Archive for January 2012

401(k), 403(b), and 457(b) Contribution Limits for 2012

Written by Nickel - Leave a Comment

Do you have a workplace retirement plan such as a 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b)? If so, then you might be interested in knowing that the contribution limits for these account types has increased for 2012.
This means that individuals under age 50 can contribute up to $17,000 to their 401(k) account this year, up from last [...]

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Published on January 18th, 2012
Modified on January 30th, 2012 - Leave a Comment
Filed under: Retirement, Saving & Investing, Taxes
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Contribute to Your Roth IRA, Even if it Stretches Your Budget

Written by Nickel - 9 Comments

Your 2011 taxes are due in just under three months. That also means that you have just under three months left to make any 2011 IRA contributions that you might have been putting off.
But what if you’re neglected to contribute to an IRA because you’re not sure you can afford it? Maybe the only cash [...]

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Published on January 18th, 2012
Modified on January 30th, 2012 - 9 Comments
Filed under: Retirement, Saving & Investing, Taxes
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Far-Out Investment Strategies

Written by Jeffrey Steele - 2 Comments

There’s no time like the recently-passed 10-year anniversary of the Enron wipeout to revisit some solid pieces of investment wisdom. And one of those nuggets is of such all-encompassing sagacity that it can be easily summarized in a single word.
Diversify.
If you’ll remember the Enron affair, so insightfully captured in “The Smartest Guys in the Room,” [...]

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Published on January 17th, 2012
Modified on January 30th, 2012 - 2 Comments
Filed under: Saving & Investing
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Roth IRA Withdrawal Rules: How to Get Your Money Out Early

Written by Nickel - One Comment

As a followup to Friday’s post on contributing to a traditional IRA and converting to a Roth IRA (i.e., funding a “back door” Roth) I wanted to spend a little time talking about Roth IRA withdrawal rules.
This post was actually inspired by a comment from a reader named John who is interested in using IRA [...]

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Published on January 16th, 2012
Modified on January 30th, 2012 - One Comment
Filed under: Retirement, Saving & Investing, Taxes
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Contribute and Convert: Funding Our Roth IRAs Through the Backdoor

Written by Nickel - 8 Comments

As a followup to my post earlier this week on Roth IRA income limits, I wanted to highlight how we typically make our Roth IRA contributions. For background, we’re in a relatively high (and variable) income tax bracket. Because of this, we flirt with the Roth income limits on an annual basis, and it’s hard [...]

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Published on January 13th, 2012 - 8 Comments
Filed under: Retirement, Saving & Investing, Taxes
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The High Cost of Convenience

Written by Nickel - 10 Comments

The other night while on my way home from work, I was reminded of the high cost of convenience. We were in the mood for margaritas, so I stopped by the liquor store to pick up some tequila and mix. As it turns out, they were out of the mix I was after, but I [...]

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Published on January 12th, 2012
Modified on January 13th, 2012 - 10 Comments
Filed under: Frugality
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Eight Ways to Save Money When Eating at a Restaurant

Written by Ed Avis - 14 Comments

Eating out is fun, relaxing, tasty…and darn expensive! The current tough economic times have forced a lot of people to trim their dining budgets, but it’s a hard thing to give up altogether. So in the spirit of indulgence — but within a budget — here are eight tips for saving money at the restaurant:
Split [...]

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Published on January 12th, 2012
Modified on January 13th, 2012 - 14 Comments
Filed under: Frugality
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Roth IRA Income Limits for 2012

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I recently wrote about Roth IRA contribution limits for 2012, which are unchanged from 2011. Today I want to talk about the current income limits for contributing to a Roth IRA. Here goes:
Married Filing Jointly: Contributions phase out from $173k-$183k
Single or Head of Household: Contributions phase out from $110k-$125k
Married Filing Separately, Living Apart: Contributions phase [...]

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Published on January 11th, 2012
Modified on January 13th, 2012 - Leave a Comment
Filed under: Retirement, Saving & Investing, Taxes
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Restaurant Tricks That Make You Spend More

Written by Hank Coleman - 7 Comments

Casinos, grocery stores, and shopping malls are no longer the consumer outlets that are trying to use psychology to make consumers stay longer and buy more merchandise. Now restaurants have gotten in on the action, going to great lengths in order to use consumer psychology, menu engineering, and behavioral tricks to help separate us from [...]

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Published on January 10th, 2012
Modified on January 13th, 2012 - 7 Comments
Filed under: Consumer, Frugality
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Discover More Balance Transfer: No Fees, 0% APR for 12 Months

Written by Nickel - 4 Comments

Was one of your New Year’s resolutions to pay down your credit card debt? If so, then you might be interested Discover More’s newest 0% balance transfer offer. This card offers 0% APR on both purchases and balance transfers with no transfer fee and is thus far one of the best balance transfer credit cards [...]

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Published on January 9th, 2012
Modified on February 8th, 2012 - 4 Comments
Filed under: Credit Cards
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