3 Big Money Mistakes American Workers Are Making

Money mistakes can add up

We all make mistakes with our finances. I’m not talking about making hard decisions and choosing which bills to pay and which to leave for another month. These are simple financial choices and the biggest money mistakes American workers are making with their paychecks. The economy is still struggling, and far too many employees are turning away free money and lending other money from their hard-earned paychecks to the government free of charge. Three Biggest Money Mistakes… 1. Not Capturing Their Employer Match According to a recent study conducted by the Financial Industries Regulatory Authority (FINRA), almost 30% of American workers do not contribute enough to their 401k retirement plans in order to capture their employer’s matching contribution. Typically, many employers … Read more

Dave Ramsey’s Baby Step Four – Invest 15% of Your Income for Retirement

Baby Step 4 - Save 15% Of Your Income For Retirement

The last week, I wrote an overview of Dave Ramsey’s baby steps system from his book, The Total Money Makeover, and I have been dissecting each of his individual baby steps as well. The Total Money Makeover is a personal finance book that I highly recommend and one of the greatest personal finance books to read. Baby step 4 talks about investing for your retirement. Today, we will look at Baby Step 4 in more detail which is to invest 15% of your income for retirement. There are seven Dave Ramsey baby steps that you should follow in order that will lead you to financial peace. Dave Ramsey’s baby steps are… Baby Step 1 – $1,000 Emergency FundBaby Step 2 – Pay Off All Of Your Debt With … Read more

Should You Pay Taxes For Your Roth Conversion From Investments?

A reader recently wrote in with the following question about converting a 401k retirement plan to a Roth IRA and the tax consequences. Should you pay for the taxes when converting a 401k retirement plan to a Roth IRA from the proceeds of your plan? The short simple answer is no! You should not pay for your taxes from money that was in your retirement plans during a Roth conversion. Taxes On Your Roth Conversion You will have to pay taxes when you convert a 401k retirement plan to a Roth IRA. If you use money that was once in your 401k and you are not 59 ½ years old at the time of withdraw, you will not only owe … Read more