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	<title>Retirement 101 &#187; Finances</title>
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	<link>http://www.retirement101.info</link>
	<description>Making the most of the rest of your life</description>
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		<title>Low Risk Investments Offering Guaranteed Returns</title>
		<link>http://www.retirement101.info/finance/low-risk-investments-offering-guaranteed-returns/</link>
		<comments>http://www.retirement101.info/finance/low-risk-investments-offering-guaranteed-returns/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Mar 2011 05:54:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Guest Poster</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Finances]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[asset allocation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[retirement finances]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.retirement101.info/?p=429</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>If you are somewhat hesitant about investing, you are not alone. Since the market has been slow to recover, many people are interested in pursuing low risk investments offering guaranteed returns. Because people may have limited funds to invest, they may be seeking investments with no or low minimum initial investment requirements, or those <span style="color:#777"> . . . &#8594; Read More: <a href="http://www.retirement101.info/finance/low-risk-investments-offering-guaranteed-returns/">Low Risk Investments Offering Guaranteed Returns</a></span>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If you are somewhat hesitant about investing, you are not alone. Since the market has been slow to recover, many people are interested in pursuing <a href="http://amateurassetallocator.com/2010/09/14/popular-low-risk-investments/">low risk investments</a> offering guaranteed returns. Because people may have limited funds to invest, they may be seeking investments with no or low minimum initial investment requirements, or those with short-term investment commitments. Some of the best solutions to these types of investment needs can be found at a local bank or credit union. </p>
<p>Certificates of Deposit, High-Yield Savings Accounts, Money Market Accounts Certificates are some of the subtitles investors should be researching. Be sure to pay attention to three main areas the amount you plan to invest, the rate your investment amount will yield, and the minimum term of the investment. Typically speaking, the higher the amount you invest for the longer investment term will yield the highest return rate. This is not always true, as many banks can credit unions offer promotional rates and investment options.<span id="more-429"></span></p>
<p>Rates change on a daily basis, so once you are satisfied with your findings, get to the bank as soon as possible to transfer money. Moreover, some online banking options allow you to open investment accounts online, allowing for immediate transfer. A paper receipt will usually be mailed within a week confirming your investments rate, amount and duration.</p>
<p>Remember, even if you are interested in investing at your bank or credit union, they may not be offering the best rates. Therefore, it is perfectly acceptable to take your money from one financial institution and transfer it to another. Always make sure before you transfer the bank is a member of the FDIC or the credit union is a member of NCUA. This way, you money is just as safe as if it were deposited in your own bank or credit union. </p>
<p>More information about <a href="http://amateurassetallocator.com/2010/08/04/beat-market-volatility-with-high-dividend-mutual-funds">high yield mutual funds</a> can be retrieved at the author&#8217;s website.</p>
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		<title>Why a Roth IRA is better than a Traditional IRA</title>
		<link>http://www.retirement101.info/finance/why-a-roth-ira-is-better-than-a-traditional-ira/</link>
		<comments>http://www.retirement101.info/finance/why-a-roth-ira-is-better-than-a-traditional-ira/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jan 2011 20:52:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Guest Poster</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Finances]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[retirement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Roth IRA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tax advantage account]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[traditional ira]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.retirement101.info/?p=405</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Investing for retirement is a very important step toward financial freedom, and eventually, retirement. Some individuals are fortunate enough to have a good pension with a company or government agency they&#8217;ve worked with for years. Others are unfortunate enough to rely on social security or never retire. If doesn&#8217;t matter if you have an <span style="color:#777"> . . . &#8594; Read More: <a href="http://www.retirement101.info/finance/why-a-roth-ira-is-better-than-a-traditional-ira/">Why a Roth IRA is better than a Traditional IRA</a></span>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Investing for retirement is a very important step toward financial freedom, and eventually, retirement. Some individuals are fortunate enough to have a good pension with a company or government agency they&#8217;ve worked with for years. Others are unfortunate enough to rely on social security or never retire. If doesn&#8217;t matter if you have an amazing pension or no retirement funds at all, having a tax-advantage investment account is a great move.</p>
<p><a href="http://tellingtips.com/what-is-a-roth-ira/">What is a Roth IRA?</a></p>
