An Individual Retirement Account is a personal savings plan that allows you to contribute up to $4,000 a year! (If you're 50 or older, you can make an additional $1,000 "catch-up" contribution.) Well, that's nice and all, but what's really in it for you?
You Keep More Money: An IRA is a (legal!) way for you to keep more of your money from Uncle Sam. And it's possible you have a delightful choice: Do you want to save on taxes now with a traditional IRA or when you retire with a Roth IRA?
You'll Have a Rosier (and More Flush)...
It's really quite simple to open an IRA account -- easy as 1-2-3, as a matter of fact.
Find a Discount Broker
If you don't already have one, we suggest that you look into opening a discount brokerage account. In selecting a broker, there are a couple of things to consider: Pay Attention to Fees. By law, an IRA trustee (which is what your broker will be) can charge an annual fee to maintain your IRA. Many charge around $30 a year to maintain an IRA, but some do not charge anything (which sounds pretty good to us Fools).
Consider...
Bonds are known as "fixed-income" securities because the amount of income the bond will generate each year is "fixed," or set, when the bond is sold. No matter what happens or who holds the bond, it will generate exactly the same amount of money.
There are four basic kinds of bonds, all defined by who is selling the debt.
The federal government. U.S. government bonds are called Treasuries because they are sold by the Treasury Department. Treasuries come in a variety of different "maturities," or lengths of time until maturity, ranging from three months to 30 years. Various types of...
There are so many places to stash your short-term savings. Here we present the résumés of the major aspirants:
Checking Accounts
Checking accounts are meant for transactions, not savings. That's why many don't pay much, if any, interest. However, some banks do combine the conveniences of checking with the return of a money market account. Also, as "asset management" accounts at brokerages become more feature-rich -- offering unlimited check writing, ATM access, and money market rates -- more folks are shunning the banks in favor of brokers.
Pros - Your money is only a check or ATM machine...
Everyone needs some short-term savings. In fact most people need a big pot of it, stashed somewhere safe and easily accessible. By "short-term savings," we mean the money you'll need for emergencies and for big expenses you'll incur over the next three to seven years, depending on your tolerance for risk, volatility, and a market-induced change of plans.
In this short-term savings area of The Motley Fool, we'll talk about places to put the money you need at-the-ready -- checking accounts, saving accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, money market funds, and short-term bonds -- and the pros and...
It is easier for people today to find themselves in debt. At times, people may find it essential to take on a loan or to borrow in order to use for an immediate need. But there are also times that, people may not be able to manage what they borrow that they find themselves deep in debt. It is essential in debt management to be aware of the dangers as well as the benefits of wise borrowing. Here are some tips that may be able to help you out:
It is always better to save rather than to borrow. Remember that...
If you are considering a bright and secure future for you and your family, it pays to prepare financially. Whether it be in the short term or the long term, any type of plan wold do you good than having nothing at all.
What it will require from you is the resolve to save up some of your earnings and set them aside for future use. What would be better is place them in some attractive financial products available out there that can further help your savings grow and even as protection against some uncertainties in life...
Whether you are an average blue-collar employee, a highly-paid corporate executive or self-employed, it's definitely not too early or too late to think about planning for your retirement. However, as with all things that are worth the trouble, planning for retirement will entail much effort and sacrifice on your part. The more you know about how to plan for that phase of your life, the better you'll be able to make sound decisions regarding your assets and finances. It's a good thing to want to retire but your good intentions should be followed up by concrete, realistic actions. Here are...