16 March 2010

Wednesday Links — March 16, 2010

Another Wednesday links posts, with entries from:

• Miranda Marquit
• Free From Broke
• Canadian Finance Blog
• Investing First Steps

Topics include: HSAs, retirement, passive income, covered calls and NASDAQ dividend stocks.

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8 August 2009

Should You Be In the Stock Market?

Recently, participation in the American Stock Market reached as high as 50% of the U.S. population. With so many people invested, the question remains: Should they all really be in there?

How did so many people decide the stock market was right for them? Are they rational?

We address these questions and more and help you decide if you should be in the stock market or not.

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12 February 2009

Investing Step #5: Retirement Accounts

Retirement accounts are probably the type of tax-deferred vehicle with which people are the most familiar. The number of people invested in the stock market has skyrocketed in the past two decades, much of which is owed to tax-deferred retirement accounts.

All of these plans have many things in common but also many nuances, be sure to do research and consult with a professional. However there are also many truisms that can help you make good decisions.

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10 February 2009

Investing Step #4: Tax-Advantaged Accounts

Why pay taxes? A lot of people claim they wouldn’t if they didn’t have to, however many of us are voluntarily paying taxes on money would could be earning tax free. You probably know already what I’m talking about, tax-deferred accounts. These are investment accounts where your taxes are either paid when you take the money out, or sometimes not at all. Many people are familiar with retirement accounts like 401(k)s or IRAs, but there are other options that are often overlooked entirely. Many times if you know you’re going to have an expense in the near future you can pay for that expense tax-free. This many not seem like a big deal to you but let’s do some simple math.

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8 February 2009

Investing Prerequisite #3: Goals and Time Horizon

Once you have cleared out all your debt and created an emergency fund, it’s time to think about why you’re investing. It is impossible to have a strategy without knowing what the strategy is intended to accomplish. The investment strategy of a 20-something trying to buy a house, a 40-something trying to save for their children’s college, and a 50-something trying to catch up for retirement are very different.

The sooner you need the money, the less risky that segment of your portfolio should be. Riskier investments typically give better returns over the long haul, but in the short term they can be disastrous. The when of your strategy will be the single most important question in determining an investment strategy.

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10 January 2009

The Best Investment In The World

By this point in people’s lives they are well aware of the merits of 401(k)s and other retirement accounts. Most people have wisely made them a part of their investment strategy, however many misconceptions still persist about them. While most people do contribute, many of them spend very little time allocating their funds and instead make other hasty decisions based on misconceptions. So here are some important things to know about the best investment in the world: tax-deferred retirement accounts.

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