I think that wealth, much like temperature, is relative too. One person might feel wealthy making a certain amount of money while another person, making the same amount of money, might feel like they’ve only got pennies to their name. Some of us might scoff when a doctor or lawyer says they don’t make enough money and are living paycheck to paycheck. When this happens, we wonder how someone making six figures can spend so much money.
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The 529 Plan Hack For Current Students
We don’t often think about 529 plans as a way to reduce our immediate tax liability. But I was recently talking to a friend of mine who pointed out an interesting strategy that might help him reduce the amount of state income taxes he would owe this year.
Traditionally, 529 plans act sort of like a Roth IRA for college. You put money into the 529 for your child’s future college expenses, allow that money to grow over time, and then withdraw that money tax-free so long as you use it for college expenses. If you start right when your children are born, you can basically get yourself 18-22 years of tax-free growth. Considering the fact that the S&P 500 has never lost money over a 20 year period, you’ve got pretty good odds you’ll come out with some tax-free money for your kids by the time they enter college.
The above scenario is the traditional way to use a 529 plan. But a 529 plan can be opened up in anyone’s name, including your own. This opens up a number of interesting possibilities that most people don’t think about…
What Does Financial Panther Invest In?
Welcome to Part 3 of my series detailing how I invest in my employer sponsored retirement plans. Today, we’re going to look at the exact funds I contribute to in each of my employer sponsored retirement plans. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out Part 1, where I discuss my general investing philosophy, and Part 2, where I discuss the different types of employer sponsored retirement plans.
For those of you that don’t know, back in June 2016, I switched jobs (taking a $50,000 pay cut in the process). I ended up rolling over all of my 401(k) contributions from my prior employer into my new employer’s 457 plan. Then I needed to figure out how to put my money to work.
Pay Off Your Student Loans Now – It Doesn’t Get Any Easier Later
I recently realized that I’m turning 30 in a few weeks. As I was reflecting on entering my 30s and the things I’ve achieved, one thing occurred to me – I must be in the minority of recent lawyers that will be entering their 30s with absolutely no student loan debt remaining.
This is sort of interesting when you think about it. Student loans have become so normalized in our society that we just expect everyone to have them now. This is especially true for most high income professions that require many years of post-college schooling. When you include all the time spent accruing debt in grad school, it’s not uncommon for someone to keep their debt around for a decade or more. A lawyer graduating at age 25 could easily still have their student loan debt kicking around until they’re 35 or older. I know of dentists that will be paying their student loans well into their 50s!
A common refrain is that you’ll pay more on your student loans sometime in the future…
December 2016 Side Hustle Report
Welcome folks to another side hustle report! People seem to love these reports because they give some insight into whether any of these quirky side hustles that I do actually make me any money. It’s not every day that a “big shot” lawyer hops on a bike and becomes a delivery man!
Now for the usual background. For those of you new to this, each month, I document what I earned doing various side hustles outside of my day job. These side hustles are primarily done using sharing economy and gig economy platforms (think of things like Airbnb and Uber). The great thing is that anyone can do these type of side hustles. You don’t need to get a business plan or invest any capital. Instead, just utilize the skills and resources you already have.
Aim To Max Out All Of Your Retirement Accounts This Year
We should all have some amount that we aim to save every year. The great thing is that in the United States, the government basically gives you an amount to aim for each year in the form of retirement accounts. Since the government limits what you can put into each of these tax-advantaged accounts, it’s an easy goal to try to reach.
I think at minimum, everyone should aim to save enough each year to max out all of their retirement accounts. When you think about it, it’s not really all that hard to do. Just set up your automatic contributions once at the beginning of the year. Then do the most important thing you can do when it comes to investing – nothing!
Financial Panther’s 2016 Recap: A Year Of Big Changes
Every year is a big year when you think about it, but I really did feel like 2016 was one of the bigger years in my life. The only thing is, as you get older, the years all sort of blend together. I have a vague idea of what I did in the past few years, but since I never wrote it down, I don’t exactly remember any specifics.
The great thing about blogging though is that it forces you to buckle down and think about what you did, and then write it all down in a synthesized fashion. When I start telling my crazy stories one day, hopefully, someone can look back on what I wrote and fact check me.
And hopefully, you can learn something from this recap too. I know I learn a ton just reading about what others did over the year. So come learn and be inspired! Or just come and be entertained! It’s all good to me.
The 52 Week Money Challenge: The Easiest Way To Save $1,378
As we close out 2016, I thought I’d issue probably the easiest call to action out there – the 52 Week Money Challenge. This is by no means an advanced money concept. Still, I think it’s a good thing for anyone to do, no matter where you are in your financial journey. We all should have some money set aside for emergencies. And the 52 Week Money Challenge is an easy way to keep that emergency fund topped off each year.
I first learned about the 52 Week Money challenge a few years ago when I started getting interested in personal finance. You have to start somewhere and I was looking for ways to push myself just a little bit more. When you’ve got money coming in, it’s pretty easy to get lazy with your paycheck. Even if you think you’re saving money, a lot of it can slip through your fingers if you don’t put it to use somewhere else.
The Solo 401k: The Side Hustler’s Bonus Retirement Account
The mechanics of a Solo 401k are fairly straightforward. If you’re earning income as an independent contractor, you’re eligible to create this type of retirement account. Basically, you’re creating a retirement plan for your own independent business. There are two parts to it – the employer part and the employee part. As an independent contractor, you’re basically both the boss and the employee of your own little business.
Qapital Review – A Free App To Automate Your Savings
What makes Qapital a really awesome app is how easy it makes it to automate your savings.  All you have to do is open up the Qapital app on your phone, set up a new goal with a few taps of your finger, and then set up whatever automated savings rule you want for that goal.  It literally takes less then a minute to set up a savings goal.
