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After a Turbulent 2008, Make Some New Year’s Resolutions for a Financially Healthy 2009 By the Financial Planning Association
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Money worries are the most common cause of holiday stress, according to Mental Health America. The 2006 study showed that parents are more stressed than all other demographic groups by finances and females are more likely than men to feel stressed by finances.
Money isn’t everyone’s number one worry, but if it’s yours, why not consider the following New Year’s resolutions to improve your financial life?
1. Write down your goals: Have you ever written down the big things you want in life? Granted, all great dreams don’t cost money, but many of them do. Money buys freedom – to travel, to retire early, to start a business, to change careers. Putting goals in writing gives them a formality and a starting point for the planning you must do.
2. Evaluate your risk tolerance: One of the most beneficial things financial advisors do is help you articulate your financial goals and establish (or re-establish) your tolerance for risk. With the market turbulence that’s marked 2008, many individuals would benefit from an analysis of how much risk they want – or need – to take given what they want to achieve with their money.
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Taking Steps to Safer Investment Decisions in 2009
By the Financial Planning Association
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It’s tough to tell how much one investor can do alone to preserve their assets in 2009, particularly with unprecedented government intervention in world markets. But there are some general ideas to employ as markets and economies hopefully stabilize in the New Year:
Start with a plan – or review an old one: If you work with a good financial advisor, you should be able to articulate your long-term investment goals. If you can’t discuss such goals in detail, or you just need help constructing an investment plan of your own, it might be time to meet with your Financial Advisor at Capital Advantage. Much of the riskiest investing, overbuying and panic selling during the late 1990s and early 2000s could have been avoided if individual investors had sought advice for achieving long-term specific goals such as retirement or a college education.
Check all your assets in banks: As a result of federal economic bailout legislation, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) temporarily raised the per-deposit account, per bank coverage level from $100,000 to $250,000 through Dec. 31, 2009. Certain retirement-related accounts carry $250,000 of FDIC coverage, but again, check in with your bank to make sure you’re covered, and if not, get the right advice for moving funds so you don’t incur an unexpected tax liability or fees.
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Did You Know?
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2009 TAX CHANGE HIGHLIGHTS
As the end of the tax year approaches, you may already be thinking about how to spend your upcoming refund - or where to find the extra funds to pay what you will owe. Let’s look ahead into the upcoming year of 2009 and some of the new tax changes you will see…
• In 2009 only, the rule that requires those aged 70 ½ and above to withdraw a certain percentage from their tax-deferred retirement accounts annually (commonly known as RMD) will be waived;
• The Federal estate tax exclusion increases from $2MM to $3.5MM;
• The IRS annual gift tax exclusion is increasing from $12,000 to $13,000;
• Combined contribution to traditional and Roth IRAs remains $5,000 ($6,000 aged 50+);
• Elective deferrals to 401(k), TSA, and 457 plans increase to $16,500 ($22,000 aged 50+); and
• SIMPLE elective deferrals increase to $11,500 ($14,000 aged 50+).
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