retirement

Rain window

Here’s the risk tolerance we ought to be talking about

I was a little hard on people who have a low investment risk tolerance. But that’s not because I’m a mean person. I have very good reasons. I get that the idea generally is that we want to protect against … Read MoreRead More

Scary hand

Why it doesn’t matter what your risk tolerance is

When investing, whether for retirement or for any longer term goals, there is often a discussion of “risk tolerance”. Risk tolerance in this context means how much variability in the investment return process that an investor is willing to withstand. … Read MoreRead More

Solar system

(Don’t) take this 30 second challenge about retirement (unless you want to panic)

People always like simple things they can remember. Whether it’s using the Rule of 72 to figure out when an investment (or debt) will double, or whether it’s aphorisms like “own your age in bonds“, (or even “Mary Very Easily Makes … Read MoreRead More

Brackets

The folly of choosing a Roth IRA or Traditional IRA based on tax brackets

If you’re saving for retirement (and you are saving for retirement, or at least working towards it, right?) you have probably been confronted with a choice when it comes to self-directed retirement accounts: Do you use a Roth IRA or a … Read MoreRead More

Medical files

Can you use an HSA to save for retirement?

Last time, I talked about the health savings account (HSA), and how it offers an unprecedented triple-tax advantage: the money you contribute for qualified medical expenses is tax-free, grows tax-free, and can be withdrawn tax-free. It’s like your own little shell … Read MoreRead More

Sand

What if you can’t contribute to a Roth IRA?

Roth IRAs are awesome. There’s just no other way that I can see that regular folks can invest in a way that lets money grow tax-free, without any Required Minimum Distributions or anything like that. Plus, a retirement account where … Read MoreRead More

Carnegie Library

How to know when it’s time to rollover your old retirement plan

A little over a decade ago, I had a job with a university. I participated in their retirement plan, a 403(b) plan with TIAA-CREF (now TIAA). I still have this account. As I moved to a different job, I started … Read MoreRead More

15 ball

Why to use the 15% rule for saving for retirement

WARNING: This post contains math. Last time, when I talked about saving for retirement, I mentioned that I put away at least 15% of my income away in retirement. It occurred to me that some readers may feel like I’ve … Read MoreRead More

Pinwheels

Here’s when we really want to be celebrating National Save For Retirement Week

I logged in to my Vanguard account earlier this week, and found this admonition: I must confess, I didn’t know about this celebration week. For this I can only apologize, although to be fair there are plenty of celebration days, … Read MoreRead More

Seed sprouting

If you feel like you have too much debt to ever save for retirement

Debt reduction and wealth building are part of the same process, so you are working toward your money goals even if you don’t think you are. I believe retirement is possible for us. But at the same time, I’m on … Read MoreRead More