Your Financial Plan
[Video] Recharacterization…The Roth Conversion “Undo” Button
STEPHEN SMALENBERGER, EA Ever wished you could hit the “undo button” and everything would go back to how it was? Well this does actually exist and in the financial world this is known as a recharacterization. That is a big word that essentially means to unwind or undo a Roth Conversion that was processed at…
Friday’s Financial Update 8-11-2017
What difference do you notice in the pictures below? These two pictures represent the S&P500 Index performance from this past week and of course, an amusement park roller coaster. The path each of these took is the same. So what can we learn and where do we go from here? First, how did the ups…
[Video] Roth Conversions: What Are They & How Do They Work?
STEPHEN SMALENBERGER, EA We want to introduce a design element that we like to use in financial plans, when it makes sense. And this strategy is known as the Roth Conversion. Money may be put into a Roth IRA in two forms: Contribution(s) Conversion(s) As explained in prior articles and videos, the Roth IRA contributions…
Traditional IRA/401(k) & Roth IRA/401(k) Which is best? [Video]
How do you decide between a Traditional IRA/401(k) & Roth IRA/401(k)? In a prior video we talked about the three different types of account registrations to decide between when saving: Taxable, Tax-Deferred, and Tax-Free. Let’s focus on tax deferred and tax free. Both of those are retirement focused so let’s walk through how much you…
Caution: Speed Bumps Ahead
MICHELLE SMALENBERGER, CFP® Fasten your seatbelts for bumps ahead! Let’s review some of the main stories driving market activity this week. CORPORATE EARNINGS: Companies have reported strong earnings which have continued to push up stock prices. Large gains from companies like Boeing, Ford, Verizon, and AT&T, among many others have reaffirmed confidence in their stock….
[Video] How Tax-Free Accounts Work
STEPHEN SMALENBERGER, EA There are only three types of accounts: Taxable Tax-Deferred Tax-Free We focused on the first two types already. Let’s focus on the last, Tax-Free. The accounts in this registration category include the following: Roth IRA Roth 401(k) Roth 403(b) Roth 457 Roth Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) The word Roth is really important…
