If you have a 401(k), there’s a good chance a target date fund is doing most of the heavy lifting, whether you chose it or not. However, a target date fund only assumes one thing about you: the year you plan to retire.
More families than ever are receiving retirement accounts from parents and loved ones, a trend that’s expected to grow significantly over the next decade. But unlike other assets, inherited IRAs come with puzzling rules that catch many people off guard.
Spousal and survivor benefits add another layer of complexity on top of an already intricate Social Security system. The strategy you choose matters, but what matters more is that you actually have one.
Over time, the renter’s value proposition is slowly eroded by inflation. Meanwhile, the homeowner steadily increases the pace at which the they build equity. The breakeven point is where those two curves intersect.
Real estate is a capital asset, meaning any profit from its sale is taxed as a capital gain. However, there are special rules unique to real estate that can dramatically reduce what you owe.
For many prospective homebuyers, a mortgage payment will significantly exceed the cost of renting. However, that direct comparison can be misleading. By deconstructing a mortgage payment into separate pieces, it becomes clear that not every dollar spent on housing is equal.
When it comes to stock-based compensation, Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) are the most common form. But without a well-designed strategy, RSU holders often face significant financial blind spots.
The primary motivation behind a Roth conversion is simple: an investor chooses to pay taxes on money today, so they don’t have to pay taxes on that money in the future.
An effective giving strategy benefits both the recipient and the giver. By using a “bunching” strategy, you can contribute multiple years of charitable giving into a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) and unlock a significant tax deduction when you need it most.
Less than 1 in 3 people in the U.S. holds a will, and more than half have no legal protections in place whatsoever. While everyone agrees that an estate plan is essential, why have so few actually followed through? It’s probably because they don’t know where to start.
