529

A New Law Just Made IRAs and 529s a Little More Interesting

As last year’s U.S. Congressional session approached the Christmas holiday, a little known bill called the SECURE Act was once again teetering on the edge of failure. However, at the last minute it was tacked onto the year-end appropriations bill in order to keep the government funded. Just like that, a new series of financial rules and requirements impacted millions of American’s financial lives, though most don’t even know about it.

Following is a brief rundown of the SECURE Act’s 1,000+ page rule, with a focus on the areas that I feel would most likely impact you.

Your Holiday "Honey Do" List: 5 Financial Tasks In 5 Minutes

Picture this. It’s the Christmas holiday and you’re taking several well-deserved vacation days. You’re laying on the couch with a belly full of holiday goodness. You’ve napped, perused a book, and conquered a few family members in a rousing game of Monopoly.

If you’re anything like me, after a couple days you may start feeling a little antsy to get something done--but “working” will get you chided by your family, right?

Well if you need a little “work around” here are a few quick things you can do to shape up your financial life, each one literally taking about 5 minutes to complete. You’ll feel like you’ve accomplished something, and no one can blame you for working too much.

The Best Way to Save for Your Child's Education

One of the top priorities of many young families I talk with is to save for their children’s college. College costs are rising quickly, and parents are seeing an opportunity to help the next generation along the way.

Fortunately, the U.S. Government sees it the same way. A section of the IRS tax code--Section 529--created a special savings account, administered by the states, to help families pay for college expenses.

Here’s some information on how 529 plans work, their advantages, and three pointers to get started using one.

How to Invest for the Kiddos' College

When my daughter was born, my obsession with financial planning had a terrible collision with the reality of steep child rearing costs.  So many financial questions ran through my mind.  My MBA training slowly clicking into gear, I dove into a spreadsheet to run a bunch of calculations, based on various assumptions.  I felt like Will Hunting solving an unsolvable math problem.