Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
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If you’ve been contributing for many years to your 401(k) or similar retirement plan, it may be your largest pool of money. So, if you are facing a financial need, you may think about tapping into your account. After all, it’s your money – why not use it? But touching your 401(k) before you retire may not be a good idea, as it can lead to some unwanted consequences. First, taking funds out of your 401(k) now could increase the risk of running out of money during retirement, which could last for decades. Also, withdrawals taken from your 401(k)...
Many of us probably felt that 2020 lasted a very long time. But now that 2021 is upon us, we can make a fresh start – and one way to do that is to make some New Year’s resolutions. Of course, you can make these resolutions for all parts of your life – physical, emotional, intellectual – but have you ever considered some financial resolutions? Here are a few such resolutions to consider: Don’t overreact to events.When the coronavirus pandemic hit in mid-February, the financial markets took a big hit. Many people, convinced that we were in f...
Have your retirement plans changed because of COVID-19? If so, you have plenty of company. Nearly 40 percent of those planning to retire say the pandemic has disrupted their intentions, according to the Edward Jones/Age Wave Four Pillars of the New Retirement study. You might have been thinking about retiring early – can you still do so? Even without a crisis, it’s not a bad idea to review your important life goals from time to time. So, in thinking about the possibility of early retirement, consider these factors: Your retirement lif...
Have your retirement plans changed because of COVID-19? If so, you have plenty of company. Nearly 40 percent of those planning to retire say the pandemic has disrupted their intentions, according to the Edward Jones/Age Wave Four Pillars of the New Retirement study. You might have been thinking about retiring early – can you still do so? Even without a crisis, it’s not a bad idea to review your important life goals from time to time. So, in thinking about the possibility of early retirement, consider these factors: Your retirement lif...
We’re nearing the end of 2020 – and for many of us, it will be a relief to turn the calendar page on this challenging year. However, we’ve still got a few weeks left, which means you have time to make some year-end financial moves that may work in your favor. Here are a few suggestions: • Add to your IRA. For the 2020 tax year, you can put in up to $6,000 to your traditional or Roth IRA, or $7,000 if you’re 50 or older. If you haven’t reached this limit, consider adding some money. You actually have until April 15, 2021, to contribute to your I...
Your employer-sponsored retirement plan is a valuable asset. But sometimes things happen that can affect the status of your plan. So, for example, if you work for a hospital that changes ownership, and you have been participating in a 403(b), 457(b) or 401(k) retirement plan, what should you do with it now? Basically, you have four options: Cash out your plan. You can simply cash out your plan and take the money, but you’ll have to pay taxes on it, and possibly penalties as well. So, unless you really need the funds and you have no other altern...
It’s almost Thanksgiving. And although 2020 may have been a difficult year for you, as it has been for many people, you can probably still find things for which you can be thankful – such as your family. How can you show your appreciation for your loved ones? Here are a few suggestions: • Invest in your children’s future. If you have young children – or even grandchildren – one of the greatest gifts you can give them is the gift of education. You may want to consider contributing to a higher education funding vehicle. • Be generous. Do...
You save and invest to meet a variety of goals during your lifetime: college for your children, long vacations, a comfortable retirement, and so on. But you probably also want to leave something behind – to your loved ones and, possibly, to the charitable organizations you support. To do so, you’ll need to develop a comprehensive estate plan, but to make that plan work, you must avoid some common mistakes. Here are a few of these pitfalls you’ll want to avoid: • Not writing a will – If you were to die “intestate” – without a last will and t...
You’ve no doubt heard reports of personal data being stolen and used for financial fraud – anything from online shopping on your credit cards to actual theft from your financial accounts. This problem won’t go away anytime soon – but you can take steps to defend yourself. Here are a few suggestions: • Use multifactor authentication or other extra security options with online accounts. Many of your online accounts offer extra security by giving you the option to prove your identity in different ways. With mutifactor authentication, you must...
Like everyone, you want to remain physically and financially independent throughout your life. But if you lose some of this freedom, the last thing you’d want is to become a burden on your family. How can you keep this from happening? First of all, you need to be aware of the risk. Someone turning 65 today has almost a 70 percent chance of eventually needing some type of long-term care, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you face that 70 percent likelihood. In reality, yo...
Election Day is little more than a week away. As a citizen, you may feel the results will affect many aspects of life in this country. But as an investor, your situation probably won’t change after the votes are counted. No matter who wins, the financial markets may well show some politically driven volatility, but that often happens around elections, and it typically doesn’t last long. But what about the longer term? How might changes in policy and new legislation affect your investment outlook? To begin, keep in mind that many campaign pro...
If you’re a caregiver, possibly for a loved one dealing with an illness such as Alzheimer’s disease, you’re probably already facing some significant emotional and physical challenges – so you don’t need any financial ones as well. Yet, they are difficult to avoid. What steps can you take to deal with them? First of all, you may be interested in knowing the scale of the problem. Consider these numbers from the Alzheimer’s Association: About 5.8 million Americans ages 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s disease, and in 2019, caregivers of...
