Best Of

Since your employer’s plan usually has the most limited number of choices, pick the best it has to offer that fits with in your over all plan.

Putting all of your retirement eggs in one basket is easy to carry, but risky. Fund your employer’s plan with no more than is necessary to get the match and then fund your Roth IRA and build your taxable savings.

Financial planning is simply doing what it takes to give you the means to do what you want. The poorer you are the more you need financial planning. You don’t have any margin for mistakes.

Most of the assets you use to fund your retirement will come from compounded growth.

While most investment advisors do one total conversion or partial conversion here or there, we have a dedicated Roth segregation strategy, which adds real value to our clients accounts.

Here are 8 reasons you’d want to lower your AGI and 8 methods to lower your AGI.

Every pay period, pay yourself first. You won’t miss what you don’t see.

Families that consider generational financial planning techniques can reduce the burden of taxes on the family as a whole.

I have learned there are so many more wise plans than just “top of the bracket” conversions.

Many executors, trustees, or even estate plans make careless mistakes which end up in Roth IRAs being distributed too quickly. Here’s a list of ways to prevent your estate plan from ruining your Roth.

There are different tables and formulas used to calculate your RMD divisor based on your particular circumstances. Here is a calculator for the three most common.

Under the “last-month rule,” you can contribute the full amount even after a partial year assuming you meet the “testing period.”

Avoiding PMI, if possible, is better for your long-term finances. Here are three strategies to avoid PMI.

Investment managers can bring clients greater savings by carefully considering how they bill different types of accounts.

Even if a committee has contracted with “prudent experts,” the Committee never delegates its fiduciary responsibility.

Despite the fact that millions serve in a fiduciary role, many are wholly unaware of their legal responsibilities.

We have calculated safe withdrawal rates for ages 0 to 100 based on age-appropriate asset allocation mixes.

A simple summary of how to meet your Required Minimum Distribution in the same year as you perform a Roth Conversion is the axiom: RMD dollars must come out first.

An easy estate workaround is to set up a Donor Advised Fund as a Testamentary fund, meaning you aren’t funding it yet, but it will be funded upon your death.

SEP plans offer a powerful way to provide for your own retirement in the same way that 401ks do.

Life planning begins as thoughts and ultimately shapes our entire destiny.

This style of Power of Attorney certainly gets the job done, but there are a few ways that the cookie-cutter POA most frequently fails to meet people’s wishes.

While your student loans may be a daunting sum, it is still possible to build wealth even while paying off student debt.

Here are ten principles for teaching children about money.

If you don’t have retirement savings in Roth IRAs, it’s time you considered their benefits. Assets in traditional IRAs can be rolled into Roth IRAs without a withdrawal penalty.

It is the season of spring cleaning, so here’s a calendar of ways to clean up your finances one step at a time.

Even the most brilliantly crafted investment plan has to be given time to work.

This is a summary of the six steps required to create a well-crafted investment plan.

Investment brokers like Schwab offer many services local banks offer but there are a few reasons why you might want to resist consolidating all of your accounts to a broker.

Retirement planning should begin the moment you receive your first paycheck.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is notorious for misunderstanding the recharacterizations of Roth conversions.

These are just some examples of the creative beneficiary designations, but the important part is to dream big about what your wishes are.

After you reach the age of 70 1/2, the IRS requires you to begin taking minimum distributions from your traditional retirement accounts.

Carefully computing and adding your Social Security early retirement safe withdrawal rate can safely boost your early retirement standard of living without jeopardizing your future finances.

We highly recommend a Donor Advised Fund for generous investors.

A swimmer takes one stroke at a time and yet makes great progress.

Here are the most common reasons that your plan might need to be updated or revised and what to do about them.

You’ve opened your HSA and funded it for several years. When should you stop funding it?

If you prefer to keep your down payment money invested in the markets for longer, there are two alternatives.

Here are some rules for handling your digital security.

Which account you should fund depends on your circumstances, but here are some general guidelines you can follow to make your decision.

I have outlined some steps to help you figure out how to pay down your debt and get back on track.

Umbrella insurance covers you for liability that goes above and beyond your auto and homeowners insurance.

Your future path is sure to take many unexpected twists and turns, but you should run the numbers. Your future self will thank you.

For those who do not want to be investors, a fast-track repayment may be best. But for those willing to save and invest, there is a better option.

Careful tax planning can avoid much of the capital gains tax.

Your investment strategy is critically important but the implementation requires wise fund selection.

Should we have a “Free Countries Asset Class” or a “Foreign Stock Asset Class?”

As with many financial decisions, our gut feelings deceive us on this matter.

The process of defining your sectors is an attempt to identify the quintessential features of your strategy and formalize your selection criteria.