Another gem from Kay Bell on bankrate.com
10 terms you should be familiar with when opening an IRA account.
1. Adjusted gross income (AGI)
2. Contribution
3. Deductible or nondeductible
4. Education IRA
5. Individual retirement account (IRA)
6. Modified adjusted gross income (MAGI)
7. Required minimum distribution
8. Rollover
9. Roth IRA
10. Tax and penalty-free withdrawals
For the details go here.
We are all guilty of having one or more of these. I am still living without a budget, and have not investigated disability insurance. Which ones are you guilty of?
MSN money lists 10 habits that we should get rid of, to improve our financial situation.
- Spending without a budget.
- Carrying a balance on credit cards.
- Ignoring interest rates.
- Not investigating disability insurance.
- Failing to see how little purchases add up.
- Not matching employer's contribution to retirement.
- Waiting until the last minute to fund IRA.
- Paying everyone else, saving "what's left."
- Not managing your investments.
- Getting emotional about your investments.
Continue reading here.
Are you putting money away in a 401(k) plan? What about an IRA? If you're not, you should be! Here are some great tips from money.com on how to make the most of these retirement plans and reduce your tax bill while you're at it.
1. Your 401(k): A top priority
2. Go for an IRA
3. MONEY's best savings strategy
4. Take your 401(k) with you
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One of my favorite sites, Lifehacker has a post about how to automate some of the things you should be doing with your money, but always seem to forget. e.g. putting money into your savings account, deducting taxes (for you independent people) etc.
For example: you've got yourself a Roth IRA, and the contribution cap is $4000 this year. That's $333 a month, so schedule a monthly transfer of $333 to your Roth. That way you don't have to scramble at the end of the year to max your contribution, and you get the benefit of a monthly deposit, which will give your money more time to grow. Make sure you never miss a credit card payment and schedule auto-bill pay to avoid late charges. If you're saving up to go on a cruise in 2008, auto transfer X bucks a month to the "Cruise" account. If you've decided you're going to save 10% of your income, set up a weekly or monthly transfer to your "Nest Egg" account. Your mortgage payment, your electric bill, the car insurance - pretty much everything can happen automatically these days. Take advantage of it!More here.
