401k

Don't Despair Over Small Retirement Savings

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 t

Optimize Your IRA and 401(k)

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" accou

Retirement accounts and money to spend

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 p

Funding your 401(k) when you're in debt

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." Wi

Should You Choose a Roth 401k or a Regular 401k?

Yesterday I was talking to a friend and he mentioned that his company just started offering the option of investing in Roth 401ks. He was wondering if he should stick with his regu

Left a job? Do a rollover.

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 consoli

Six Horrible Financial Products You Should Avoid

Dealing with financial products can be very confusing and stressful, but there are some products that you should absolutely stay away from for the sake of your financial health. [more]

10 Important Signs That Your Job Sucks

As someone who has had to make the decision to leave more than one lousy job, here's my 10 signs for knowing when to leave. I don't take the decision to quit lightly, and I don't t