2 Financial Woes That Can Signal the Start of Dementia
These money management issues can hint at dementia years prior to diagnosis, a new study finds.
These money management issues can hint at dementia years prior to diagnosis, a new study finds.
A 401(k) retirement plan is one of the most powerful savings vehicles on the planet. If you’re fortunate enough to work for a company that offers one (or its sister for non-profits, a 403(b)), it’s a valuable benefit that you should take advantage of.
But many people ignore their retirement plan at work because they don’t understand the rules, which may seem confusing at first. Or they worry about what happens to their account after they leave the company or mistakenly believe you must be an investing expert to use a retirement plan.
Let's talk about seven primary pros and cons of using a 401(k). You’ll learn some lesser-known benefits and get tips to save quickly so you have plenty of money when you’re ready to kick back and enjoy retirement.
Traditional retirement accounts give you an immediate benefit by making contributions on a pre-tax basis.
A 401(k) is a type of retirement plan that can be offered by an employer. And if you’re self-employed with no employees, you can have a similar account called a solo 401(k). These accounts allow you to contribute a portion of your paycheck or self-employment income and choose various savings and investment options such as CDs, stock funds, bond funds, and money market funds, to accelerate your account growth.
Traditional retirement accounts give you an immediate benefit by making contributions on a pre-tax basis, which reduces your annual taxable income and your tax liability. You defer paying income tax on contributions and account earnings until you take withdrawals in the future.
Roth retirement accounts require you to pay tax upfront on your contributions. However, your future withdrawals of contributions and investment earnings are entirely tax-free. A Roth 401(k) or 403(b) is similar to a Roth IRA; however, unlike a Roth IRA there isn’t an income limit to qualify. That means even high earners can participate in a Roth at work and reap the benefits.
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When I was in my 20s and started my first job that offered a 401(k), I didn’t enroll in it. I was nervous about having investments with an employer because I didn’t understand what would happen if I left the company, or it went out of business.
I want to put your mind at ease about using a 401(k) because there are many more advantages than disadvantages.
I want to put your mind at ease about using a 401(k) because there are many more advantages than disadvantages. Here are four primary pros for using a retirement plan at work.
Qualified workplace retirement plans are protected by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), a federal law. It sets minimum standards for employers that offer retirement plans, and the administrators who manage them.
ERISA offers workplace retirement plans a powerful but lesser-known benefit—protection from creditors.
ERISA was enacted to protect your and your beneficiaries’ interests in workplace retirement plans. Here are some of the protections they give you:
Additionally, ERISA offers workplace retirement plans a powerful but lesser-known benefit—protection from creditors. Let’s say you have money in a qualified account but lose your job and can’t pay your car loan. If the car lender gets a judgment against you, they can attempt to get repayment from you in various ways, but not by tapping your 401(k) or 403(b). There are exceptions when an ERISA plan is at risk, such as when you owe federal tax debts, criminal penalties, or an ex-spouse under a Qualified Domestic Relations Order.
When you leave an employer, you have the option to take your vested retirement funds with you. You can do a tax-free rollover to a new employer's retirement plan or into your own IRA. However, be aware that depending on your home state, assets in an IRA may not have the same legal protections as a workplace plan.
RELATED: 5 Options for Your Retirement Account When Leaving a Job
Many employers that offer a retirement plan also pay matching contributions. Those are additional funds that boost your account value.
Always set your 401(k) contributions to maximize an employer’s match so you never leave easy money on the table.
For example, your company might match 100% of what you contribute to your retirement plan up to 3% of your income. If you earn $50,000 per year and contribute 3% or $1,500, your employer would also contribute $1,500 on your behalf. You’d have $3,000 in total contributions and receive a 100% return on your $1,500 investment, which is fantastic!
Always set your 401(k) contributions to maximize an employer’s match, so you never leave easy money on the table.
Once you contribute enough to take advantage of any 401(k) matching, consider setting your sights higher by raising your savings rate every year. For 2021, the allowable limit remains $19,500, or $26,000 if you’re over age 50. A good rule of thumb is to save at least 10% to 15% of your gross income for retirement.
