At year end, it’s time to think about topping off your IRA and most people should be thinking about their Roth IRA. Choosing between a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA can have major tax and estate planning implications. A traditional IRA has long been a favorite of people looking to save a little extra for retirement …
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8 Important Tasks For Your Financial Plan Before Year End
Year end marks several important deadlines that you don’t want to forget. If you fail to meet these deadlines, you will lose out on the benefits for this year. Here are eight important tasks to take care of before Dec. 31, 2018: Max out your employer-sponsored retirement plan. If you still working you need to take the free matching funds …
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Five Myths of College Planning
I have three kids. We are in the midst of college planning for my middle child, Peggy. October 1 was the first time you could complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). It’s one of the important steps in selecting the best college for your child. As regular readers know, I’m a financial …
7 Year-End Tax Tricks
While you may be thinking about the kind of tricks mischievous kids play on houses that don’t give out Halloween candy, now is also a good time to consider how your taxes for 2018 will shape up. With two months left in the calendar year, tax time will come around faster than teenagers emptying the …
Can I Retire Early?
As always, whether or not you can retire early depends on your situation. How do you want to live in retirement? How much do you have saved today? How long do you plan to live? When I was a young person just starting out in my career, it was the mid-1980s. Inflation was high and …
4 Ways to Cope with SALT Limitation
In Minnesota we are accustomed to paying lots of state income tax. We have the 20th highest state tax. Typical state and local taxes in Minnesota amount to 11.57 percent of adjusted gross income — about 7.56 percent more than the national average according to wallethub.com. While it stinks to pay so much in state taxes, …
