Posts tagged as:

401(k)

401k Layoff Trap

by Gary Forman

I was surpirsed at the “Borrow from your 401k” suggestion. While it’s true that it’s better than cashing out, so many people are being laid off unexpectedly. When this happens, it must all be paid back or considered a cash-out, which comes at a time when people are least able to repay because they just [...]

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Reader question: Should you invest in a 401(k), a Roth IRA, or pay off credit card debt?

by DR

Recently a reader e-mailed me with the following question:
I definitely do want to open a Roth IRA as soon as possible because I hear it’s typically better than the Traditional IRA. However, I’m not certain whether one should be putting money way in one’s 401K or Roth. As you can tell, I’m not [...]

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A Helpful 401(k) & IRA Rollover Chart from the IRS

by DR

That’s right, the words helpful and IRS sometimes go together. The IRS has produced a chart showing whether a rollover between 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA and SIMPLE IRA accounts is permitted. Clicking on the chart or here will download a pdf version of the chart. The chart includes [...]

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Building a Sound Asset Allocation Plan

by DR

Year end is a perfect time to give your retirement and other investments an annual tune-up. Each year at this time I evaluate my 401(k), rollover IRA and taxable investment accounts to see if I should make any changes to my asset allocation plan for the next year. Generally, I look at five [...]

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A Cautionary Tale: The importance of asset location when ‘bad’ investors head for the exits

by DR

Image credit: OhioProgressiveAsset location involves dividing investments between taxable and tax deferred accounts in the most tax efficient manner. As a general rule, mutual funds that generate a lot of dividends or capital gains should be placed in 401(k), IRA or other retirement accounts. Those investments that do not generate a lot [...]

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To Make Good Financial Decisions, Think Like Mr. Spock but Act Like Captain Kirk

by DR

Sound personal finance and investing decisions flow from two things: (1) knowing the numbers and knowing ourselves. If we know the numbers but not ourselves, our decisions will look good on a spreadsheet, until our real world decisions deviate from the plan. If we know ourselves but not the numbers, our decisions [...]

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FAQs from The Ultimate Guide to Traditional and Roth 401(k) and IRA Retirement Accounts

by DR

Since publishing The Ultimate Guide to Traditional and Roth 401(k) and IRA Retirement Accounts, I’ve received a number of questions about retirement plans that weren’t covered in the article. I’ve responded to these questions in the comments to the article, but I thought it would be helpful to discuss some of them in a [...]

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Carnival of Personal Finance (@ Get Rich Slowly) and Lifehacker

by DR

On Monday, JD at Get Rich Slowly hosted the Carnival of Personal Finance. JD selected my article on 401k and IRA retirement accounts as an editor’s pick. From that, Gina at Lifehacker picked up the piece and linked to it as well. As a result, thousands have read the article, and many [...]

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SEP-IRA and 401K–Can you contribute to both?

by DR

If you have self-employed income in addition to your regular job, can you contribute to a SEP IRA even if you have a 401k at work? This question has hit home for me this year because I’ll have income from this website. While I’ve decided that the income is not enough to warrant [...]

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