When you retire, you’ve learned a lot about all sorts of things, helping you avoid some of the mistakes you made earlier in life. However, you may still be susceptible to financial missteps specifically related to your retirement years. How can you dodge these errors? Consider these suggestions: • Manage your withdrawal rate carefully. You will likely need to tap into your retirement accounts – your IRA and 401(k) or similar employer-sponsored plan. But you should establish an annual withdrawal rate that’s appropriate for your situati...
Right now, the pandemic is causing chaos and uncertainty for colleges and students. But it won’t always be that way. And if you have children who will be heading off to school in the next few years, you’re probably thinking about more typical concerns – such as expenses. How will you pay for the high costs of higher education? Most colleges do offer financial aid packages that can greatly help with these expenses. But it pays to know, well in advance, how financial aid works. And the key platform for determining much of your child’s financi...
Those who have lived a long time have done a lot, seen a lot – and can teach us a lot. And that’s certainly true when it comes to investing. Consider some of the lessons you might learn from experienced investors: Regulate your emotions. In the investment world, there’s always something coming at us that could sound scary: political flashpoints, economic news, and even those once-in-a-generation occurrences, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. But older people may take these events in stride; in fact, baby boomers and members of the Silent Gener...
If you’ve recently become a widow or widower, you’re obviously dealing with an enormous emotional burden, and coping with your grief can seem like a full-time struggle. Unfortunately, the business of life must go on – and the financial moves you make at this time can have a big impact on your life. So, as you attend to your affairs, consider the following suggestions: • Don’t make hasty decisions. Even though you will need to make some moves in the near future, don’t feel rushed into decisions that may prove to be ill-advised. For example, do...
It’s that time of year again, where, if you work for a medium-to-large employer, you’ve got some decisions to make because it’s open enrollment time. Of course, depending on your situation, you may have been working remotely for a while, but, even so, you will likely have the opportunity to review your benefits package and make changes. And you’ll want to make the right moves, because your choices can have a big financial impact on your life. So, take a close look at these key areas of your benefits program: • Health insurance – Think about...
Each year, on the first Sunday after Labor Day, we observe National Grandparents Day. Although it’s not as widely recognized as Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, if you’re a grandparent, you probably want to do whatever you can to help your grandchildren on their journeys through life. So, you might want to consider the following moves: Contribute to their education. If you want to help your grandchildren pay for college, you have a variety of options, including 529 plans. You could also simply set aside some money in an investment account earmark...
Labor Day is almost here. Of course, this year, the holiday may have a different impact, given the employment-related stress and disruptions stemming from the coronavirus. Yet, it’s good to recognize the value of work and its importance in achieving your life’s goals. But if you’re going to retire comfortably and reach your other financial objectives, you also need to invest – and your investments need to work as hard as you do. To help make this happen, you need to know why you’re investing...
You won’t see any greeting cards celebrating it, and it’s not likely to be on your calendar, but in just a few weeks, National 401(k) Day will be observed. And this type of recognition may be warranted, too, because 401(k) plans have become key building blocks for a big part of people’s lives – a comfortable retirement. Are you making the most of your 401(k)? Of course, during the past few months, you may have had mixed feelings about your 401(k). After all, at the beginning of the coronav...
The investment world contains different types of risk. Your stocks or stock-based mutual funds could lose value during periods of market volatility. The price of your bonds or bond funds could also decline, if new bonds are issued at higher interest rates. But have you ever thought about longevity risk? Insurance companies and pension funds view longevity risk as the risk they incur when their assumptions about life expectancies and mortality rates are incorrect, leading to higher payout levels. But for you, as an individual investor,...
Like most people, you probably have many financial goals: a comfortable retirement, long vacations, college for your children or grandchildren, the ability to leave something behind for the next generation, and so on. To achieve these various goals, you may have to follow different investment strategies – and you might have to make some tradeoffs along the way. To pursue this multi-goal/multi-strategy approach, try to follow a clear course of action, including these steps: Define your goals ...
If you were to inherit a large sum of money, what would you do with it? The question may not be hypothetical, especially if you are in the millennial, Gen X or Gen Z demographic groups. That’s because the baby boomers – often referred to as the richest generation in history – are poised to transfer some $30 trillion in assets over the next few decades, according to the consulting firm Accenture. Of course, this is a “macro” figure, and everyone’s situation is different. Furthermore, since baby...
If you have a medical appointment this week, you might want to wish your nurse a happy National Nurses Week. This annual event is designed to celebrate the important role nurses play in health care. Of course, while nurses and doctors can help you in many ways, you can do a lot of good for yourself by adopting healthy living habits, such as eating right, exercising frequently, and so on. But you can also do much to help your financial health. Here are a few suggestions: Stay invested. During times of market volatility, it can be temping to...
Mother’s Day is almost here, so start shopping for the flowers or candy for Mom. But this year, why not also go beyond the traditional? Specifically, if your mother is still working but getting close to retirement, consider providing her with a gift that can help make her days as a retiree more pleasant. Here are a few suggestions: • Contribute to her IRA. As long as your mother is employed, she can contribute to an IRA, and she may already have one. If so, help her fund it for 2016. You can’t contribute directly to her IRA, but you can certa...
