Financial Planning, Retirement Plan, 401k, Investment Blog

Financial Planning, Retirement Plan, 401k, Investment Blog

Retirement Planning

Retire Happy: Keys to Reaching that Goal

Posted March 28, 2011 by Bernz

Every one who is working looks forward to the goal of one day retiring with enough money set aside so that they can truly enjoy themselves during retirement.  If this is your goal then you need to determine now the kind of funds you need to have on hand to enjoy your dreams during retirement.  Some people convince themselves that they cannot see the world or build their dream home when they retire, but this is really short-sighted and with careful planning you can reach those and a number of other goals.

One big key is to start saving now.  Ideally a person should begin saving in their 20′s in order to have enough personal savings set aside by the time that they retire to live comfortably.  The more you can save the better, and looking for ways to reduce your spending while you are younger to save more for the future can really pay off in the long run.  Setting aside 10 percent of every check in a savings account with a fairly aggressive compound interest rate, and then leaving the money alone, a very important key to financial success, can result in a very impressive nest egg when retirement rolls around.

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Saving for Retirement

Posted March 15, 2011 by Bernz

There are a lot of numbers that come into play when one starts to think about retirement, and a very important number is how much does one need to save.  As a general rule it is good to assume that you will need roughly 70% of your yearly salary from when you are working in order to live comfortably in retirement.  This is a very conservative estimate though, and depending on what your goals are during retirement – travel, charity work, additional education – you may need to save more than 70%, in some cases substantially more.  It is good to take the time to write down some of the things you would like to accomplish during retirement, so that you can have them in mind when you decide on how much to save.

Taking a good look at your current expenses can be an excellent indicator of what kind of finances you will need during retirement.  Also keep in mind that while certain expenses that you have now will disappear when you retire, they are likely to be offset by new expenses, usually rising health care costs as you grow older.

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When Can I Retire?

Posted March 10, 2011 by Bernz

Retirement, and more importantly having enough income to retire comfortably, is an issue that looms large on the minds of many employees.  A good place to start in trying to navigate the changing waters of retirement is to determine how much income you will need in order to retire the way you want.  Once you have a pretty good idea of  what that amount is, you need to consider the income that will be coming in in the form of pensions, Social Security, and other sources.  Once you have all those numbers you can compare and see if your current financial status will allow you to have the kind of retirement you desire.  There are a variety of retirement calculators available online that can help you to get a general picture of your retirement.  What if you note that there are areas for improvement, what should you do then?

One option that most people do not like to hear, but that may be necessary, is delaying the age when you retire.  Traditionally the average employee retires around 65, but in many industries and with the current financial climate, this may not be a viable option.  Not only does retiring later reduce the number of withdrawals you will have to make, it also increases the amount you can afford to take out yearly to cover your expenses.

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Do I Still Need a 401k?

Posted February 13, 2011 by Bernz

After hearing about the severe financial hit many people have taken with the recent financial turn, and with stories of people losing all their investment in their 401k many people wonder if a 401k is still a sound financial instrument.  From the start let’s point out what a 401k is, an investment strategy designed to help you supplement your income during retirement.  A 401k is not guaranteed, just as stocks are not guaranteed, but this in and of itself does not mean that a 401k is really a risky place to invest your money.

The presumed tax benefits of a 401k are one of the major reasons why people continue to invest at least part of their money in a qualified retirement account.  The amount that you divert into the 401k is not taxed, and over the course of the 30 years or so that a 401k is designed to hold your money you can accrue a relatively large savings on your income tax.

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Smart Ways to Get IRS Tax Debt Relief

Posted December 1, 2010 by Bernz

For most Americans tax debt is a matter of serious anxiety, especially at a time when the US is bearing the brunt of a downturn economy. So, along with the rest of your finances, it is extremely important that you take control of your tax issues and try to resolve them as fast as possible.

If you are suffering with tax debt burdens and wondering how to get out of tax debt, then considering the following options for tax debt relief can be quite helpful for you:

• Penalty Abatement

Your tax defaults add penalties to your tax amount, expanding it into a huge figure. If you think the penalties have been added mistakenly, then you can legally request that the IRS removes those penalties. However, before you seek for penalty abatement, make sure you collect all the required documents to prove that you should not be penalized. Waiving of penalties often lowers your tax burdens greatly.

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