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Posts tagged Money Merge Account System
Time for Your Annual 401(k) Plan Review?
Dec 8th
Once you’ve started contributing to your 401(k) plan and funded it with investments that are appropriate for your needs, you might think you’re in good shape and that your 401(k) is now on autopilot. But that type of thinking can actually be counterproductive, because to get maximum benefits from your 401(k) plan you’ll need to revise it over time to reflect changes in your life and in the investments that make up your plan. That’s why it’s smart move to review your 401(k) holding annually, and as this year is winding down it is as good a time as any to see what you’ve got, where you’ve been and where you might be headed.
What should you look for when you review your 401(k) plan? First and foremost, make sure you’re saving enough to help reach your retirement goals or that you’re at least putting away as much as you can possibly afford. Next, evaluate whether your investment mix is suitable for your individual goals, risk tolerance and time horizon.
For example, during long bull markets, the value of your 401(k)’s stock-based accounts may have risen substantially, and you might find that these accounts now make up a greater percentage of your portfolio. As a result, you’re now taking on more risk than you’d like. On the other hand, during a bear market, the percentage of conservative investments in you plan may grow to such an extent, that your 401(k) may not be providing you with the growth opportunities you may need to pay for the retirement you envisioned. To prevent either of these scenarios, you may need to periodically rebalance your 401(k).
By making the right moves at the right time, you can help ensure that your 401(k) will be a key retirement planning tool.
I’m using the Money Merge Account System for my retirement financial planning.
5 major bills you can cut fast
Oct 1st
As the economy weakens and prices soar on everything from gas to groceries, we’re all looking for quick ways to cut expenses and hold on to more cash.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to chop your spending without a lot of time or hassle. Add them all up, and you could trim your annual expenses by hundreds of dollars or more.
Energy and gas savings
Energy costs are boiling over. Fortunately, some relatively cheap fixes are available, and many begin in the home.
For example, weatherstripping, caulking doors or sealing windows can keep out cold and heat, lowering your heating and cooling bills.
Meanwhile, you can trim vehicle gas costs with the following steps:
- Adopt good driving habits. You’ll save a bundle if you stop speeding. If you typically race around at 70 mph instead of 55 mph, you’re lowering your vehicle’s fuel efficiency by as much as 17%, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
- Pump up your tires. Tires lose about a pound of pressure a month, and if you drive with tires that are 3 pounds underinflated, your vehicle’s fuel economy drops by 1%, the council says.
- Clean your car. If your car resembles a junkyard on wheels, clean it out. If you’re hauling around 100 extra pounds, for example, you’re lowering fuel efficiency by up to 2%.
Food and groceries
The average American household spends $6,111 per year on food, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Consumer Expenditure Survey. But with prices rising quickly, food is taking an increasingly bigger bite out of our budgets.
How can you save on something so fundamental? It’s actually not difficult. A family of four can slash $240 from its monthly food budget by switching from pricey meals to lower-cost options, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The key is to embrace culinary change rather than fearing it.
“We can’t be doing the same thing the same old way,” says Sheryl Garrett, the author of the “Personal Finance Workbook for Dummies.”
Store shelves are crammed with relatively expensive prepackaged convenience foods designed to save time, Garrett says.
“But what we need to do is try to remember two simple words: whole foods,” she says. “Instead of buying prepared, frozen, twice-baked potatoes, buy a real live whole potato. It costs a fraction of the price — pennies per pound. And it probably even tastes better.”
Banking and credit
Individuals pay banks, brokerages, credit card companies and other vendors a slew of extra fees, charges, interest and penalties.
One recent study by the Government Accountability Office and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., or FDIC, found that Americans spend $36 billion annually on bank fees alone. That’s up from $24.4 billion in 2000.
Meanwhile, Consumer Reports estimates Americans spend $216 billion a year on fees for personal financial services, from banking to mortgages.
Don’t take these fees lying down. For example, if your lender increases your credit card rate, call to have it lowered. You’ve got a 50-50 chance of getting resolution, according to a consumer study by U.S. Public Interest Research Groups, or U.S. PIRG
Taxes
If you’re like most people, you probably don’t pay much attention to taxes until April 15 rolls around. But taxes affect us daily, whether we’re working, shopping or saving for important milestones such as retirement.
Here are ways to reduce your taxes:
- Snag the first-time-homebuyer credit. Individuals who buy a dwelling between now and July 1, 2009, and who haven’t owned a primary residence for the previous three years can claim a new credit that’s worth 10% of a dwelling’s purchase price, or up to $7,500. The break phases out for joint tax filers with incomes of $150,000 (or $75,000 for individuals). It’s important to note that these credits are structured more like interest-free loans than true tax breaks.
- Claim the 2008 homeowners tax break. Individuals who own their homes outright or who’ve had mortgages so long they’re paying mostly principal rather than interest may no longer qualify to itemize on their returns. Now there’s some temporary relief for them. This year, they can take $500 (or $1,000 for joint filers) of state and local property taxes as an addition to their standard deduction on their 2008 federal income tax return.
- Grab breaks for low-income earners. One out of four eligible taxpayers fails to claim the earned-income tax credit, or EITC, worth as much as $4,716 a year depending on someone’s earnings, marriage status and whether he or she has children or other dependents. If you qualified for but didn’t claim the EITC, file an amended tax return for any previous year back to 2005.
Home Mortgage
The Money Merge Account System is the first of its kind to be sophisticated enough to allow you to utilize interest cancellation solutions without having to qualify for a traditional line of credit. Qualified homeowners using the Money Merge Account System can now potentially pay off their mortgage in as little as 1/2 to 1/3 the regular time – with little to no change to your current lifestyle and without increasing your current mortgage payments.