<p>There are several tax-advantage savings accounts available including the 401k, Roth IRA, and Traditional IRA. A Roth IRA has taxed contributions. This means that any money you put into your Roth IRA now is after-tax money. The benefit comes later with your <a href="http://tellingtips.com/roth-ira-withdrawal-rules/">Roth IRA withdrawal</a> during retirement. You don&#8217;t have to pay any taxes on withdrawals, even on the earnings.</p>
<p>A Traditional IRA lets you contribute money tax free now, but you have to pay taxes later on. The benefit to paying taxes later may not come to everyone. It will take a little bit of guess work for your future. If you think you&#8217;ll be in a higher tax bracket later, it will benefit you. If you can earn a lot, you&#8217;ll have a lot more earnings that go tax free. Then again, there&#8217;s always the chance we&#8217;ll have to pay more taxes in the future with higher tax brackets for everyone.</p>
<p>For most people, a Roth IRA is a better choice. Either way, if you choose a Roth or Traditional, taking advantage of such tax-advantage accounts is a really good move. You can save a lot of money that you will have ready when you retire. It could be extra money for fun vacations or money you need to support yourself in your later years. Open up an IRA account today and start contributing.</p>
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		<title>All about 401k rollover</title>
		<link>http://www.retirement101.info/finance/all-about-401k-rollover/</link>
		<comments>http://www.retirement101.info/finance/all-about-401k-rollover/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 19 Dec 2010 23:33:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Guest Poster</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Finances]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[401k rollover]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[401k rollover options]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[401k rollover rules]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[401k rollover to ira]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[retirement finances]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rollover 401k]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.retirement101.info/?p=392</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>When you start working, your company starts your retirement plan in which both you and your employer contribute. This is your 401k plan. But once you move to another employer, these contributions stop. In such a case you have to decide what you what to do. It is very important that you understand 401k <span style="color:#777"> . . . &#8594; Read More: <a href="http://www.retirement101.info/finance/all-about-401k-rollover/">All about 401k rollover</a></span>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>When you start working, your company starts your retirement plan in which both you and your employer contribute. This is your 401k plan. But once you move to another employer, these contributions stop. In such a case you have to decide what you what to do. It is very important that you understand 401k rollover rules to know about the fee involved. <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/401k-Rollover-to-IRA-1">401k rollover to IRA</a> is the most commonly used option, but it&#8217;s good to know all your 401k rollover options.</p>
<p>The easiest option of a rollover 401k is to cash out from the account. Your old employer will make a check in favor of you after deducting 20% withholding tax as a prepayment of estimated taxes. You will also be subjected to federal and state income taxes. If you want to continue to stay invested and get tax benefits, you can either take your 401k and invest in an IRA account yourself or go for a direct 401k rollover.<span id="more-392"></span></p>
<p>Benefits of a 401k rollover into an IRA account begin with control. You have the choice of your custodian and thus, have the advantage of negotiating a fee structure that is convenient to you. IRA accounts also give you the flexibility of a variety of investment options along with professional advice. You get the guidance you need to make a diversified portfolio accordingly to your age and risk tolerance level. Another advantage of a <a href="http://smartmoneyknowledge.com/401k-rollover/">401k rollover</a> is that you can consolidate your investment accounts. This helps in lowering your investment fee and improving your ability to manage your account better.</p>
<p>One of the biggest drawbacks of a 401k rollover is that the check for the entire amount might take some time because your old employer will be matching all the contributions that they have made in your account. This can be tedious and time consuming.</p>
<p>Other than that it&#8217;s recommended to do a lot of research on the matter of 401k rollover before your get started.</p>
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		<title>What Makes An Investment A Safe One</title>
		<link>http://www.retirement101.info/finance/what-makes-an-investment-a-safe-one/</link>
		<comments>http://www.retirement101.info/finance/what-makes-an-investment-a-safe-one/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Dec 2010 18:06:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Guest Poster</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Finances]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[investment tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[retirement investments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[safe investments]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.retirement101.info/?p=389</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Are you considering investing money for your retirement but you&#8217;re not sure if your making  good choices as safe investments?  Many Americans have these same questions everyday and what usually ends up happening is they invest their money in some account with a mutual fund company hoping 30 or 40 years down the road <span style="color:#777"> . . . &#8594; Read More: <a href="http://www.retirement101.info/finance/what-makes-an-investment-a-safe-one/">What Makes An Investment A Safe One</a></span>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Are you considering investing money for your retirement but you&#8217;re not sure if your making  good choices as <a href="http://stumbleforward.com/2010/07/26/safe-investments-what-you-should-know-about-risk-free-investing/" target="_blank">safe investments</a>?  Many Americans have these same questions everyday and what usually ends up happening is they invest their money in some account with a mutual fund company hoping 30 or 40 years down the road it will have the money needed to retire on.  In this article I&#8217;m going to give you a few <a href="http://stumbleforward.com/2010/07/12/5-investment-tips-to-a-smooth-retirement/" target="_blank">investment tips</a> to help you out.</p>
