She spent $8,000 at a seminar on an "internet business opportunity". Now what? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Nov 10, 2009 - 30 answers

In twenty-five years i'll be retiring with my minimal social security benefits and medicare to keep me briefly going. I've got no savings right now, but I'm almost done paying my debts. I rent. I want somewhere tiny, a bungalow with a kitchen, perhaps a tiny garden, stonking bandwidth, maybe near a lake, maybe near a wood, but really not so much. I just want to whittle sticks, greet neighbours, not climb stairs, and hack on code. I don't mind renting again until i die. Where should I move in the US, and when? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Aug 22, 2009 - 6 answers

Am I a Highly Compensated Employee (HCE) with regards to making 401(k) contributions? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Apr 12, 2009 - 1 answer

We are a newly-wed, youngish couple (both 30 years old, both professionals) trying to allocate funds to two different projects: purchasing a first home in a very expensive metropolitan area and saving for retirement. What should we be thinking about as we allocate our savings? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Dec 7, 2008 - 5 answers

If you had a very strong incentive to invest money before the end of the year with a 30-year outlook, and a further strong incentive to not adjust your investment strategy over that timeframe unless absolutely necessary, what kind of portfolio would you assemble? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Dec 5, 2008 - 15 answers

I am trying to figure out how to invest money for retirement and otherwise. I am in my late 20s, earn $55,000 annually, have no debt, and about $90,000 in savings. I am currently putting 5% of my salary into a 403(b) which is the maximum amount my employer will match. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Dec 2, 2008 - 11 answers

We have a house but want another one. Hope to retain ownership of both. Please help us figure out how to accomplish this in the midst of the wild economy without making a huge mistake. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Nov 23, 2008 - 11 answers

Financial advice-filter. I'm a college student with no debt and negligible living expenses. Where should I be putting my income? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Oct 27, 2008 - 8 answers

What sorts of jobs might my retirement-age father be able to pursue to keep up with expenses? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Oct 14, 2008 - 17 answers

Okay, so let's say you're a broke, middle-aged single female creative professional who infamously sucks with anything involving numbers. You do have expensive tastes, but you're generally quite frugal and like to shop at the 99¢ Store & swap meets. Even so, much to your own annoyance, you have just never done *well* with money when you've had it or ever done much grown up "long-term life planning"... but now you're about to come into a one-time windfall (possibly a six to seven figure sum in all). Oh Lordy. Time to grow up. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Sep 14, 2008 - 23 answers

Will opening a Solo 401(k) before year's end reduce my modified adjusted gross income (MAGI)? I'm a 28-year-old freelance worker with a sole proprietorship, and I'd like to be able to fully fund my Roth IRA for 2008 [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jun 26, 2008 - 1 answer

I want to close out my 401k (and pay the necessary taxes) so I can pay off some debt. My 401k says I'm not allowed. Why not? Can I change anyone's mind? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jun 9, 2008 - 14 answers

Should I cancel my life insurance policy and use it to pay off most or all of my consumer debt? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Feb 29, 2008 - 8 answers

Looking for good articles, links, etc. that discuss (rationally, not all panicky-like) strategies for managing one's 401(k) in light of recent shifts in the market and (perhaps more importantly) the declining dollar. So far, everything I've found seems geared toward investors managing their stock portfolios rather than workers managing their retirement accounts. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Oct 1, 2007 - 7 answers

A tax question. Our family has experienced a drop in income and an emergency (not medical). I have a 40 thousand dollar 401K retirement fund and want to get 16K out of it. Our family makes 91K gross with two dependents. What will be the tax hit on the 15 k from the retirement fund (so we won't be surprised at tax time). [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jul 21, 2007 - 6 answers