The Investor Protection Trust (IPT) is a nonprofit organization devoted to investor education. It does financial surveys and on June 15, 2010 released the results of the national “IPT Elder Investor Fraud Survey”. More than 7.3 million folks over the age of 65 have been conned. They have been taken advantage of in their personal … Continue Reading »
Too often, employees neglect to make the most of the tax-favored benefits their employers provide for them. Sometimes we just ignore certain benefits or make excuses to not take advantage of them. On the contrary, an employee should start these accounts at the very beginning of the year to take full advantage of. There are … Continue Reading »
When you need a large sum of cash quickly, then don’t pull out your high interest-rate credit card as your first option. There are other ways to get cash and a lot less expensive. There are some finance experts who would argue against and others would be in favor. Do your Math yourself which method … Continue Reading »
Everyone is getting ready to do their taxes, most of the folks anyway before April 15, 2010 which falls on a Thursday. Either they would do their taxes themselves or get them done by a professional. But there is nothing you can do now to make any changes for 2009. That year is gone, just … Continue Reading »
As I stated in one of my previous posts, my son who is 20 years old, got a job two months ago with a financial company. He is working part-time – 20 hours a week. His employer offered him retirement benefits like 401(k) from day one. In his group, there are 18 employees. Only one … Continue Reading »
Time magazine online has a humongous – a 5-page description of 401(k) retirement plan – article on the topic of “Why It’s Time to Retire the 401(k)” written by Stephen Gandel dated Friday, Oct. 09, 2009. The author has talked about the plan starting from its inception 30 years ago to the present time. The … Continue Reading »
Your vacation or left-over sick days can pay you dividend if your company allows it. It can be any profit-sharing plan for that matter. Let’s hope your company amends its benefit plans to allow it. “The techniques are available for use with all qualified plans, which include 401(k), Keogh and profit-sharing plans but not IRAs … Continue Reading »
Many Americans under 35 can’t manage the basic financial building blocks of an adult life, according to a survey of young workers published by the AFL-CIO. The union calls the last ten years a “lost decade” for these young people during which many fell short on critical responsibilities like getting their own place, finding a … Continue Reading »
Many Americans could see their money dry up before retirement ends. The reason can be shortage of traditional pensions, paltry savings levels and ever-expanding life spans. There are ways to stretch your retirement income. Most financial gurus agree that you reduce spending by at least 24 percent, according to a 2008 study by Ernst & … Continue Reading »
Let’s see what the “operation of law” principle is. Just as an example, say you designate your spouse as the beneficiary of your retirement accounts (IRA, 401(k), etc.). Years later, you get divorced and update your will to specify that your account money should go to your adult children. By that act alone, without changing … Continue Reading »