<p>First off, you need to know what you&#8217;re investing in before you do it.  The biggest problem I found with people investing their hard earned money when I was working in financial services is that most people don&#8217;t have a clue as to what they are putting their money in and half the time the investment professional didn&#8217;t inform them of this.  Instead make sure to ask questions, take the time to understand what you are investing, and if you don&#8217;t know ask them, that&#8217;s what they are there for.</p>
<p>Second, the next thing you need to look at is diversification.  When your investing your money it is vitally important that you spread your money among many different investments with in a mutual fund.  For example, you don&#8217;t want everything invested strictly into large cap stocks, but rather some in large, medium, and small cap stocks as well as bonds money market funds, and even cash.</p>
<p>The last thing you need to consider to secure your retirement better is use dollar cost averaging.  With dollar cost averaging you are investing a specific amount of money on a monthly basis.  Investing your money this way allows you to buy more shares when stock prices are down and when they are up you will make big gains.  If you would invest your money once a year instead of every month you might be buying at a cheaper share price and you might not but you will not be as likely to see the big gains this way.</p>
<p>In the end follow the tips I&#8217;ve covered and you will be much more likely to end up with a safeir investment in the end.</p>
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		<title>How to Qualify for No Fee Roth IRA</title>
		<link>http://www.retirement101.info/finance/how-to-qualify-for-no-fee-roth-ira/</link>
		<comments>http://www.retirement101.info/finance/how-to-qualify-for-no-fee-roth-ira/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 Dec 2010 08:47:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Guest Poster</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Finances]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ira]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IRA tax rules]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[no fee IRA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[no fee Roth IRA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Roth IRA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[roth ira rules]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.retirement101.info/?p=385</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Roth IRA tax rules are different from that of a traditional IRA. Roth IRA usually has non-deductible tax on contributions while traditional IRA contributions are tax deductible. Though, in most cases Roth IRA may be the best IRA plan, not everyone is qualified to apply for this type of IRA. There are Roth IRA <span style="color:#777"> . . . &#8594; Read More: <a href="http://www.retirement101.info/finance/how-to-qualify-for-no-fee-roth-ira/">How to Qualify for No Fee Roth IRA</a></span>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a title="Roth IRA tax rules" href="http://www.qwoter.com/college/retirement-investing/ira-tax-rules.html">Roth IRA tax rules</a> are different from that of a traditional IRA. Roth IRA usually has non-deductible tax on contributions while traditional IRA contributions are tax deductible. Though, in most cases Roth IRA may be the best IRA plan, not everyone is qualified to apply for this type of IRA. There are Roth IRA rules that are set by the IRS or the Internal Revenue Service that regulates the application and approval of Roth IRA plans.<span id="more-385"></span></p>
<p>There are three major Roth IRA rules for one to qualify for Roth IRA plans. First is to have an annual income within the IRS boundaries. A person will be qualified for Roth IRA if his or her annual income does not exceed $150,000 for single accounts and $166,000 for joint accounts. The maximum income boundary usually goes with the inflation rate. Next is the maximum contribution per year. If you are fifty years below, your maximum contribution per year would be $5,000 and if you reached 51, you may increase your contribution to $6,000. Lastly, all contributions should come from a taxable income. This means that you should be employed, paid for rendered service or provides products that are paid for. If you have money from inheritance or loans, that cannot be accepted as a contribution in a Roth IRA account.</p>
<p>Though Roth IRA provides a promising opportunity to save up money, putting up a a Roth IRA account many be costly. Aside from fees associated with investing your money to mutual funds, bonds, and others, there are also processing fees of setting up an account. It includes closing fees, opening fees and others. However there are hundreds of financial companies out there that do not charge fees for opening a Roth IRA account. These are called <a title="no fee Roth IRA" href="http://www.qwoter.com/college/retirement-investing/no-fee-roth-ira.html">no fee Roth IRA</a>. No fee Roth IRAs are not really free. Of course there are fees that need to be paid but these are very minimal that it would not affect your account. So if you wish to apply for a Roth IRA, make sure you are qualified and choose a company that offers No fee Roth IRAs&#8217;.</p>
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