A health savings account (HSA) is an account for you to contribute pre-taxed dollars to later pay for qualified medical expenses. By contributing to an HSA, you can pay for established medical, dental, and mental health services. It can be used to pay for deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, or a variety of other expenses. It may […]
Estate and Financial Planning Guide for Families of Children With Special Needs
Everyone, no matter how wealthy, has an estate — all of your personal belongings, money, and assets — that needs to be taken care of after you pass away. Similarly, everyone has a default estate plan outlined by their state government, but this plan likely doesn’t align with your wishes, benefit your assets, or result […]
Control your Investments With a Checkbook IRA
Do you have an IRA or a 401K? According to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, in 2013, about 45 percent of households aged 25 to 64 had balances in retirement accounts. Do those 45 percent of Americans know what their retirement accounts are invested in? Most likely not, and that doesn’t bother most […]
How to Use a Self-Directed IRA to Invest in a Real Estate Investment Trust
A real estate investment trust is a company that owns or finances real estate. A REIT will invest in rental properties (known as equity REITs), or finance the mortgages (known as mREITs), or both. If you know how a mutual fund works, REITs operate similarly. Investors pool their money to build enough capital to fund […]
As a Small Business Owner, What Are Your Retirement Plan Options?
Being self-employed gives you a certain measure of freedom, but it definitely doesn’t give you an out on skipping on something as important as saving for retirement. There’s an argument that it makes putting money away that much more critical, because unlike an employee who might have access to a 401K, you’re on your own. […]
Why Not Both? Operating a 401K and an IRA Simultaneously
If you contribute to your 401K account, you may still contribute to a Roth IRA and/or a traditional IRA, as long as you meet the IRA’s eligibility requirements. However, if you wish to contribute to a traditional IRA and take a tax deduction for that contribution, depending on your income, your contribution to your employer’s […]
Buying Real Estate with Your SDIRA? Your Lending Options
Lending options have been limited since 2008, when the credit market seized up, but that’s all changing now. As the housing market strengthens, more and more lenders are emerging with new, creative programs. This is excellent news for real estate investors who want to take advantage of today’s incredible deals. So what are your lending […]
Start Rolling Over Your 401K to an IRA
When it comes to a 401K, you can take it with you from job to job, and in fact, you should, and it should be in the form of a 401K rollover. But making the most of the money you’ve built up means performing the rollover correctly. Here’s the four-step process for how to rollover […]
Utilizing your IRA to Buy and Sell Real Estate
Self-directed IRAs are the less offered and lesser known of the IRA options. That’s simply because they’re seen as needing too much effort to utilize correctly. The truth is that self-directed IRAs aren’t as complicated as they’re made out to be. Especially if you have the right custodian who offers the services you need to […]
Self-Directed 401K Plans Broken Down and Explained
A self-directed 401K lets you invest as you see fit. You can choose your own mutual funds, stocks and bonds rather than sticking to the pre-made funds typically associated with a retirement savings account. You can even invest in more unconventional assets like real estate and commodities if your employer allows it. The types of […]
Self-Directed IRA Rollover Terminology Broken Down
Rollovers are the most common way to transfer funds within retirement accounts. Transfers and rollovers are transactions that allows for the movement of assets between IRAs and 401K plans. Let’s go over the basic terminology. Direct Rollover A Direct Rollover is generally used when moving funds from an employer plan (like a former employer 401K) […]
How Everyone Can Save for Retirement When a 401K isn’t Offered at Work
Are you one of the millions of workers without a retirement plan at work? Or perhaps you’re self-employed and don’t have an employer at all? In either case, it’s imperative that you take your retirement savings and investments into your own hands. Employer retirement accounts are great, but many businesses don’t take on the added […]