Personal Finance Advice

By David John Marotta
Putting all of your retirement eggs in one basket is easy to carry, but risky. Most workers are putting all their retirement assets in the basket of their employer’s retirement plan. They are depending on one employer and two dozen eggs (funds) to hatch and maintain their lifestyle, independence and dignity [...]

In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it. — Robert Heinlein
Have you ever felt trapped or enslaved by your own financial situation and/or spending habits? Anyone who’s had any financial hardships or made a later-regretted impulse buy knows what [...]

By David John Marotta
The image of the starving artist has prevailed too long. At the July 24-29 San Diego Comic-Con there were tens of thousands of people working in the arts. Of the 650 hours of events and presentations, only one hour was devoted to financial planning for artists. Here are the financial essentials that [...]

When people think about saving money or personal finances in general, they usually don’t think beyond their paycheck. There are a number of additional ways your employer can help you save and create wealth beyond payday. Here are ten ways (in no particular order) your company may be able to help increase your bottom line. [...]

When people ask me what was the best decision I made when I decided to create this website, they are often surprised when I tell them that it was my decision to quit watching TV. There is no doubt that TV costs people far more financially than they believe. For most people, TV is a [...]

I personally deal mostly with taxes in my professional capacity of an accountant. However, I have also come across a lot of the ins-and-outs when it comes to 401(k) plans as I used to audit 401(k) plans for large companies, and currently am involved in the setup, administration of, and accounting for 401(k) plans for [...]

NOTE: It appears that while the process described in this article originally worked, Fidelity has closed the loophole and you now need the minimums you described to open the account.
Most people have the impression that in order to open a retirement account, you need to do a lot of research, have a large sum of [...]

When it comes to where to invest your money, a lot of people get overwhelmed with all the options that are available. A lot depends on your individual circumstances and what the money is to be used for in the future. The following reader had such a question:
My dilemma is a simple one: I am [...]

Something has been bugging me about IRAs lately. Most of the time I read an article or discussion about Traditional IRAs, as opposed to ROTH IRAs, I see that it is a pretty common assumption that income tax rates will be lower when one retires. Every time I see any mention of tax rates most [...]

It’s not often when I receive an e-mail about personal finance that is quite different from the majority that I have received before. That was the case with this e-mail which came in from a reader about what she should do with her husband and money:
I have a problem. To most people it [...]

Here’s a question. You don’t have a whole lot of money and I want you to save more. So I create a plan where for every dollar you save, I will take away $2.60 worth of benefits from you. How likely are you to want to save money?
That is exactly what a new study reveals [...]

When it’s time to leave a job you have more than the loss of income to think about in regard to your personal finances. You also need decide what you will do with the accumulated money in retirement plans at the company. That is a question that this reader has:
My wife will be retiring [...]

I keep reading general financial advice and disagreeing as it applies to me. Obviously, every one has a unique financial situation. Overall, it is better to get financial advice tailored toward your own situation. But over and over I notice that financial advice does not really apply to my case simply because I am young. [...]

There are a lot of things that you can do that will negatively affect your retirement fund with most of them having to do with not beginning early enough or putting money toward other things instead of retirement. Here are 10 things moves that may leave you poor when it comes to retirement:
Setting money aside [...]

When you make financial decisions, there are times when you’d like to have others take a look at the decisions you have made and give their honest opinion on whether or not they think you’re on the right track. That is exactly what the writer of this email was looking for:
I earn approximately $77k and [...]

I came across an interesting online discussion the other day, about how maxing out both a 401k and an IRA was simply a lot of over-saving. The discussion was based on some article about a single adult male who maxed out his 401ks and IRAs every year, and had another $1200/month to invest. His income [...]

A lot of problems with finances are the direct result of being financially lazy. That is, you know what you should be doing, but you’re just too lazy (or have a convenient excuse) not to do it. And while life is certainly not about making sure every detail of your finances is perfect 24 / [...]

Here’s an interesting interview that is well worth watching just in case you need any more incentive to contribute as much as possible to your retirement plans. The interview is with Andy Eschtruth from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
See Video Here
One fact I found interesting was that most low and middle [...]