Typically, the penalty for withdrawing from a 401K before the age of 59½ is 10% of the distribution, plus an automatic withholding of at least 20% for taxes. But with the passage of the CARES Act, that all changes for 2020. The $300 billion earmarked for direct payments is getting considerable attention, but the CARES […]
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 […]
How The CARES Act Will Impact Your Retirement Accounts
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act has gotten a lot of attention because it promises stimulus checks and expanded unemployment for millions of Americans, but there’s a lot more to the 880-page law than that. It contains several provisions that affect retirement savings, including some that give you immediate, penalty-free access to […]
Starting at the Basics with Self-Directed Individual Retirement Accounts
A self-directed individual retirement account is an account held with a custodian that allows investments in a range of alternative assets inside of that account. Depending upon what your custodian allows, these could include IRAs (both Traditional and Roth accounts), SEP-IRAs and Solo 401Ks. Why a self-directed individual retirement account? A self-directed individual retirement account, […]
Why You Should Take a Multi-Asset Approach to Investing
The traditional Single-Asset Investing Strategy emphasizes purchasing one item at a time and holding it for a long time. In the 1980s, this strategy was effective, primarily because interest rates were high and assets were not correlated. But in 2020, the financial markets are displaying some markedly non-traditional features. Low Interest Rates In the 1980s, […]
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 […]
Investing in Precious Metals with your Retirement Account
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 be Asking your Self-Directed IRA Custodian
Making the decision to self-direct your own retirement account is simple. Selecting the right self-directed IRA custodian is fairly straightforward — at least on the surface. But not every self-directed IRA custodian or administrator is right for every self-directed investor, even if that custodian is a great service provider. With that in mind, there are […]
Four Investing Rules the Super Rich Always Follow (updated)
Today, there is more money in circulation than ever before, which means there’s more money to be made. Who makes this money isn’t about luck or having a “secret formula”. It’s all about being clever, and knowing how to make your money work for you. Whether you’re new to the investing game, or you’re a […]
What Changes are Coming in 2020 for Social Security?
A new year often brings slight changes to some of America’s most popular programs, and Social Security is no exception. The amount each beneficiary should expect to receive in 2020 will be slightly higher (like many years), after inflation adjustments. And taxes may affect different swaths of the population. The program is an important piece […]