401(k)

Left a job? Do a rollover.

Posted 7 weeks 5 days ago by Philip Brewer

Your previous job is no place to leave your retirement savings

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.

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When NOT to put money in your 401(k)

Posted 28 weeks 6 days ago by Philip Brewer

Personal Finance

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.

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Your 401(k) is not an investment

Posted 39 weeks 2 days ago by Philip Brewer

Investment

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.

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Intimidated by Retirement Investing? Get Professional Help!

Posted 1 year ago by Sarah Winfrey

Filed Under: Investment

911 emergency

It might seem like something of a no-brainer to ask for professional investment advice, particularly about retirement. That said, there's still an astonishing number of people I know who don't. They either go it alone, wading through jargon that they don't understand and desperately trying to make numbers that don't mean anything to them mean something, or the guess and hope they get lucky, or they avoid the topic altogether.

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