Yearly Archives: 2024

Target Date Retirement Funds: Investing Made Simple, Part 3

If you’re looking for a “set it and forget it” solution for choosing and managing your investments, target date retirement accounts are the closest you’ll get. But as with any investment, understand it before you buy it.

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Posted in Investing, Retirement income planning: the 4% rule and more, Saving for retirement

Automatic Rebalancing: Investing Made Simple, Part 2

The value of most investments changes every day. Over time, they can get seriously out of what compared to the allocation of stocks, bonds, and cash that you started with. If your account custodian offers automatic rebalancing, that can make it much easier to get things back to where they should be.

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Posted in Investing, Saving for retirement

Index Mutual Funds: Investing Made Simple, Part 1

Index funds can make choosing investments easier. In addition, their low costs mean that they typically out-perform actively managed funds.

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Posted in Investing, Organizing and simplifying your finances, Saving for retirement

Beneficiary Designations, POD and TOD Take Precedence Over Your Will

When you think about passing assets to others upon your death, you probably think first of a will. In reality, a will only controls assets that aren’t transferred by any one of several other mechanisms, including beneficiary, POD and TOD designations.

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Posted in Uncategorized

Health Savings Accounts: What’s Not to Love?

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) let you set aside money tax-free to cover deductibles and out of pocket health care expenses when you have a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP). Distributions used to pay health care expenses are also tax=free.

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Posted in Health Savings Accounts (HSA)

Free Income Tax Preparation at VITA and TCE Sites

Free tax preparation is available at many locations throughout the country. Check eligibility and schedule your appointment before they fill up.

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Posted in Income taxes

Reading Suggestions

In the January 2024 issue of Kiplinger Personal Finance magazine, there were two articles that make for very good reading. You can probably find the magazine at your local library. The same – or very similar articles – are also

Posted in Financial advice - how to choose what's right for you, Investing, Reading suggestions

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