http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner en-us Wed, 30 Dec 2009 07:24:50 -0700 Sun, 27 Dec 2009 20:35:24 -0700 BlogCFC http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d27-How-to-save-money-and-change-your-life?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner Our good friends, Betsy and Warren Talbot, are on a mission to redesign their lives so they can travel full time. You can read about how they're going about this adventure at their website Married With Luggage. One part of Betsy's an... Saving Sun, 27 Dec 2009 20:35:24 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d27-How-to-save-money-and-change-your-life?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d24-Roth-IRA-conversion-part-5?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner This is the fifth and last column on the benefits and challenges of a 2010 Roth IRA conversion. Recall that a tax rule change allows anyone to convert a taxable IRA to a tax-free Roth IRA in 2010 regardless of income. Further, if you convert to a ... Investing Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:29:18 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d24-Roth-IRA-conversion-part-5?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d23-Roth-IRA-conversion-part-4?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner In the last several columns, I've covered the basics of the 2010 Roth IRA conversion, income tax basics of a conversion and some tax traps to avoid. In this column, we'll cover the three situations in which a 2010 Roth conversion migh... Investing Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:31:39 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d23-Roth-IRA-conversion-part-4?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d21-Roth-IRA-conversion-part-3?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner In the last two columns, we covered the basics of the 2010 Roth IRA conversion opportunity and some of the basics on the income tax impact of doing a 2010 Roth IRA conversion. In this column, I want to warn you about some tax traps ... Investing Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:56:21 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d21-Roth-IRA-conversion-part-3?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d17-Roth-IRA-Conversion-part-2?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner Last time, I covered the basics of converting a taxable IRA into a tax-free Roth IRA in 2010 including the basic differences between the two types of accounts and the unique opportunity that begins next year. This column will touch on the tax issu... Investing Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:55:53 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d17-Roth-IRA-Conversion-part-2?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d16-Roth-IRA-conversion?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner Starting in 2010, anyone with a taxable IRA can convert it to a tax-free Roth IRA regardless of their income. Previously, if a taxpayer had an adjusted gross income of $100,000 or more, IRS rules did not allow the taxpayer to make the conversion. ... Investing Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:03:08 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d16-Roth-IRA-conversion?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d14-Investment-advice-from-an-expert?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner Recently Frank Armstrong III chatted with me on the phone for a few minutes. Mr. Armstrong is the co-author of several excellent books on investing and retirement planning including most recently Save Your Retirement and The Retirement Challenge. ... Investing Mon, 14 Dec 2009 06:55:20 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d14-Investment-advice-from-an-expert?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d9-More-ideas-to-help-save-your-retirement?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner In their excellent book Save Your Retirement, Frank Armstrong III and Paul B Brown cover the vast ground of retirement planning issues from asset allocation to estate planning. The writing is simple and clear and they offer sound and actionable id... Retirement Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:44:14 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d30-More-ideas-to-help-save-your-retirement?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d7-Now-how-do-you-plan-for-retirement?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner I’ve mentioned the wonderful book Save Your Retirement by Frank Armstrong III and Paul B. Brown in an earlier column and I’d like to go back to their work in this column and the next. As the saying goes “you had me at hello,&rdqu... Retirement Mon, 07 Dec 2009 08:16:21 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d7-Now-how-do-you-plan-for-retirement?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d2-Shopping-for-auto-insurance?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner Before you go out to shop for auto insurance quotes, you need to know some basics. In this second part of the series on personal risk management, I asked my good friend and auto and home insurance expert Christopher Price to explain some basic car... Personal Risk Management Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:28:24 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d2-Shopping-for-auto-insurance?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d1-Current-savings-rates-on-CDs-and-highyield-accounts?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner It’s time for the monthly check-up on CD and high-yield savings rates. As usual, I used the fabulous service of MoneyAisle, the on-line auction house. All MoneyAisle participating banks are FDIC insured. For a $10,000 deposit, here is what the ... Saving Tue, 01 Dec 2009 08:09:37 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m12d1-Current-savings-rates-on-CDs-and-highyield-accounts?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m11d30-How-to-save-on-your-auto-and-home-insurance-rates?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner If you own a car or two and/or a house, you have car and auto insurance. Have you looked at your rates lately? I'll bet they've gone up this year. To find some cost saving tips and share them with you, I tuned to my good friend and propert... Personal Risk Management Mon, 30 Nov 2009 06:46:15 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m11d30-How-to-save-on-your-auto-and-home-insurance-rates?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m11d27-Reader-poll-personal-finance-services-products-and-resources?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner What personal finance products, resources and services do you use and recommend? This could be: An investment newsletter, On-line personal finance software, Stock market research Investment tracking software Persona... Personal finance Fri, 27 Nov 2009 08:50:03 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m11d27-Reader-poll-personal-finance-services-products-and-resources?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m11d23-What-flat-economy-means-to-you?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner According to the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI), the U.S. economy declined slightly in October compared to September (see the bottom of this post for more on the CFNAI). The decline is due mostly to lower industrial production and low... Personal finance Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:25:14 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m11d23-What-flat-economy-means-to-you?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m11d20-Money-choices?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner We make money choices from the first time we become aware of the barter system as kids. Yet, adults often struggle with choosing between spending today and saving for tomorrow, setting aside money for their retirement or their children's futur... Personal finance Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:07:50 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m11d20-Money-choices?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m11d18-When-to-start-taking-Social-Security?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner If you're within 5 years of retirement, you might be wondering when is the best time to start taking Social Security payments. Because Social Security is complex, the answer is not simple, but here are some things to keep in mind. A... Personal finance Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:50:49 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m11d18-When-to-start-taking-Social-Security?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m11d16-How-to-take-a-tax-loss-on-your-529-College-Savings-Plan?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner If you have a 529 College Savings Plan (the investment type), you might consider closing the account to lock in the investment loss and to take a tax deduction, but there are some fine points to keep in mind. For example, if yo... Taxes Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:55:09 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m11d16-How-to-take-a-tax-loss-on-your-529-College-Savings-Plan?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m11d13-How-to-fix-a-broken-retirement-portfolio?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner If you're 10 or more years away from retirement, how do you fix a retirement portfolio that's been broken by recent investment conditions? If you sell your equities now, you lock in losses and reduce the potential return on your portfolio.... Investing Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:55:10 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m11d13-How-to-fix-a-broken-retirement-portfolio?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m11d11-Choose-an-investment-approach-and-stick-with-it?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner If you've read any of my columns on investing, you know I'm a dedicated "passive" or index investor. I believe that a diversified portfolio of low-cost index funds is the best way for me and most people to invest. However, this a... Investing Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:11:22 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m11d11-Choose-an-investment-approach-and-stick-with-it?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m11d9-Where-to-put-your-cash?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner It’s time for the monthly check-up on CD and high-yield savings rates. As usual, I used the fabulous service of MoneyAisle, the on-line auction house. All MoneyAisle participating banks are FDIC insured. For a $10,000 deposit, here is what the ... Saving Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:51:26 -0700 http://www.examiner.com/x-2836-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner~y2009m11d9-Where-to-put-your-cash?cid=exrss-Seattle-Personal-Finance-Examiner