Utilizing real estate as an investment opportunity is possible with any amount of money. It’s one of the most sustainable methods for building wealth over time. A significant number of the world’s wealthiest people have made their empires using real estate. Real estate is a relatively safe and understood vehicle that gives investors options. Here […]
Investing in Precious Metals with your Retirement Account (updated for 2021)
Should you invest in gold? Answers to this question tend to gravitate toward one extreme or the other. Many investors on one side of this discussion believe that investing in gold is a losing proposition because it does not pay any interest and dividends and it costs money to store and protect. On the other […]
What you Need to Know About REITs Before Diving in
You may or may not know that REITs (real-estate investment trusts) that invest in all sorts of commercial real estate, have been a favorite of investors for years. Why are REITs a favorite? There are a few reasons why. Get used to volatility REITs can definitely play it hot and cold, and they aren’t a […]
What Is an HSA and How Does It Work?
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 […]