Get Ready for Tax Season
This article includes a general checklist to guide you as you organize your income tax information.
This article includes a general checklist to guide you as you organize your income tax information.
The maximum contribution for 2023 individual retirement account contributions is $6,500 ($7,500 if aged 50 and over). There are income limits that determine whether you can deduct your Traditional IRA contribution or if you qualify to make a Roth IRA contribution.
After a long, prosperous career and strategically saving 20% of your earnings and investing in equities, you have successfully created a retirement paycheck for yourself. Even as you spend 5% a year in retirement, your investment account should continue to rise, totaling approximately $3.8 million after 55 years!
Earned income stops for everyone at some point, and people then need to navigate the transition from saving for retirement to spending from their investment portfolio.
As we approach the holiday season, I am reminded of Christmas gatherings and the exchange of gifts between family and friends. While we all enjoy receiving gifts, it is the joy I get from giving that is most fulfilling. It’s especially so when the gift is something that has a lasting impact for the recipient. It might sound strange, but that’s how I’ve come to view financial planning. When done effectively, it can have a positive impact on a family today, as well as transform the lives of generations to come. What a legacy!
The kids are back in school, the leaves are changing colors, and pumpkin spice lattes – the age-old harbingers of harvest season – are everywhere. At Parsec, we are preparing for the harvest…of tax losses.
According to the Federal Reserve, 35-year-olds have an average student loan debt of $42,600. The increase in college costs and the rising importance of a post-secondary education for improving income are a big part of this. Many surveys conducted in recent years have discovered that Millennials share a resistance to debt, no doubt influenced by coming of age during the dot-com crash of 2001 and housing crisis of 2008. Given this, it’s no wonder we often see that younger people want to pay off debt before they save for retirement.
Market declines like the one we are currently experiencing present great opportunities to take advantage of cheaper asset prices. Almost everyone with a taxable account should be harvesting tax losses during times like these.
In addition to preparing yourself mentally for retirement, you should also make tactical changes to your portfolio and overall financial plan as you approach your targeted retirement date.
In today’s ultra-connected world it’s even more tempting to compare ourselves to our family, friends, and neighbors. Are we falling behind in our career? Is our family life sub-par? Should we be making more money? Although we all know that people post their best images and experiences on social media, it’s easy to forget that we are tuning in to a lop-sided view of reality. Ironically, this warped perspective can encourage ideas and behaviors that move us further away from what we’re trying to find: a happy and rewarding life.