Our Weekend Word

Maybe the only thing everyone can agree on after the last two and a half years is that we would all love it if things could just get back to normal. Unfortunately, the only thing that has heeded that call to go back in time is the financial markets.

Along with shopping for your new iPhone, fall also means that it’s time to shop for a new, stylish 2023 Medicare plan. October 15th marks the start of the Annual Election Period (AEP) for “Medicare Season”.  AEP runs from October 15th through December 7th and provides Medicare beneficiaries the ability to make changes to their plan, switch plans or drop coverage all together.

One question that investors may have is: “How can inflation be increasing when the Fed is raising rates?” And this is a good question.

We know that the topic of inflation is being pretty well beaten to death as it hits 20 year highs, but bear with us for one more article about it.

Generally, the IRS will impose a 10 percent early distribution penalty if you withdraw assets from your traditional IRA before the age of 59½. So, what would happen if you needed to tap into your IRA before then? 

The answer is they go up and down! (Corny laugh) Wanted to use this weekend word to raise awareness on the rising rates the FEDs have done and what you should be aware of by them. 

Ah, the age-old question. For years I’ve gone back and forth over this and, finally, having done both now, feel like I have a decent sense of when each option is appropriate.

With all the home selling that’s been going on there is a little-known tax rule to help you figure out if you’ll owe any capital gains on your house that may have massively appreciated in the past 2 years.

This particular rule is especially helpful to know for people who may be moving to a second property or may have moved in somewhere else for a while before selling their home.

When markets get crazy it can be comforting to find certainty, and for this we look to… taxes? Yep, that’s right, the most certain thing in our whole financial system.

Taking a loan from your 401(k) can be tempting. You put all this money in it, and it’s just sitting there staring at you while you struggle through affording your house, car and maybe a vacation every once in a while. Then you find out you can take a loan from your retirement plan, and hey, by the way, you pay yourself the interest. That doesn’t sound so bad. Certainly, better than taking out a personal loan or putting something on a credit card and paying the bank right, especially at only 4.25% interest right now. Well, not always.