When I lead a Personal Finance 101 session, without fail, someone asks whether they should be contributing to their 401(k) on a pre-tax or Roth basis. While there are no one-size-fits-all solutions, this is how I explain to attendees what they should consider.
Each year, when it's time to enroll and change up your employee benefits, do you find yourself wondering how much you should be putting into your 401(k), whether you should contribute on a pre-tax or Roth basis, and what actual investments you should use? Do you ever wonder what your colleagues are doing?
If so, you're in luck. Every year, Vanguard comes out with a report that highlights trends from 401(k) plans and other retirement plans it administers, providing a glimpse into Americans' retirement strategies on a broad scale.
So let's dig in: how are other people managing their 401(k) accounts and how do your retirement savings stack up?
In recent years, I've seen several articles about why hiring a financial planner could be beneficial, even for those in the financial planning profession.
My gut reaction to these articles was, that's crazy talk. I love eating, breathing and dreaming about personal finance and no one cares about my finances more than me. Why would I shell out money on stuff I can do myself?
Recently, though, I had a change of heart. Here's why my wife and I decided to hire a financial planner.
When someone told me I could see several movies a month at nearly any movie theater in the country for just $9.95 a month, my first instinct was, what's the catch — this deal sounds way too good to be true.
After looking into how MoviePass works, I'm now wondering: why would anyone not sign up for this service?
