Q: I am unemployed. Is it better for me to make an IRA deposit with a bank or brokerage company?
A: It does not matter which you choose, but you must have earned income to make an IRA deposit.
Q: I was recently laid off and am not sure what options I have with my 401k.
A: You generally have 4 options: leave your 401k with your former employer, roll your 401k over to an IRA, roll your old 401k into your new, future employers’ 401k, or cash it out. All choices should be considered carefully.
SAVE THE DATE!
JANUARY
14
2012
________________________________________
for the CFG Shredding Event!
Here’s the event you’ve been asking for!
We had such a good response to our last shredding event,
we’re planning another . . .
The times have changed . . .
and unfortunately it’s not a good idea to just toss your ‘stuff’ into the trash anymore! The best solution is to shred everything that includes your identity information and sometimes that can be a VERY BIG TASK! We’d like to help, so we’ve arranged for a huge secure shredding truck from Cintas (they are NAID – National Association for Information Destruction – certified) to be at our office on Saturday, January 14th. Bring your box or bag of things to shred and watch the truck ‘chew it up.’
You’re Invited to Join Us!
What: The CFG Shredding Event
When: Saturday, January 14, 2012 8:00 a.m. to noon
Where: Certified Financial Group
1111 Douglas Avenue, Altamonte Springs
Invite a friend to bring their shredding items too!
Come for coffee and donuts,
a WDBO remote broadcast of “On the Money”
and empty a few boxes of unnessary paper!
Live Radio Broadcast!
Plan to stay for our live WDBO Radio Broadcast of “On the Money”! Extended Program!
9 to 11 a.m.
What to keep and what to shred?
Always a tough choice! Take a look at some guidelines attached to this email that will be helpful.
to let us know if you are coming and if you have guests.
Copyright © 2011 Certified Financial Group, Inc., All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email as a client of Nancy Hecht and Certified Financial Group, Inc.
Our mailing address is:
Certified Financial Group, Inc.
1111 Douglas Avenue
Altamonte Springs, FL 32714
I will be co-hosting “On the Money” on WDBO 580 Am & 95.6 FM.
Call me with your questions.
As 2011 comes to a close, it’s time to figure out what you can do to lower your tax bill. Here are some quick tips:
Sell loser stocks in your taxable accounts. You can deduct the capital loss against capital gains. No gains? You can deduct up to $3000 in losses per year.
Convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. If your traditional IRA is worth less than it once was, the tax hit from converting it to a Roth will be substantially less. After the conversion, all income and gains accumulated in the Roth will be tax free.
Give to charities. You can donate securities directly to the charity or you can donate cash. Either way – it is a benevolent way to avoid taxes.
I will be hosting “On the Money” Saturday 11/26/11. Tune in to FM 96.5 or AM 580 WDBO.
I found this cute poem to usher you in to the holiday season. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
All in a Word
By Aileen Fisher
T for time to be together, turkey, talk, and tangy weather.
H for harvest stored away, home, and hearth, and holiday.
A for autumn’s frosty art, and abundance in the heart.
N for neighbors, and November, nice things, new things to remember.
K for kitchen, kettles’ croon, kith and kin expected soon.
S for sizzles, sights, and sounds, and something special that abounds.
That spells ~~~THANKS—for joy in living and a jolly good Thanksgiving
Q: Can my wife and I give $26,000 to each of our four sons?
A: Yes, you can each give $13,000 or $26,000 as a couple to as many people as you wish.
Q: How can I avoid paying taxes on my Social Security income?
A: If your combined income – married filing jointly – is less than $32,000, your SS income should not be taxed.
Q: I sold a mutual fund and now have a $6500 loss. Can I use this entire loss in figuring my Federal Income tax for the year?
A: If you do not have sufficient gains to offset the full loss, you can use $3000 this year then carry forward the remaining $3500 a year until it is used up.
Would you let more than a year go by without taking your child for an annual physical? Of course not. And although your financial future isn’t your child, its health and growth are in your care, too. When was the last time it had a checkup?
A lot has been changing on the economic front in the past 12 months. You see and hear the headlines every day: stocks, housing, automakers, retail, jobs, bank bailouts and all the rest. No one is untouched by the fallout. Perhaps it’s affecting your career and your income. Even if not, it’s a sure bet that they’re affecting your investments and your emergency cash-in-hand fund.
Like many people, you may have found yourself dipping into that fund recently. You’ve heard it before, but there’s no time like the present to restate it: You need six months’ worth of living expenses in cash savings (or close to six months as possible) as your emergency fund. It’s there to cover a sudden loss of income, or out-of pocket costs for unexpected house expenses (summer’s here, and you’re A/C unit isn’t getting any younger) or car repairs, or medical expenses, or . . . the list goes on. Start adding to your emergency fund now.
Once it’s en route to being replenished, you can move on to your longer-term savings goals and holdings, from CDs to your investment portfolio. If you haven’t already, meet with your Certified Financial Planner (CFP) for a checkup of your retirement account and your investments—stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc. They may need to be re-balanced. Also consider your “time line” (how long before you retire), your reduced investment balances, and how current economic conditions my have affected your original goals. Your CFP can rework that long-term plan for you.
One more checkup: Insurance. Review your medical coverage, disability protection, long-term care plan, and life insurance. Because people are living longer, costs are coming down for many types of coverage—which means you may be paying too much if your costs are based on outdated actuarial tables. And don’t overlook savings on home and auto insurance. Shop around: rates are often competitive there, too. And if your home and auto are insured by the same company, they typically give a discount.
As with physical health, good financial health is critical, so take good care of it. Call your Certified Financial Planner for a checkup now: a little preventive “medicine” can help ensure a financially healthy future for you and your family.
A: For such a short period of time, a money market account is your best choice.
Q: If I cancel my life insurance because I no longer need the coverage and recieve back less cash that I have paid in premiums, can I deduct the loss?
A: No, because this occured in a tax deferred accumulation account within your life insurance policy.
Recently I have met with three prospective clients, all from different walks of life and demographics, all with the same problem. Their current planner (not me) has all of their accounts invested the exact same way. In other words, they each had the same few ETFs, stocks, or mutual funds in different combinations. It did not matter if I was looking at an IRA statement, an individual account, or one held in trust. All of these accounts were invested using the exact same stocks, exchange traded funds, or open end mutual funds. Considering there are literally tens of thousands of investments out there, I found this hard to believe.
As a rule, I look at each client differently. That’s one of the things people pay me for. No two investors have the exact same goals, savings, or time horizons. Each person’s knowledge, temperament, and time available to manage their investments are different. Likewise, an investor might have an IRA, a 529 college savings plan, and an account that is jointly held with someone else. Each of these accounts serves a different purpose and should not be invested in the exact same manner.
We do not live in a “cookie cutter” world. I do not invest in a “cookie cutter” fashion. You account should not be managed that way either