Posted September 23, 2009 - 05:00 by Philip Brewer
If you quit checking your 401(k) balance last year, because the market crash made it too depressing, now might be a good time to take a fresh look. It'll still be well down from the peak, but it's probably recovered quite a bit from the low. However small it may be compared to some imagined goal, don't underestimate the value of any amount of retirement savings.
Posted July 29, 2009 - 12:00 by Philip Brewer
Your IRA and 401(k) (or 403(b) if you work for a non-profit) are great tools for deferring taxes, and have other advantages as well. But because they're labeled "retirement" accounts, people are much too likely to put the wrong investments in them. Here's how to use them correctly.
Posted April 8, 2009 - 09:54 by Philip Brewer
Everybody knows that retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs offer great tax advantages (and once upon a time--and maybe again someday--a corporate match). But people who have plans to spend the money before they reach retirement age worry about the restrictions on early withdrawals that come with the various retirement plans. Here's a cheat-sheet for working the angles.
Posted January 3, 2009 - 08:47 by Philip Brewer
Don't get confused by the way your money's divided up. It might be split up into IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 529 plans, and annuities. Separately from that, it might be invested in different things--stocks, bonds, real estate, and cash. You might even use separate accounts to segregate your funds by goal--emergency fund, retirement savings, car down payment, and sending the kids to college. Despite all that, it's really one big lump of money.
Posted November 11, 2008 - 04:23 by Philip Brewer
If there are two pieces of financial advice that get hammered more often than any others, they're "Get out of debt" and "Put enough in your 401(k) to get any corporate match." With times getting tough--making both debt reduction and saving seem more urgent than ever--how do you balance those two choices?
Posted March 23, 2008 - 03:02 by Philip Brewer
I saw this poster on the window of a store-front brokerage firm office near the grocery store. Although the firm in question has an obvious self-interest in getting you to consolidate your investments with them, the underlying message is a good one.
Posted October 27, 2007 - 05:34 by Philip Brewer
The twin advantages of tax deferral and a corporate match make the 401(k) the foundation of most people's savings plan. Putting in enough to get the maximum corporate match is almost always the right choice--a good corporate match is so much money, funding your 401(k) usually even comes ahead of paying off debt. Sometimes, though, it makes sense to put money other places.
Posted August 15, 2007 - 03:21 by Philip Brewer
Your 401(k) is not an investment. Neither is your IRA. Those are legal compartments for holding investments. Your investments are the mutual funds, stocks, bonds, and so on that you've bought. The compartments are where you keep your investments. The distinction makes a difference. When you decide where to invest your money--what investments to buy--you should ignore the compartments. Deciding what compartment to use for each individual investment should come later.Have more to say? Join the discussions at Wise Bread's Finance and Frugality Forums.
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