Most retirement plans have an automatic escalation feature that kicks up your contribution percentage at the beginning of each year. You might set it to increase your contributions by 1% per year until you reach 15%. That’s a simple way to set yourself up for a happy and secure retirement.
After you enroll in a workplace retirement plan, you must choose from a menu of savings and investment options. Most plan providers are major brokerages (such as Fidelity or Vanguard) and have helpful resources, such as online assessments and free advisors. Take advantage of the opportunity to get customized advice for choosing the best investments for your financial situation, age, and risk tolerance.
In general, the more time you have until retirement, or the higher your risk tolerance, the more stock funds you should own. Likewise, having less time or a low tolerance for risk means you should own more conservative and stable investments, such as bonds or money market funds.
RELATED: A Beginner's Guide to Investing in Stocks
While there are terrific advantages of investing in a retirement plan at work, here are three cons to consider.
Compared to other types of retirement accounts, such as an IRA, or a taxable brokerage account, your 401(k) or 403 (b) may have fewer investment options. You won’t find any exotic choices, just basic asset classes, including stock, bond, and cash funds.
However, having a limited investment menu streamlines your investment choices and minimizes complexity.
Due to the administrative responsibilities required by employer-sponsored retirement plans, they may charge high fees. And as a plan participant, you have little control over the fees you must pay.
One way to keep your workplace retirement account fees as low as possible is selecting low-cost index funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) when possible.
One way to keep your workplace retirement account fees as low as possible is selecting low-cost index funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) when possible.
One of the inherent disadvantages of putting money in a retirement account is that you’re typically penalized 10% for early withdrawals before the official retirement age of 59½. Plus, you typically can’t tap a 401(k) or 403(b) unless you have a qualifying hardship. That discourages participants from tapping accounts, so they keep growing.
The takeaway is that you should only contribute funds to a retirement account that you won’t need for everyday living expenses. If you avoid expensive early withdrawals, the advantages of using a workplace retirement account far outweigh the downsides.
Buying discounted gift cards is one of my favorite ways to save money and stay on budget. You can hack your way into saving hundreds of dollars a year by buying cheap gift cards. Discounted gift cards are gift cards…
The post Everything you Need to Know to Buy Discounted Gift Cards & Save Money appeared first on Modern Frugality.
“We have to believe that a better future is possible.”
For many people buying a home can become a nightmare when hackers target vulnerable systems to hack email accounts and steal their hard earned closing costs
The post Closing Costs Scam: How Hackers Steal Homebuyer Cash Via Wire Fraud appeared first on Bible Money Matters and was written by Peter Anderson. Copyright © Bible Money Matters – please visit biblemoneymatters.com for more great content.
When you need to separate the egg white from the egg yolk, here's an incredibly simple way to do it. Crack the egg into a bowl and grab an empty plastic water bottle. Rest the mouth of the bottle on the yolk and squeeze the middle of the bottle like a turkey baster. The yolk will be sucked right into the bottle. Watch a video of this here.
Speaking of turkey baster, you can make your own with a water balloon, a straw, and a utility knife. (Read this article from eHow.com for step-by-step instructions.) MacGyver would be proud.
If you want to truss your turkey—i.e., tie the wings and legs of a bird down for more even cooking—you don't need to buy trussing twine. Use dental floss! Not only does it come in a small container, it’s very strong and won’t burn in high heat.
If you have extra ceramic tiles left over from a home improvement project, you can use them as trivets. Protect tables and countertops from hot pots and dishes by affixing peel-and-stick felt corners underneath each tile.
SEE MORE: Domestic CEO's How to Stock a Kitchen
Keep your cool during holiday baking days. When you’re covered with flour, have no idea where the kitchen table used to be, and just pulled the fifth blisteringly hot tray of gingerbread men out of the oven, simply flip over cardboard egg trays (you’ll need two, spaced a little bit apart) and set the baking pan on top.
You can also use butter knives for cooling racks: Place them in rows on your counter, alternating directions. They'll keep hot baked goods elevated.
