The Pitch – Are you pulling from your retirement fund?

Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Fri, Nov 20 2009 | 0 Comments

Are you pulling from your retirement fund early?

Question

Are you pulling money out of your retirement fund, have you considered it and what advice do you have for someone facing this situation?

Answer:

I actually don’t have a retirement fund in a traditional sense. My husband and I have a nest egg that we put money into. However, if I am understanding the ways 401(k)’s work, then it isn’t a great idea for people to pull money out of it early unless they absolutely have to. The fees for drawing from a retirement plan early can be quite high, however the fees vary depending on your fund.

If I were faced with a situation where I either had to pull from my retirement fund or my family would go without food, then I would likely pull from the fund…it just all depends on your individual circumstances and how you feel about it.

---

Have an idea or want us to use your pitch in the next issue? Then, make a submission on The Pitch Page.

Related posts:
People who make less are less likely to save for retirement
The Pitch – What are your opinions about health reform?
How college can negatively impact your retirement

Tags: traditional sense, 401 k, retirement plan

Moving on the Cheap

Lizzie Tyner | RSS | Sat, Jun 27 2009 | 0 Comments

SmartMoney recently posted an article about ways to cut costs moving. The article titled “Moving on the Cheap: 6 Tips for Cutting Costs” is really helpful to anyone moving or looking to move in the future.

You can pay anywhere from $2,000 to $20,000 to have your stuff moved from one place to another, so it is important to try to cut costs anywhere you can.

So first off, do some comparison shopping. Moving costs can vary greatly depending on what moving company your talking to. For that reason, it is important to get estimates from at least three companies before you decide on one. Websites like CityMove.com lets potential customers ask for bids that moving companies can respond to.

Of course, if you go back to a post on this site a few days ago, hiring a company based on price alone is a really bad idea. The moving companies are full of fraud and you really need to do your research before you hire a company to entrust all your things to. So doing a check on the background of the company you’re thinking about hiring is tip number 2.

Tip number three is to get rid of things you don’t want anymore. You will always have stuff around your house you won’t use once you’ve moved, so have a garage sale or something to get rid of it! The less stuff you have, the less it will likely cost you to move it.

Tip number four goes along with tip number three and that’s to make sure that your reduce the amount of times a mover has to go in and out of your house. I know that sounds kind of weird, but if you think about it, it really does make a lot of sense. If you reduce the amount of times a mover has to enter and exit your house, you will likely end up reducing you overall bill for the move.

Tip number five is to know what is covered by the insurance. If you’re moving and the insurance doesn’t cover something that is priceless to you, then it will be worthless in the long run. You need to make sure a dollar amount is placed on everything and that it is covered under all circumstances. In the case of moving, I don’t think that you can ever have too much insurance.

Finally, tip number six is to take advantage of a tax break being offered by the government! Right now, the IRS is allowing people who are moving to deduct the costs for a job-related move. All you have to do is move within a year of starting a new job and keeping that job for at least 39 weeks after you move. Also, the job must be at least 50 miles away from where your current job is.

Related posts:
Save money on your moving costs and reduce fees from companies
Jobs That Can’t Get Filled For Some Reason

Tags: moving company, moving companies, circumstances

Fed likely to keep rates low through 2009

Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Wed, Jan 28 2009 | 0 Comments

To help keep the economy from completely going into a depression, the Fed agreed today to keep interest rates low for “some time.”

They are also thinking about taking some “unconventional” ways to help revive the economy.

Specifically, the Fed said it is now “prepared” to buy longer-term Treasury securities if the circumstances warrant such action.

“As expected, the study on buying longer-term Treasury paper is completed,” said Ram Bhagavatula, managing director at Combinatorics Capital. “Now they will buy it if needed. But with all the programs in place to buy risky assets, I don’t think it will be needed in the near-term.”

While the interest rate is the rate charged to banks to lend to each other, maybe the low rate will translate into even lower interest rates for mortgages and loans than now and some families will be able to refinance and lock in lower rates.

Source

Related posts:
Wells Fargo wants to stand out and raise credit card rates
Bank of America says it won’t raise fees ahead of new regulations

Tags: loans, banks, interest rate