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Characteristics of Successful Investors
People often don't realize that an investor's own characteristics help determine how well they do. This article will show you what some of these characteristics are.
I have written many times about something that most investors largely ignore:...
Investing Psychology - Know Thyself
America will continue to be the land of opportunity and regardless of what course our economy takes over the next few years, it's likely that investment opportunities will be numerous and attractive. Companies driven by the ever increasing...
Mutual Fund Versus Stocks
If you have money to invest, you might contemplate investing in
mutual fund. What is mutual fund? Mutual fund is simply a
collection of stocks that are bought using money pooled from
various individual investors. Historically, average mutual...
Penny Stock Strategies
Why should the rich guys have all the fun? The small investor
can seek out huge returns too...if they know how.
Technical analysis that uses statistics for forecasting price
fluctuations is one approach. However, because it is difficult
to...
SIMPLE Retirement Plans
A relatively new type of retirement plan is now available to businesses with less than 100 employees. The new plan is called “SIMPLE” and it is easy addition to the employee benefits for almost any small business. The Small Business Protection Act...
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Funding Your Retirement: The 401K and 403B Way
Saving for your retirement doesn't have to be a nightmare as long as you are
aware of your options. For now, we're focusing on 401K and 403B retirement
plans. These two plans are essentially the same except that for-profit
companies use 401Ks and non-profit companies, such as the government, use
403Bs.
An employee contributes to a 401K plan with pretax salary. This means that
this account appreciates without taxation until you retire or leave the
company. So, 401K contributions are not included in your reported income.
In essence, you receive an immediate tax deduction for your contribution.
Many employees offer an automatic payroll deduction, so there isn't any extra
effort involved for you. Matching contributions or partial matching
contributions are other incentives offered by employers. For instance, my
employer matches every one of my dollars with a quarter. Sounds like small
potatoes, but remember the beauty of compound interest.
Of course, there are rules and regulations. You are typically limited to a
percentage of your income or $10,500 annually, whichever is less. So what
happens if you leave your company? You have 3 options: leave it as it is,
roll it over into another tax-deferred retirement account such as an IRA or
withdraw it all. However, early withdrawal penalties, that is before age
59-1/2, are stiff. Usually, it's a 10% penalty plus any taxes owed. So, if at
all possible avoid withdrawing any funds before age 59-1/2.
Your 401K portfolio should be chosen carefully, weighing age and risk
factors. The older you are, the less stock you should have in your portfolio.
Many financial advisors suggest that your portfolio percentage of stocks
should be your age subtracted from 100. Therefore, a 25-year-old' s portfolio
should consist of 75% stocks. However, if you're not comfortable with that
level of risk, then simply chose fewer stocks. Do remember this: over the
last century the stock market has returned an average of 11% (this includes
all wars and the Great Depression). Your plan will most likely offer 4 to 7
investment options of mutual funds, stocks, bonds, etc. for your portfolio.
My company provides 10 options of which I have chosen 5.
Chose wisely and consider how much risk you are willing to take. Most of all,
you need to be comfortable with your choices. If you need further assistance
in choosing your investment options, check out www.morningstar.com or the
MorningStar books at your local library.
About the Author
MomsBudget.com - Providing financial resources for women who
happen to be mothers. Sign up for our newsletter by sending an e-mail to
momsbudget-subscribe@topica.com
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