Archive for February, 2008
« Previous EntriesAnother JLP Roundup
Friday, February 29th, 2008It’s been a while since I put together a roundup. Anyhow, here are some interesting findings from the MoneyBlogNetwork and beyond:
Flexo talks about how Ben Stein’s parents are well-off thanks to variable annuities. - Ben also is (or was) a spokesman for the NAVA (the National Association for Variable Annuities) so you kind of […]
How Much Will That 401(k) Loan Cost You?
Thursday, February 28th, 2008I have read in the news lately that more and more people are tapping their 401(k) plans in order to get cash to pay bills. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that in most cases, borrowing from your 401(k) is a bad idea. That said, I thought would be interesting to […]
The Middle Class and Taxes Under Clinton and Bush
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008While doing some research for a follow-up on the Roth 401(k) vs. Traditional 401(k) post from yesterday, I discovered something interesting. One of the campaign promises we keep hearing from members of a certain political party is how we need tax cuts for the middle class. What these candidates have failed to mention […]
The United States of Subsidized Housing
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008The housing and mortgage crisis is quickly becoming an all-out bailout funded by responsible taxpayers.
I’m scratching my head trying to figure out what exactly our government is trying to do regarding the mortgage crisis. Today’s Wall Street Journal had an article ($) detailing Barney Frank’s (or is it Barney Fife?) plan:
Barney Frank (D., Mass.), […]
Question of the Day - National Sales Tax
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008Meg’s post from the other day mentioned the possibility of a national sales tax (consumption tax) and the negative impact it would have on the Roth IRA and 401(k) since the contributions to those plans were already taxed and would be taxed again when spent during retirement. This leads me to today’s question of […]
Stocks and Inflation - An Interesting Indicator
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008I saw this little tidbit of information regarding stocks and inflation in yesterday’s Ahead of the Tape column ($) in the Wall Street Journal:
Since 1952, the S&P 500 has gained just 0.2%, on average, in the year after the consumer-price index has grown by at least one percentage point more than its five-year moving average, […]
Roth 401(k) vs. the Traditional 401(k): One Reader’s Thoughts
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008Reader and frequent commenter, Don, sent me this email this morning. It’s his thoughts on the Roth 401(k) vs. Traditional 401(k). I’ve included my thoughts after Don’s email (edited slightly from the original). As always, your thoughts would be appreciated.
I was reading this Marketwatch article recently:
Roth IRAs: Good for you or not?
In […]
Employees Can Now Sue Over 401(k) Accounts - Is This a Good Thing?
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008From Financial Planning Magazine’s website comes this little news story:
Employees can now sue over mismanagement of their 401(k) accounts to recover their losses after the Supreme Court reversed a ruling on Feb. 21 the lower courts made more than 20 years ago.
In the unanimous opinion, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that the landscape of retirement […]
Retirement Planning & Taxes: New Questions
Monday, February 25th, 2008Tax diversity has become a more common discussion among personal finance experts in recent years. This is due not only to the plethora of tax-free, tax-advantaged, and taxable investment options that people have today, but also to the uncertainty of our future tax system.
New Retirement Income Solutions
Monday, February 25th, 2008Good morning. I’ll be out most of the morning but I wanted to go ahead and give you something interesting to read (emphasis mine):
The financial services industry has recently introduced new mutual funds that create income streams for retirees. While they’re not intended to be the sole solution for any given retiree, the funds […]