Keep contributing to an IRA. Did you know that you can keep contributing to an IRA no matter how old you are? The IRS changed the rules so that after 2020 you can continue contributing to an IRA at any age as long as you or your spouse has earned income (wages) for that year and it is under $125,000. At age 72 you have to start taking RMD’s (required minimum distributions) out of your account, but if you have…
2021 has been an interesting year for the stock market and investing. Many Americans have taken the challenges presented in 2020 as well as the runup in the stock market, as an opportunity to retire. Others were forced into an early retirement because of circumstances outside of their control. With all the uncertainty of 2021, it can be difficult to make decisions about retirement. If you’re retiring in 2021 or soon after, here’s what you need to know. In the…
Many investors are wondering when the bottom will fall out for both the stock and real estate markets. We know people who “called the top” and sold their personal residences with the intent to rent for the time being and then buy another house once the market normalizes. With the Dow Jones and S&P 500 setting new records seemingly every day, many investors are leery of buying in at all-time highs, but are also fearful of missing out on potential…
Have you noticed the prices edging up not just on homes and gas, but also on groceries, lumber, used cars, and home improvement items? My friend told me a story last week about how he works in a large home improvement store and over the last year, he’s watched the same 100 ft. spool of electrical wire go from $65 to $95 to $165. Used cars went up in price by 10% across the country in just one month. The…
I was recently asked to be on a panel discussion for a professional group of Virginia lawyers where the discussion centered on surviving an economic downturn during one’s career. The coronavirus pandemic brought its own set of challenges professionally, financially, socially, physically, academically, and even spiritually, but there are a plethora of other disasters that could potentially wreak havoc on your life. Some of these unexpected events can include loss of a loved one or business partner, disease, loss of…
What would having your dream financial advisor look like? You don’t necessarily have to love meeting with your advisor. After all, these meetings typically include discussions about issues such as taxes, basis points, pie charts, retirement, and estate planning. You should, however, feel like you can trust your advisor and that they are fighting for your success. I recently had an interaction with a new client where I not only felt that she was my dream client, but also that…
Are you familiar with stock market bubbles? If you’ve been investing since before the housing bubble of 2008 then you are, but perhaps the 1999 dotcom bubble is a more poignant and painful reminder for you. In the runup to the dotcom bubble everyone believed that the internet was the future of technology. While that was true, it didn’t necessarily mean that every stock with a “www” in front of it was a winner. When the dotcom bubble finally burst…
With the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 all reaching new record highs, one must wonder, “is this an inflated market?” You don’t want to miss out on potential gains if this 12-year bull market continues its runup, but you don’t want to lose money by potentially buying at the top either. It can be an emotionally draining time to constantly be looking at your accounts and either seeing losses in your investments or gains in stocks that you didn’t buy,…
The average American worker will change jobs 5-7 times throughout his or her career. This can sometimes lead to a menagerie of old retirement accounts that become too much to try to keep track of individually. It’s not uncommon for workers to forget their login credentials or forget about accounts altogether which can seriously derail their investment goals. If you’ve left a former employer where you were investing into a 401(k) or other type of retirement plan, then you have…
As we enter the final month of the year, there are some money moves you can make to maximize your gains and save on taxes. Here are some good strategies to practice towards the end of every year. Realize those capital gains and losses. If this was a high-income year for you and you’ve decided to get out of some bad investments, now is a good time so that you can harvest those losses from the underperforming investment to offset…
