retirement planning Archives - DIY Personal & Retirement Financial Planning

Is staying in an employerâ€™s tax-advantaged retirement plan better that rolling retirement savings into a rollover IRA?

Here are the minimum requirements for a good quality employer sponsored retirement plan worth staying in. First, all investment and administrative costs should be fully disclosed and rock bottom in your employerâ€™s tax-advantaged retirement account. Second, an employee must have the choice of at least one very low cost, broadly diversified, low turnover, passively managed […]

10 Personal Financial and Investment Planning Steps in the Right Direction

Increase your knowledge and accelerate your ability to take leadership in the management of your own personal finances and lifetime investing. This ten-step personal financial planning process will help you optimize the management of your financial planning and investment management affairs over your lifetime, while greatly reducing the unnecessary waste of your money and your […]

Earned Income Drives the Personal Finances of Most People

Do-It-Yourself Financial Planning – Earned income drives the personal finances of most people The ability to project your various income sources automatically over your lifetime is one of the first steps in creating a useful do-it-yourself personal financial plan. Whether from wages and salary or from self-employment, personal earned income drives the lifetime finances of […]

Summary Table of Traditional IRA and Roth IRA Tax Rules

Summary Table of Traditional IRA and Roth IRA Tax Rules For your convenience, The Skilled Investor has provided a detailed table that summarizes 2007 rules for traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs. Discover Family Financial Planning Software Because this table has 13 columns and 20 rows, it is too large to be displayed properly in a […]

Roth IRA Contributions Versus Traditional IRA Contributions for Renters

Introduction: Roth IRA Contributions versus Traditional IRA Contributions for Renters In a series of articles, The Skilled Investor compares different lifetime financial planning projections for Fran and Fred Frugal to illustrate the relative value of adopting different financial planning strategies. Fran and Fred, both ages 30, are a married working couple with $100,000 in combined […]

Benefits of Traditional IRA Contributions for Renters

Introduction In a series of articles, The Skilled Investor compares different lifetime financial planning projections for Fran and Fred Frugal to illustrate the relative value of adopting different financial planning strategies. Fran and Fred, both age 30, are a married working couple with $100,000 in combined annual earned income. (See the “Fran and Fred’s Baseline […]

When to Take Social Security Retirement Benefits

When to Take Social Security Retirement Benefits? Concerning when to take Social Security retirement benefits, the Boston College Center for Retirement Research has some research in their publications section that addresses this subject. In particular, see “SHOULD WE RAISE SOCIAL SECURITYâ€™S EARLIEST ELIGIBILITY AGE” by Alicia H. Munnell, Kevin B. Meme, Natalia A. Jivan, and […]

Early Retirement for Renters through Investment Cost Reductions

Early retirement for renters due to investment cost improvements and higher savings rates Improving on Fran and Fred’s lifetime financial plan with earlier retirement Fran and Fred Frugal, both age 30, are a married working couple with $100,000 in combined annual earned income. They want to understand how valuable different personal finance strategies could be […]

Lifetime Investment Assets of Renters with Reduced Investment Costs

Lifetime investment assets of renters through investment cost improvements Improving on Fran and Fred’s lifetime financial plan through lower investment costs Fran and Fred Frugal, both age 30, are a married working couple with $100,000 in combined annual earned income. They want to understand how valuable different personal finance strategies could be to their lifetime […]

Retirement Savings Needs of Renters Without Financial Planning Improvements

Retirement savings needs of renters prior to any financial planning improvements Starting to plan with a non-optimal baseline projection Fran and Fred Frugal, both age 30, are a married working couple with $100,000 in combined annual earned income. They want to understand how valuable different personal finance strategies could be to their lifetime finances and […]

Two Examples of the Tax Assets Graphic in VeriPlan

Two examples of the Tax Assets graphic in VeriPlan TAX ASSETS: Taxable and Tax-Advantaged Financial Assets (real $/yr) Below are two examples of the blue-tabbed TAX ASSETS graphic, which come from VeriPlan’s “Sue and Sam Saver” tutorial. This graphic separates their cash, bond, and stock assets by account taxability throughout their lifetime projections. Assets are […]

Tax-Advantaged Retirement Investing Is Good for Most People

Tax-advantaged investing is very good for most people at most times A previous article, â€œThe Solution – ONLY follow financial strategies that are scientific, passive, diversified, savings focused, risk controlled, low cost, and tax efficient,â€ suggested that individuals are much better off with a well-considered financial viewpoint. A stable set of financial beliefs can help […]

Factors Favoring Roth IRA and Roth 401k Plan Contributions – Part 2

Factors that tend to favor Roth tax-advantaged plan contributions – Part 2 (Continued from Part 1…) Personal Financial Planning Software In a recent article, “Traditional versus Roth tax-advantaged plan contributions,” The Skilled Investor discussed why the average taxpayer would tend to benefit more by contributing to traditional rather than to Roth tax-advantaged IRA and 401k […]

Factors Favoring Roth IRA and Roth 401k Plan Contributions

Factors that tend to favor Roth IRA and Roth 401k tax-advantaged plan contributions In a recent article, “Traditional versus Roth tax-advantaged plan contributions,” The Skilled Investor discussed why the average taxpayer would tend to benefit more by contributing to traditional rather than to tax-advantaged Roth IRA and Roth 401(k) retirement plans. This follow-up article in […]

Traditional IRA and 401k Versus Roth IRA and Roth 401k Contributions

Traditional IRA and 401k versus Roth IRA and Roth 401(k) plan contributions Many taxpayers puzzle over whether to contribute to traditional versus Roth tax-advantaged retirement plans. For most people, contributions to traditional tax-advantaged plans will probably provide a higher net present value over their lifetimes. Family Financial Planning Software for Home Use Given our tax-related […]

Determine the Savings You Need for Your Lifetime Financial Goals

You cannot invest without savings. How much savings are enough? … too little? … too much? Currently, the U.S. is experiencing a savings crisis. The net personal savings rate is zero or slightly negative, despite a healthy and growing economy. This situation is a prescription for millions upon millions of future personal financial disasters. (See: […]