Retirement Accounts & Taxes
You probably already know that there are several common ways to save for retirement. These include 401(k) and IRA accounts. What you might not be as familiar with, is how these various retirement vehicles are taxed. There are four concepts in the taxation of retirement accounts. First, some accounts allow you to invest money without […]
What Does the New SECURE Act Mean to Your Retirement?
Congress has recently passed new legislation that probably affects your retirement plans. It’s called the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act. It became effective January 1, 2020. The Act is meant to help more people better prepare for retirement. A summary of the Act follows. Delayed RMDs. Until now, Required Minimum Distributions […]
Financial Resolutions for 2020
Let me start out by wishing you a Happy New Year! There’s no better time to think about your financial resolutions for the coming year than January. This gives you the full twelve months to pursue these objectives. 401(k) Plan. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, fully funding your 401(k), 403(b) or […]
Financial Preparation for the Loss of a Spouse
You can lose your spouse in a number of unpredictable ways. Certainly death is a certainty at some point, but incapacitation and divorce are other examples of the loss of a spouse. The effect of such a loss on you is magnified if your spouse handled many of your financial matters on his or her […]
Commission-Free Investments
You may know that Guidepost Financial Planning uses TD Ameritrade as its broker. They execute your trades, hold your securities and provide insurance on your investments. They’ve always been a low-cost brokerage house, but a couple of weeks ago they eliminated base commissions for online exchange-listed U.S. stock, ETF (domestic and Canadian), and option trades—moving […]
2019 End-of-Year Financial Planning
Is it really time to think about the end of the year? Well, there are only three months left and there’s the question of whether you really want to try to jam financial planning in with Thanksgiving and Christmas. So, maybe it’s a good time to think about end-of-year financial planning. Here are a few […]
Reducing Your Monthly Mortgage Payment
Who wouldn’t want to reduce their monthly mortgage cost? This article reviews two ways that you may be able to accomplish this: getting a lower rate and eliminating your PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance). You may have read that the Treasury yields have been dropping. The 10-year rate began 2019 at 2.66% and had dropped to […]
Monthly Payments Add Up
It can be so tempting to finance a new purchase. Rather than pay out a decent amount of cash at the time of purchase, it can feel better to pay over time. Retailers offer such plans because they know we’re susceptible to their allure. The issue with financing is it’s just too easy to inadvertently […]
Rainy Day & Emergency Funds
Could your car need repairs? Might your water heater go out? Is it possible you might lose your job during a corporate reorganization? Sure they can. Wouldn’t you like to reduce your stress and avoid going into debt by being ready for the unexpected? Fortunately, there are two financial planning tools to help you deal […]
A Hidden Expense: Subscription Services
Are there any of us who don’t subscribe to a number of subscription services, probably not. Just think about it. Do you have a cell phone plan, do you subscribe to Netflix or Amazon Prime. Many of us do. And the companies love you for doing so. Companies call this annuity-based or recurring revenue. It […]