Tax Planning as You Age
While tax planning should be a consideration
through all phases of life, the nature of that planning changes
as you approach retirement age. During your working years, your
primary tax-planning objectives are to reduce your current income
taxes while saving for retirement. After decades of accumulating
money, you now need to ensure you withdraw and manage that money
properly. Here are some tips.
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A Review of Your Portfolio
With the recent market declines, it may
be painful to reevaluate your portfolio in depth, especially if
your portfolio contains large losses. But this review is necessary
to see if changes are needed to your portfolio. Some factors to
consider include...
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Encourage Your Children to Fund IRAs
Once your children start working, help them
develop good savings habits by encouraging them to fund an individual
retirement account (IRA). Even if your child only contributes
for a few years, an IRA can provide significant funds for retirement.
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How Much Do You Need in Retirement?
One of the most critical factors in determining
how much you need to accumulate by retirement age is how much
annual income you'll need in retirement. But if that retirement
date is years or decades away, it may be difficult to come up
with a reasonable estimate of your income needs. Most people will
want a standard of living similar to the one they're living before
retirement; so simple rules of thumb, like 70% of preretirement
income, may not give you an accurate estimate. Follow these tips
to estimate how much you'll need.
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What's Your Score?
How is it that you can apply for a mortgage,
credit card, or car loan over the phone and be approved or declined
in a matter of seconds? For speedy access to credit - and the
mountain of credit card "preapprovals" you get in the
mail each month - you can thank an invention called the FICO score.
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