan. This may include amounts you have contributed, the “vested” portion of any amounts your employer has contributed, plus any earnings on those contributions.
You will want to think carefully before making any decisions about the money in your retirement plan, as some choices may mean you have to pay more in income taxes on your distribution. It’s also a good idea to talk with a tax advisor before picking a distribution election.
5 Money Saving Summer Travel Tips
by Jason Reiman, Get Financially Fit!
Summer is here. This means, if you have children, they are likely done with the day-to-day school grind for a couple months. You also likely have plans to travel and hopefully fit a vacation of some sort into the mix. As I’m sure you are already well aware, even with diligent planning, travel expenses can become quite costly.
Here are some ideas to help you keep your vacation and travel expenses as low as possible while also ensuring you have a good time with your family and loved ones. After all, you don’t want to get back home having to face credit card bills and such that could have been avoided.
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