Do you know what your retirement accounts are currently invested in? The likelihood is that you probably don’t. You are not alone because many people have no idea what their IRA or 401k are invested in. This may or may not bother you. If it does bother you and you would like to take control […]
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 […]
What Are Alternative Investments?
An alternative investment is exactly what it sounds like: a financial asset that exists outside the scope of traditional investment categories such as stocks, bonds, or cash. You can still use an alternative investment to contribute to traditional investments, but unconventionally, like shorting a stock or arbitraging a stock between two different markets. From cryptocurrency […]
Investing with a Self-Directed IRA During a Recession
It’s easy for investors to feel invincible during an economic boom. The problem is that this can lead investors to think that nothing can ever go wrong, and there’s no risk of losing all their money. But as we’ve seen over the past few months, things can change in an instant. Technically, we are in […]
Have Retirement Savers Taken Advantage of The CARES Act?
People taking advantage of temporary CARES Act rules that allowed for easier loans and distributions from 401K retirement plans increased slightly through November, a month before the Dec. 30 cutoff. As many as 1.4 million people have taken a CARES distribution from a major retirement savings firm, about 5.7% of participants on their system, according […]
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 […]
Owning and Operating a Self-Directed 401K 101
Ever heard of a self-directed 401K? It might be what you need. It’s not very common for employers to offer a self-directed 401K, more than likely you’ve been contributing to an employer-sponsored 401K. While there are similarities, they’re both retirement savings vehicles, and they follow the same rules, but the fundamental difference is that there’s […]
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 […]