Have you ever seen those bowl scrapers in kitchen stores that sell for $3 to $10? These circular, plastic tools are easy to make at home. Simply take the lid of a round take-out container, cut it in half, then remove the rim. Instant savings!
If you're in need of a rolling pin, look no further than that bottle of vodka you have in your freezer. The chilled glass will result in a flakier pastry. Even a wine bottle will do.
Rather than buying a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter, use a wine glass or a clean, empty aluminum can. If you're making donuts, use the mouth of an empty water or soda bottle to cut out the center hole.
Julia Child probably used a flour sifter while preparing fine pastries, but you can keep things simple by putting a mesh colander over your mixing bowl, filling it with the needed amount of flour, and gently tapping or shaking it until the flour sifts through. You can use this for powdered sugar as well.
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An unused toothbrush is the perfect substitute for a pastry brush. A paper towel will also work in a pinch!
If you have aluminum foil in your kitchen, you don’t need a funnel. Simply fold a sheet of foil in half width-wise and roll into the shape of a funnel.
You can also use an “egg shell with a hole pierced in it” for a funnel, according to the book Thrift for Troubled Times, published in 1917 by Britain's "National Training School for Cookery"!
An unopened can of beans or vegetables makes a great meat tenderizer. Cover the bottom with plastic wrap and pound away on the meat just as you would use a mallet.
You’ve seen those nifty, colorful jar openers in cool houseware shops, but you might not realize you’ve got a bunch of tools that are just as effective lying around your garage or basement. Using an X-Acto knife, slice open an old tennis ball and you’ve got two handy openers—game, set, match! Now pass the olives.
Hate grapefruit, and wondering what to do with those grapefruit spoons that came with your set of silver? Use their serrated edges to carve the stems out of tomatoes and strawberries.
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Instead of purchasing a handheld juicer (also known as a reamer) for fruit, simply use one blade from a hand mixer instead. Halve the fruit and twist the blade into it for easy juicing.
The only thing better than homemade mashed potatoes is a homemade potato masher. Interlace the tines of two forks together (the forks should be facing each other) and mash away.
The tines of a fork can also be useful for mashing garlic. Just place the tines flat against a cutting board and rub a whole, peeled garlic clove against them.
Who needs a martini shaker? Instead of buying this expensive bar tool, simply use a stainless steel thermos with a screw-in lid. If there’s no way to close the sipping hole on the top, cover it with your thumb while you shake!
Kitchen supply stores sell bag clips to keep your half-empty bags of snacks and cereals more airtight. What's cheaper, and available at the 99¢ store? Clothespins! Or use binder clips.
If you need a kitchen caddy to hold the utensils you do have, read how this intrepid blogger made homemade utensil holders with plastic Beanie Baby boxes. Who knew?
For more second uses for everyday items, follow our Clever Second Uses Pinterest board! For more great kitchen tips, check out our eBook, Cooking Made Easy, available for Kindle and Nook.
NOTE: Due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the IRS has extended the federal tax filing and payment deadline to July 15, 2020. The recent relief package passed by Congress may have additional tax implications. Please contact a tax adviser for information you may need to complete your taxes this year. Learn more. It’s a good… Read More
The post Does Paying Taxes Late Affect Credit? appeared first on Credit.com.
The number of people receiving unemployment compensation has hit record numbers. Let’s look at how unemployment compensation can affect your credit score.
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The post Does Unemployment Affect My Credit Score? appeared first on MintLife Blog.
When youâre in debt, getting calls from debt collectors is common. But can debt collectors call on holidays? Although there are no regulations that specifically make calling on holidays illegal, there are regulations that prohibit debt collectors from contacting consumers at unusual or known inconvenient times. Find out more about the answer to this common… Read More
The post Can Debt Collectors Call on Holidays? appeared first on Credit.com.
Love the idea of working with animals, but don’t have the resources or desire to go through vet school? You can still put your love of pets or wildlife to work in your career. Here are twelve jobs working with animals that can pay the bills for any animal lover. 1. Groomer Groomers help pets… Read More
The post 12 Jobs Working with Animals That Pay Good Money appeared first on Credit.com.