Prosperity Trek by Prosperity Concierge » Building

Where to Save for Retirement First – an IRA or 401(k)?

Prosperity Concierge — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 13:11:28 +0000

When it comes to saving for retirement should you fund your 401(k) or IRA first? Here are ten questions to ask that can help you make your decision.

1. Do you get an employer match?

The first question you want to ask is, does your employer match funds. It’s free money, so you don’t want to give

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Net Worth: Save From Income

Prosperity Concierge — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 22:08:37 +0000

The terrain: Prosperity Quadrant II (positive cash flow; negative net worth). The trek: To build net worth. This activity on the trek: Explore how to save from income. Difficulty rating: Easy

This portion of the trek has activities to save from income.

Activities to Save From Income get the 401(k) match from your employer

Related Activities and Side Trips Career Development Establish your Savings

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Enrichment and Fulfillment: Protect: Long-Term Care Insurance

Prosperity Concierge — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:40:40 +0000

The terrain: Prosperity Quadrant IV (negative cash flow; positive net worth). The trek: To use prosperity to enjoy life and give back. This activity on the trek: Buy long-term care insurance to protect net worth. Difficulty rating: Moderate

It’s not going to do you much good to build up your wealth if you let it slip through your fingers.

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Special Situations: Protect: Long-Term Care Insurance

Prosperity Concierge — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:35:03 +0000

The terrain: Prosperity Quadrant IV (negative cash flow; positive net worth). The trek: To improve cash flow and use net worth to supplement income.. This activity on the trek: Buy long-term care insurance to protect net worth. Difficulty rating: Moderate

It’s not going to do you much good to build up your wealth if you let it slip through

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Wealth and Prosperity: Protect: Long-Term Care Insurance

Prosperity Concierge — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:28:42 +0000

The terrain: Prosperity Quadrant III (positive cash flow; positive net worth). The trek: To build wealth and use prosperity to enjoy life and give back. This activity on the trek: Buy long-term care insurance to protect net worth. Difficulty rating: Moderate

It’s not going to do you much good to build up your wealth if you let it slip

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Net Worth: Protect: Long-Term Care Insurance

Prosperity Concierge — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:18:46 +0000

The terrain: Prosperity Quadrant II (positive cash flow; negative net worth). The trek: To build net worth. This activity on the trek: Buy long-term care insurance to protect net worth. Difficulty rating: Moderate

It’s not going to do you much good to build up your wealth if you let it slip through your fingers. Any number of catastrophes can

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Cash Flow: Protect: Long-Term Care Insurance

Prosperity Concierge — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:15:54 +0000

The activity: Buy long-term care insurance to protect net worth. The trek: Improve cash flow. The terrain: Prosperity Quadrant I (negative cash flow; negative net worth). Difficulty rating: Moderate

It’s not going to do you much good to build up your wealth if you let it slip through your fingers. Any number of catastrophes can occur along the way.

One

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Trek III: Money Market Investing

Prosperity Concierge — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:03:30 +0000

There are two reasons for having some of your investment portfolio money in a money market fund.

Asset Allocation

One reason for having some of your investment funds in a money market fund is to hedge against declines in other asset classes. For example, if you thought there was a high probability of a stock market decline

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Trek III: Health Savings Account

Prosperity Concierge — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:19:08 +0000

An increasing number of employers are offering their employees the option to have a Health Savings Account (HSA). If your employer offers a Health Savings Account and you can afford it this is a saving option to allow you to save for retirement or future medical expenses.

Savings Account

You can treat the HSA as a savings

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Trek II: Health Savings Account

Prosperity Concierge — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:15:04 +0000

Savings Account

You can treat an HSA as a savings

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Trek III: Invest in Traditional IRA

Prosperity Concierge — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:38:07 +0000

Investors that have high incomes and don’t qualify for a deductible IRA or a Roth IRA are allowed to open a nondeductible IRA instead. The earnings are tax-deferred – not tax-free as they are in a Roth.

A nondeductible IRA can make sense if you think you can convert the funds to a Roth IRA in

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Trek III: College Savings

Prosperity Concierge — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:56:50 +0000

If you expect to pay for college how to prepare for the college costs can be difficult – and complicated. The best way to save for college is to consider taxes and your retirement savings.

One of the first questions is whether to max out the contributions to retirement accounts before saving specifically for college.

By putting

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Trek II: College Savings

Prosperity Concierge — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:20:53 +0000

If you expect to pay for college how to prepare for the college costs can be difficult – and complicated. The best way to save for college is to consider taxes and your retirement savings.

One of the first questions is whether to max out the contributions to retirement accounts before saving specifically for college.

By putting

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Trek III: Invest in 401(k) Non-Match

Prosperity Concierge — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:40:08 +0000

In an earlier step you began contributing to your 401(k) to get the maximum employer match, if your employer offers it. Now, we’re going to focus on the benefits and strategies for contributing additional funds to the 401(k).

When you compare the percentage of your salary that your employer matches with the maximum contribution that you

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Trek II: Invest in 401(k) Non-Match

Prosperity Concierge — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:36:51 +0000

In an earlier step you began contributing to your 401(k) plan to get the maximum employer match, if your employer offers it. Now, we’re going to focus on the benefits and strategies for contributing additional funds to the 401(k).

When you compare the percentage of your salary that your employer matches with the maximum contribution that

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Trek III: Invest in Taxable Accounts

Prosperity Concierge — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:38:04 +0000

Investing in tax-sheltered accounts carries one disadvantage: you may not be able to get to your investment funds when you need them. The rules for tax-sheltered accounts can change with the whims and drifting priorities of Congress. That’s why you should have some money in taxable accounts – accounts that are unsheltered.

Earlier steps in the

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Trek III: Wealth and Prosperity: Asset Accumulation: Long-Term Portfolio Recommendation

Prosperity Concierge — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:07:24 +0000

This step on your prosperity trek… This is an informational step.

Here is Prosperity Concierge’s current asset allocation investment recommendation for your long-term portfolio.

Long-Term Investment Allocation

(for funds not needed for at least 5 years)

65% Emerging Markets (with a concentration in Brazil) 30% U.S. Large Cap (with a concentration in technology (hardware and software)) 5% Energy and other Natural Resources Asset Allocation Advice

Wealth and Prosperity: Save From Income: Fund a Roth IRA

Prosperity Concierge — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:44:23 +0000

The terrain: Prosperity Quadrant III (positive cash flow; positive net worth). The trek: To build wealth and use prosperity to enjoy life and give back. This activity on the trek: Fund a Roth IRA if you are eligible. Steps you should complete before beginning this step: Get the 401(k) match, Improve Your Credit Score Difficulty rating: Moderate

This activity follows

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Net Worth: Save From Income: Fund a Roth IRA

Prosperity Concierge — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:25:23 +0000

The terrain: Prosperity Quadrant II (positive cash flow; negative net worth). The trek: To build net worth. This activity on the trek: Fund a Roth IRA if you are eligible. Steps you should complete before beginning this step: Get the 401(k) match, Improve Your Credit Score Difficulty rating: Moderate

This activity follows an earlier activity that gets a 401(k) match

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Trek III: Fixed Income Investing

Prosperity Concierge — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 21:21:58 +0000

You may think of bonds only as a way to earn income. Or maybe you turned to short-term CDs or money market funds for safety during the equity and credit market volatility last year. But fixed-income investments can also play an important role over the long term—they can help contribute return and reduce overall risk and volatility in a

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