Financial Fellow

Written by J.P. Wicklein

I read an article in Time last week advocating the death of the 401k. Their rationale was that 401k’s are failing to prove themselves as an effective retirement savings vehicle for the masses. In light of the recent financial meltdown the argument to replace the 401k with another retirement savings vehicle, such as a federally-controlled pension system, has gained attention. Although there may be rationale for providing a government-controlled retirement savings option, beyond Social Security, eliminating the 401k would be a travesty.

[Read more →]

Written by J.P. Wicklein

     Recently I received a couple questions from readers about how I invest my retirement funds. I thought it would be useful to share my answer with everyone. Don’t view my approach as advice on how to invest your retirement money. When investing you need to weigh factors such as your age and level of risk tolerance. As such, what’s best for me, may not work for you. Hopefully, though, reading about my approach will help you to consider some things when determining how to allocate your retirement dollars. Here’s how my retirement asset allocation shakes out:

[Read more →]

Written by J.P. Wicklein

     Recently a friend of mine asked me whether he should take money out of his 401k account to use as a down payment on a home. There are two ways you can tap into your 401k for a down payment on a home: 1) Simply withdrawal the funds or 2) take a loan from your 401k. Should my friend take the money from his 401k? If so, which option should he choose?

[Read more →]

   Written by J.P. Wicklein
     The following summarizes each of the Financial Fellow articles for November 2008 in two sentences or less.
1)   How to Avoid a Big Tax Refund:  If you wish to increase your take home pay throughout the year, while decreasing your annual tax refund, you can do so by increasing the number of [...]

[Read more →]

   Written by J.P. Wicklein

     Recently, I read an article on Gen X Finance in which the author discussed pension plans.  The article rekindled my distaste for defined benefit pension plans provided to government employees at the expense of the taxpayers. In short, defined benefit pension plans provide retirees with a consistent source of income from retirement to death. How much the retiree receives depends upon their age, salary, and length of service. The problem with defined benefit pension plans is that they are horrendously expensive.

[Read more →]

   Written by J.P. Wicklein

     Ever wonder what tax bracket you’re in?  To answer this question you need to know your taxable income for the year. The last taxable dollar you earned in a year will tell you what tax bracket you belong in. For example, if you had a taxable income of $68,000 during 2008 the last taxable dollar you earned for the year is the $68,000th dollar.

[Read more →]