Financial Planning, Retirement Plan, 401k, Investment Blog

Financial Planning, Retirement Plan, 401k, Investment Blog

Posts Tagged ‘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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Posted in Financial Goals, Retirement Planning, Saving Money | No Comments »

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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Posted in Financial Goals, Retirement Planning, Saving Money | No Comments »

Borrowing from your 401k Plan – Is it always the wrong thing to do?

Posted April 7, 2009 by Bernz

When times are tight, sometimes we need to dip into our savings to make ends meet. If the money you are bringing in from your paycheck is not enough to pay your bills or the interest you pay on credit cards or other debts gets too high you will have to get the money from somewhere. Or even personal reasons such as health and family issues.

Over the last few years, many people have used all of the equity in their homes by taking out home equity loans and now because of falling home prices they often owe more than their homes are worth. This has led consumers to look for other sources of cash to pay their growing debt and one of these sources is borrowing from their 401(k) plan.

I remember about 9 years ago when I had to borrow money from my 401K plan and use that money for down payment of a home. The original term of the loan was 15 years though I was able to repay that loan in a little less than 5 years time. It really was not a bad decision after all as my home have already doubled in value since. It was a decision that I had to make at that time for family reason.

More information on 401K plan and why you do not have to do what I’ve done………….. (more…)

Posted in 401k, IRA, Retirement Planning | 1 Comment »

Retirement: Do You Plan on Working After Age 65?

Posted March 23, 2009 by Bernz

A generation ago, it was taken for granted that people would work hard at their jobs until their 65th birthday, then retire to a life of leisure. Most companies provided their long-term employees with retirement plans that made their post-work years comfortable.

Today, however, workers are navigating a whole new employment landscape. Jobs are more transient than they once were. Workers are changing jobs and employers more often. Retirement packages are not a given any more and employees are lucky to find one that provides fully for the retired life. (more…)

Posted in 401k, Career, Estate Planning, Financial Goals, IRA, Retirement Planning, Roth IRA, Saving Money, Simple IRA, Traditional IRA | 1 Comment »

Cleaning Up Your 401(k)

Posted February 25, 2009 by Bernz

If you are like most employees who have a company-sponsored 401(k) plan, you filled out all the paperwork when you first signed up, chose your investment funds from the list provided, and proceeded to forget it from then on. In the last 12 months, it is likely that every time you take a peek at your plan, it has gone down in value yet again. Best to just not look at it and hope for a miracle, right? Wrong!

While there is not much that you can do about the global recession or the sorry state of the stock market, you can take charge of your retirement funds, especially your 401(k). Every 401(k) has an option to buy and sell the underlying investment funds every so often. You may be able to make changes to your plan every three months or even every day. Find out when you will be able to change out your investments and then take some time to know what’s going on with your existing choices.

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Posted in 401k, Index Funds, IRA, Retirement Planning, Roth IRA, Simple IRA, Traditional IRA | No Comments »